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News World Americas US Election 2020 Biden won’t back House Democrats’ move to impeach Trump in wake of Capitol riots ‘He’s welcome,' president-elect says of Vice President Mike Pence
Capitol rioter says 'police on our side' during Washington DC siege Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
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Your support makes all the difference. Close Read more President-elect Joe Biden is not backing the calls to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time. Notably, however, he did not try dissuading his fellow Democrats from making the riot instigator the first US president to ever be impeached twice.
‘What the Congress decides to do is for them to decide,” Mr Biden said. “But I’m going to have to and they’re going to have to be ready to hit the ground running because we Kamala [Harris] and I are sworn in we’re going to be introducing significant legislation to deal with the virus, to deal with the economy and to deal with economic growth.”
Notably, however, he did not try dissuading his fellow Democrats from making the riot instigator the first US president to ever be impeached twice.
“I thought for a long long time that President Trump wasn’t fit to hold that job,” he said after introducing more members of his incoming economic team. “That’s why I ran.”
Asked pointedly if Mr Trump should be removed from office, Mr Biden sidestepped when answering.
“He is not fit to serve. He is one of the most incompetent presidents,” he said. “What happens with … 13 days left to go? I think that what 81m people stood up and said, ‘It’s time for him to go' … The quickest way for that to happen is for us to be sworn in on the 20th.”
He again said anything that happens before then is “up to the Congress”.
“He has exceeded even my worst notions about him. He’s been an embarrassment to the country,” Mr Biden said, adding that if Mr Trump had six months left in his term, officials should do anything they had to in order to remove Mr Trump.
The incoming president said the Justice Department would decide if and whom to charge over their roles in the deadly riot, claiming he would not tell Attorney General-designate Merrick Garland whom to prosecute.
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