Category Archives: Donald Trump

Pro-Trump mob storm Capitol as lawmakers meet to certify Biden’s win – video

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Protesters swarmed the Capitol on Wednesday, putting it on lockdown, as Mike Pence rebuffed Donald Trump's demand to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden and the Senate's Republican leader denounced a bid in Congress to undo the election outcome.

Trump supporters overturned barriers and clashed with police on the US Capitol grounds and streamed inside the building. The demonstrations flared as lawmakers met inside to formally certify Biden's victory over Trump in November's election. Law enforcement authorities struggled to maintain order.

Biden won the election by 306-232 in the electoral college and by more than 7m ballots in the national popular vote, but Trump continues to falsely claim there was widespread fraud and that he was the victor

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Trump’s doomed bid to reverse result further damages faith in US democracy

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The rantings of a president unable to accept defeat have gained traction, and are embraced by a majority Republican voters as fact

Americans’ confidence in their democracy has been eroded for years by a system that has, at various junctures, delivered victory to Republican presidents who lost the popular vote, permitted industrial-scale gerrymandering of electoral maps, and is built around a Congress rigged in favour of conservative states.

Related: Trump supporters storm Capitol as McConnell warns of democracy 'death spiral' – live

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Congress is facing an election reckoning. Democracy hangs in the balance | Lloyd Green

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As a procedural certification has become a coup attempt, Trump and his allies have done lasting harm


Democracy in the US teeters on the edge of a figurative sword. On Wednesday, the US Congress will convene to formally receive the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Unfortunately, Donald Trump and his allies have converted a legal formality into a blatant coup attempt.

The ex-reality television host is like none who have come before him. Presidents Hoover, Carter and Bush Sr all suffered rejection at the ballot box after just one term. However painful, they accepted the electorate’s verdict. In the end, personal pride took a backseat to the orderly transition of power. The nation had spoken.

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James Comey: Donald Trump should not be prosecuted after leaving office

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  • Fired FBI director: next attorney general must ‘foster trust’
  • President has insulted Comey and threatened him with jail

Donald Trump should not be prosecuted once he leaves the White House no matter how much evidence has been amassed against him, the former FBI director James Comey writes in a new book.

Related: Trump call to Georgia secretary of state electrifies voters in Senate runoffs

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Kenosha police officers will not be charged in the shooting of Jacob Blake, prosecutor says – live

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Shortly before polls are set to close in Georgia, Barack Obama offered this reminder to voters: if you are in line at a polling place by 7 pm ET, do not leave.

Georgia voters—If you're in line before the polls close at 7 pm, stay there. You have the right to vote, no matter how long it takes. If you have questions, call the Georgia voter protection hotline at 1-888-730-5816. Let's bring this home.

That’s all from me today. I’m handing over to my colleague Joan E Greve, who will be with you as the polls close in Georgia and throughout the evening. Here’s a rundown of the day’s biggest stories so far:

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Qatar and Saudi Arabia breakthrough is more exhaustion than compromise

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Talk of brotherly unity rather than lessons learned dominated the Gulf Cooperation Council summit

The meeting on Tuesday between Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani was hailed as a breakthrough that brought together two feuding parties who were finally willing to resolve their differences.

But as the two leaders gathered at a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in the north-western Saudi region of Al-Ula there was no mention of concessions, or further ultimatums, such as those that had led to the rift. The detente seemed borne more of exhaustion than compromise; the talk more of brotherly unity than lessons learned, and the end to it all more about the incoming US president than regional realpolitik.

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Trump call to Georgia secretary of state electrifies voters in Senate runoffs

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Some voters not surprised by president’s call but expressed uncertainty over how it would impact the race

An explosive recording of Donald Trump pressuring Georgia election officials to overturn the election results is further electrifying voters in Georgia’s elections for two US Senate seats, in Tuesday’s runoff that will determine which party controls Congress’ upper chamber.

In the call, made public by the Washington Post on Sunday, Trump pressured Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, to “find 11,780 votes”, to overturn Trump’s loss there. When Raffensperger refused, Trump suggested he and his aides may be committing a criminal offense.

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‘One state can chart the course’: Biden rallies in Georgia on eve of Senate runoffs

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President-elect speaks at Atlanta rally alongside Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and the Rev Raphael Warnock

Joe Biden urged Georgia voters to surprise the nation once again by sending two Democrats to the US Senate, on the eve of a pair of critical runoff elections that will determine the balance of power in Washington and the scope of the president-elect’s ambitious legislative agenda.

Biden, speaking at a drive-in rally in downtown Atlanta alongside the Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and the Rev Raphael Warnock on Monday afternoon, did not mention Donald Trump’s increasingly brazen efforts to overturn the results of the November election, which escalated this weekend when the president pressured Georgia’s secretary of state to “find” enough votes to reverse his defeat in the state. Instead, he focused on what Democrats could accomplish with control of the Senate.

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Enrique Tarrio, leader of rightwing Proud Boys, arrested ahead of rallies

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He was charged with destruction of property – related to his role in burning a Black Lives Matter banner – and a firearms offense

The leader of the Proud Boys, the violent far-right group, was arrested in Washington DC and charged with destruction of property and a firearms offense, according to local police.

The arrest of Enrique Tarrio on Monday comes ahead of pro-Donald Trump protests in Washington planned for Tuesday and Wednesday to coincide with the US Congress’ vote on Wednesday affirming Joe Biden’s election victory.

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Republicans divided: Trump creates new splits as party frets about Georgia

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The president’s baseless claims have pleased some in the party but turned off others, which does not bode well for the runoff results

Donald Trump has been marking the final days of his presidency by creating new fissures within the Republican party, at a time when the GOP needs to unify if it is to win two races in Georgia, which will decide control of the Senate.

Related: Trump's Republicans have dumped Lincoln – they're the Confederacy now | Lloyd Green

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Georgia official suggests Trump could face criminal inquiry over ‘find votes’ demand – live

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The Guardian’s Stephanie Kirchgaessner reports:

David Perdue, the Georgia Republican facing a Senate runoff election on Tuesday, has twice bought a significant number of shares in a US bank shortly after meeting with financial policy makers, raising more questions about his prolific stock trading while in office.

Related: Revealed: David Perdue bought bank stocks after meeting financial officials

DC mayor Muriel Bowser urged residents to avoid downtown in the next couple of days, as the city prepares for pro-Trump demonstrations in connection to Congress’ electoral vote count on Wednesday.

The Democratic mayor said at a press conference today, “We will not allow people to incite violence, intimidate our residents or cause destruction in our city.”

[Bowser] urged calm Monday as some 340 National Guard troops were being activated while the city prepared for potentially violent protests surrounding Congress’ expected vote to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

According to a U.S. defense official, [Bowser] put in a request on New Year’s Eve to have Guard members on the streets from Jan. 5-7th, to help with the protests. The official said the D.C. National Guard members will be used for traffic control and other assistance but they will not be armed or wearing body armor. ...

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Look further afield for good television | Brief letters

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Best TV shows | The European Economic Area | ‘Bigly’ | Classical music | Renaming the Severn Bridge

While I thoroughly enjoy your annual lists of the best TV shows (The 50 best TV shows of 2020, 22 December), I cannot help noticing that non-English speaking programmes are never included. In recent years some of the most gripping and enjoyable shows have come from Germany (Babylon Berlin and Dark, for example), Scandinavia and other European countries. Perhaps, now that we are adrift politically, it is the time to embrace the wonders of European television.
Christina Neal
Cullercoats, Tyne and Wear

• However long it takes to rejoin the EU (Could Britain rejoin the EU? It seems like a hopelessly lost cause – but so did leaving, 1 January), the first aim should be to join the European Economic Area. That would at least restore some of the freedoms which Boris Johnson’s government has deprived us of.
Alan Pavelin
Chislehurst, Kent

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Kamala Harris says Trump’s call to Georgia secretary of state is ‘bold abuse of power’ – video

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The US vice-president-elect said a phone call made by Donald Trump to Georgia's secretary of state in which he asked to reverse his 3 November election defeat is a 'bold abuse of power'.

Speaking at a rally in Savannah on Sunday, Harris said the call was 'the voice of desperation'.

The Washington Post obtained the recording of a conversation on Saturday between Trump and Brad Raffensperger.

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Trump’s Scottish golf courses post another year of losses

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Businesses lose total of £3.4m in 2019 despite first signs of profitability at his flagship Turnberry resort

Donald Trump’s Scottish golf courses have again reported significant losses, totalling £3.4m, despite the first signs of profitability at his flagship Turnberry resort.

The annual accounts for Trump Turnberry’s parent company, Golf Recreation Scotland, show the luxury hotel and golf resort in Ayrshire lost £2.3m in 2019 after ploughing more money into upgrading its facilities.

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Trump’s phone call to Brad Raffensperger: six key points

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Conversation between president and Georgia’s secretary of state laid bare Trump’s determination to cling on to power

Donald Trump has been recorded pressuring Georgia’s secretary of state to overturn US president-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state, in a tape obtained by the Washington Post.

The conversation is mainly between Trump and Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, but Trump allies including Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, and attorney Cleta Mitchell were also present, as was Ryan Germany, Raffensperger’s general counsel. Here are the main points:

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Leave military out of it, former defence secretaries tell Trump

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Unprecedented letter calls on voted-out president to accept Joe Biden’s election victory amid growing fears over his behaviour

All 10 former US defence secretaries still living, including two who worked for Donald Trump, have called for the president and his supporters to accept he lost the election and warned against attempts to involve the military in his increasingly desperate efforts to overturn the result.

In an unprecedented joint letter published in the Washington Post, the defence secretaries addressed the worst fears of what could happen in 17 days of Trump’s administration remaining before Joe Biden’s inauguration: an attempt by Trump to foment a crises with the aim of triggering a military intervention in his last-ditch struggle to hold on power.

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‘I just want 11,780 votes’: Trump pressed Georgia to overturn Biden victory

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In an hour-long phone call on Saturday, Donald Trump pressed Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger to overturn Joe Biden’s victory there in the election the president refuses to concede.

Related: Healthcare to the electoral college: seven ways 2020 left America exposed | Robert Reich

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‘The numbers are real’: Fauci hits back at Trump on US Covid deaths – video

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Dr Anthony Fauci has called out Donald Trump, who claimed on Twitter on Sunday morning that case numbers were being exaggerated. 'Go into the trenches,' Fauci told NBC’s Meet the Press. 'Go into the hospitals, go into the intensive care units and see what is happening. Those are real numbers, real people and real deaths.'

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‘Traitors and patriots’: Republican push to keep Trump in power seems doomed

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All 12 Republican senators who have pledged not to ratify the electoral college results on Wednesday, and thereby refuse to confirm Joe Biden’s resounding victory over Donald Trump in the presidential election, declined to defend their move on television, a CNN host said on Sunday.

Related: Ted Cruz and other Republican senators oppose certifying election results

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Iran steps up nuclear plans as tensions rise on anniversary of Suleimani’s killing

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As Tehran moves on uranium enrichment, Washington braces for retaliation a year after the Quds Force commander’s assassination

Iran has announced plans to enrich uranium up to 20% purity, just a step away from weapons-grade levels, as tensions with the US ratchet up during the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed it had been notified of Iran’s decision to increase enrichment at the Fordow facility, buried in a mountainside to protect it from military strikes, although Tehran did not say when the process would begin.

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