President lauds Operation Warp Speed success but says New York will have to wait for vaccine
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump broke his eight day silence with an update on Operation Warp Speed, the project to distribute a vaccine when it is approved by the Food & Drug Administration.
The Rose Garden briefing comes on the day that most networks finally called Georgia for Joe Biden and North Carolina for the president, putting the electoral college votes at 306 to 232 in favour of the Democrat.
In a slight verbal stumble, the president came close to acknowledging that the administration may be in its last days. No formal statement was made regarding the election result. He did not answer any questions.
Trump is being tipped to announce a fresh presidential run in 2024 as he continues to refuse to acknowledge his election defeat to Mr Biden, now president-elect and preparing for government as Mr Trump fires out conspiracy theories in angry tweets from the Oval Office.
The president has meanwhile been branded an “elixir of racial anxiety” by his predecessor, Barack Obama, in an advanced extract from the latter’s new memoir A Promised Land, reflecting on the toxic political undercurrent the former real estate mogul and reality TV star was able to capitalise on to win the White House in 2016.
Mr Obama has also made his first remarks on the current undemocratic impasse in Washington, telling Scott Pelley on 60 Minutes that the Republican Party is “humouring” the incumbent in his delusional rejection of the outcome and taking the country down “a dangerous path”.
• Read more: Follow live updates in our dedicated election liveblog
Republican National Committee to invest $20m in Georgia Senate runoff
The Republican National Committee (RNC) has now turned its efforts on the two US Senate runoffs to happen in Georgia.
Both US Senate seats are up for grabs after no candidate received more than 50 per cent of the votes on 3 November.
If the Democrats were to win both seats, they would take the majority of the US Senate seats. So the RNC has now committed to investing $20m into the state to assist the Republican candidates: Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.
Besides contributing $20m, an RNC spokesperson told CNN that the group would be sending 600 staffers to support the two political campaigns.
The Georgia runoffs will happen on 5 January.
Trump says he may ‘stop by’ at MAGA rally in Washington DC in tweet immediately flagged by Twitter
Donald Trump on Friday said he might “stop by and say hello” at a MAGA rally in Washington DC on Saturday in a tweet immediately flagged by Twitter for including misinformation about the 2020 Presidential Election.
“Heartwarming to see all of the tremendous support out there, especially the organic Rallies that are spring up all over the County, including a big one on Saturday in D.C. I may even try to stop by and say hello,” Mr Trump tweeted before digressing into unsubstantiated claims about the 3 November election: “This Election was Rigged, from Dominion all the way up & down!”
“Dominion” refers to Dominion Voting Systems, the software provider that local governments around the country use to run elections.
Full report here:
Trump says he may ‘stop by’ at MAGA rally in Washington DC in tweet immediately flagged by Twitter
Since losing the 2020 election, the president has used Twitter almost exclusively to vent baseless allegations of voter fraud
Kayleigh McEnany claims Trump will ‘attend his own inauguration’ on 20 January 2021
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has claimed that President Donald Trump will “attend his own inauguration” in January 2021, writes James Crump.
Ms McEnany, 32, was interviewed on Fox Business on Friday morning in the role of a Trump 2020 campaign adviser, and not in her taxpayer funded position as the White House press secretary.
Host Stuart Vareny asked Ms McEnany if Mr Trump will attend President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration in Washington, DC, on 20 January 2021.
“Again, that’s many steps away here, we are talking January and President Trump believes that he will be President Trump - have a second term."
Twitter reacts after Trump’s hair appears to turn grey
Donald Trump’s most recent press conference has driven the internet wild with questions, but not the ones you may think.
During the update on coronavirus vaccine development in the White House Rose Garden, many viewers were quick to notice one significant change in the president's signature appearance: his hair.
Members of the public and journalists alike quickly pointed out that Mr Trump’s barnet seemed to be sporting a more demure shade of grey than his usual iconic bright blonde.
Louise Hall has the story:
Twitter reacts after Trump’s hair appears to turn grey
‘Damn losing must have really hit him hard. No wonder he has been hiding’
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s children withdrawn from school
Administrators at the private school had raised concerns about the couple ignoring coronavirus precautions, according to CNN.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's children withdrawn from school after administrators raised concerns
Administrators at the posh Washington private school that the three young children of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner attended for the last three years expressed concern about the couple's public flouting of Covid-19 guidelines, ultimately resulting in President Donald Trump's daughter and son-in-law withdrawing their children from the school, a longtime parent at the school told CNN.
Trump puts Rudy Giuliani in charge of all election lawsuits
Trump puts Rudy Giuliani in charge of all election lawsuits
Mr Trump has given overall charge of all election lawsuits and the communications strategy around them to the former mayor of New York City.
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