President Donald Trump arrives at a rally on January 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Jan 05, 2021
As members of Congress met on Capitol Hill Wednesday to certify President-elect Joe Biden's decisive Electoral College, President Donald Trump riled up thousands of his supporters gathered near the White House with an unhinged speech in which he spewed innumerable lies about the November election and at one point feebly demanded a do-over.
"I want to go back eight weeks," Trump said to cheers from his fans. "Let's go back eight weeks."
The president also denounced as "weak" and "pathetic" the members of his party who have refused to join the more than 150 House and Senate Republicans expected to object to the official certification of Biden's win, a move that will delay the process but not prevent Congress from cementing the president-elect's victory.
"We will never concede," said the lame-duck president who continued to falsely proclaim that he won the election in a "landslide."
\u201c"I want to go back 8 weeks. Let's go back 8 weeks." -- Trump\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1609948698
Trump proceeded to once again lie that Vice President Mike Pence has the power to unilaterally block certification of Biden's victory--a claim Pence himself rejected in a "Dear Colleague" letter on Wednesday.
"If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election. He has the absolute right to do it," Trump said, prompting chants of "Send it back!" from the crowd.
In his letter, the vice president wrote that "it is my considered judgement that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not."
Shortly after Trump's remarks, the president's supporters marched from the rally to the Capitol Building, where violent elements soon clashed with police and some congressional offices were evacuated or put on lockdown.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As members of Congress met on Capitol Hill Wednesday to certify President-elect Joe Biden's decisive Electoral College, President Donald Trump riled up thousands of his supporters gathered near the White House with an unhinged speech in which he spewed innumerable lies about the November election and at one point feebly demanded a do-over.
"I want to go back eight weeks," Trump said to cheers from his fans. "Let's go back eight weeks."
The president also denounced as "weak" and "pathetic" the members of his party who have refused to join the more than 150 House and Senate Republicans expected to object to the official certification of Biden's win, a move that will delay the process but not prevent Congress from cementing the president-elect's victory.
"We will never concede," said the lame-duck president who continued to falsely proclaim that he won the election in a "landslide."
\u201c"I want to go back 8 weeks. Let's go back 8 weeks." -- Trump\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1609948698
Trump proceeded to once again lie that Vice President Mike Pence has the power to unilaterally block certification of Biden's victory--a claim Pence himself rejected in a "Dear Colleague" letter on Wednesday.
"If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election. He has the absolute right to do it," Trump said, prompting chants of "Send it back!" from the crowd.
In his letter, the vice president wrote that "it is my considered judgement that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not."
Shortly after Trump's remarks, the president's supporters marched from the rally to the Capitol Building, where violent elements soon clashed with police and some congressional offices were evacuated or put on lockdown.
As members of Congress met on Capitol Hill Wednesday to certify President-elect Joe Biden's decisive Electoral College, President Donald Trump riled up thousands of his supporters gathered near the White House with an unhinged speech in which he spewed innumerable lies about the November election and at one point feebly demanded a do-over.
"I want to go back eight weeks," Trump said to cheers from his fans. "Let's go back eight weeks."
The president also denounced as "weak" and "pathetic" the members of his party who have refused to join the more than 150 House and Senate Republicans expected to object to the official certification of Biden's win, a move that will delay the process but not prevent Congress from cementing the president-elect's victory.
"We will never concede," said the lame-duck president who continued to falsely proclaim that he won the election in a "landslide."
\u201c"I want to go back 8 weeks. Let's go back 8 weeks." -- Trump\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1609948698
Trump proceeded to once again lie that Vice President Mike Pence has the power to unilaterally block certification of Biden's victory--a claim Pence himself rejected in a "Dear Colleague" letter on Wednesday.
"If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election. He has the absolute right to do it," Trump said, prompting chants of "Send it back!" from the crowd.
In his letter, the vice president wrote that "it is my considered judgement that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not."
Shortly after Trump's remarks, the president's supporters marched from the rally to the Capitol Building, where violent elements soon clashed with police and some congressional offices were evacuated or put on lockdown.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.