US President Donald Trump said he was turning his attention to a smooth and orderly transition after Congress certified the presidential election victory of Democrat Joe Biden following the US Capitol's storming by Trump supporters, Report states, citing TASS.
'Now, Congress has certified the results. A new administration will be inaugurated on January 20. My focus now turns to ensure a smooth, orderly, and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation,' Trump said in a video statement posted on Twitter.
Trump spoke directly to the camera in a video released by the White House after being entirely out of public view and even blocked from his precious Twitter account.
On a day when top Democratic leaders accused him of fomenting 'insurrection,' Trump described his election challenges seeking to overturn the results as a plan to protect democracy itself – despite Joe Biden beating him by millions of votes.
'My campaign vigorously pursued every legal avenue to contest the election results. My only goal was to ensure the integrity of the vote. And so doing I was fighting to defend American democracy,' Trump said.
After encouraging his supporters to 'fight' and sending them to the Capitol, he blasted those who invaded the Capitol for 'lawlessness and mayhem.'
'I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness, and mayhem. I immediately deployed the National Guard and federal law enforcement to secure the building and expel the intruders,' he said – contradicting a long delay before the National Guard got dispatched, and statements by top military officials that they coordinated with Vice President Mike Pence on activating the Guard.
'America is and must always be a nation of law and order,' Trump said. 'The demonstrators who infiltrated the Capitol have defiled the seat of American democracy,' he said. 'To those who engage in acts of violence and destruction. You do not represent our country. And to those who broke the law, you will.'