Early Thursday morning Trump finally acknowledged he will leave office in an orderly transition of power, and yet he never conceded the election.
He also never recognized the deadly riot that happened inside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
The statement came through the Twitter account of his social media director Dan Scavino.
The statement came moments after Congress completed the vote to certify Biden’s win in the electoral college.
Within the Trump family, disagreements had sprouted over whether he should concede. Jared Kushner, the president’s senior adviser and son-in-law, had urged him to do so weeks ago. First lady Melania Trump, eager to leave the White House and enter private life in Florida, also pushed Trump after the election to admit defeat.
But Trump’s adult sons, Don Jr. and Eric, urged him to fight the election. And in recent weeks, Trump had relied on the advice of just a small group of people — including his attorney Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and chief of staff Mark Meadows — who either pushed him to continue to try to overturn the election or weren’t willing to tell him it was time to give up the fight.
CNN reports that the agreement to a peaceful transition came from Trump in order to prevent more resignations coming from the White House.
Former chief of staff and current envoy to Northern Ireland Mick Mulvaney called Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last night to resign.
“I called Mike Pompeo last night to let him know I was resigning from that. I can’t do it. I can’t stay,” Mulvaney said in the interview.
He added: “Those who choose to stay, and I have talked with some of them, are choosing to stay because they’re worried the President might put someone worse in.”