Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has been vandalised two times since he has been President, according to news reports. But like his Tweets, the Star keeps coming back for more time in the limelight. Will we be able to say the same for the 45th President?
According to advisors of US President Donald Trump, has refused to concede since the election was called for Biden on Saturday. This is despite the former US vice president winning over the key swing state of Pennsylvania and securing more than the 270 electoral votes needed to claim victory.
What’s the hold-up?
At the time of writing President, Donald Trump did not call to congratulate President-Elect Joe Biden or offer a concession speech. We may have to wait until December before that happens. But he has been active on Twitter and already reshuffling his cabinet.
President Donald Trump on Monday (9 November) fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper, in a tweet. “Mr Trump fell out with his defence secretary in June after Mr Esper said he was opposed to sending US troops into American streets to quell civil unrest, except as a last resort, amid a host of anti-racism protests,” reported the Financial Times.
“I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately.. …Chris will do a GREAT job! Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service,” Donald Trump tweeted.
But what does the election hold-up actually mean given that Biden wouldn’t have any true powers until January?
Examples of what could get held up should the Trump administration not cooperate with the Biden-Harris transition to power include the delay of some agencies to act on directives by Biden, including the country’s pandemic response and the reinstatement of environmental regulations, protections for migrants and international accords, it has been reported.
So, some major stuff.
Those iconic ‘Make America Great Again’ red baseball caps will still be selling like hotcakes if reports of Trump rallies reemerging come to fruition. The rallies could emerge in defiance to Biden’s election win. And of course, there’s the lawsuit, which you can read in brief about in Tim Murtaugh’s Twitter post below. If you were not already aware, Murtaugh is the Director of Communications for Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign.
Emily, who?
A civil servant named Emily Murphy is bang in the middle of this awkward situation. As the administrator of the General Services Administration, Murphy has sole authority over whether or not Joe Biden’s transition can officially move forward, pushing her centre stage in the presidential contest.
According to a Politico report, Murphy, must make an “ascertainment” that Biden has won the presidency before the transition can contact federal agencies or access the millions of dollars set aside for the team.
“While the Associated Press and POLITICO have determined that Biden has won the election, President Donald Trump has not conceded and recounts are ongoing,” reported Politico.
“The simple fact is this election is far from over,” Trump said in a statement Saturday. “Legal votes decide who is president, not the news media.”
“If you count the legal votes, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us. If you count the votes that came in late — we’re looking at them very strongly. But a lot of votes came in late,” President Trump stated.”
The GSA must remain impartial to party politics, but Emily Murphy may have to continue being in a very publicly awkward position until the Electoral Collge Vote can be the deciding factor.
On December 14the, the Electoral College casts their ballots for the president. “But doing so could also significantly hamper the Biden transition effort and leave them scrambling amid duelling public health and economic crises,” suggests the Politico report.
“Every passing day, however, also stalls what was already a historically difficult transition. Making matters even more complicated, the law on the subject is vague and leaves it up to Murphy to determine when Biden is officially president-elect,” wrote Politico.
Trump & Twitter
Donald Trump’s outlet of choice during his campaign and Presidency has been Twitter, but his relationship with the social media platform’s protocol police is on a slippery slope with the site having to alert users to the President’s inaccurate posts during the heated days of the election.
“If he’s not banned from the platform, he’ll use Twitter to keep up a running commentary on incoming President Joe Biden,” The Atlantic’s White House correspondent has said. “He might start a new media venture or tease his base by vowing to run again in 2024. Whatever he does, he’ll remind a nation that rejected him after one exhausting term that it can’t easily forget him.”
Douglas Brinkley, a history professor at Rice University and a presidential historian, told The Atlantic, “There is nothing about him that goes gently into the night…He has bathed in the fountain of real power, and he’s going to want to again. He doesn’t want to become a third-rate, has-been figure.”
Can Trump really go back to selling resorts? He could make a stash on a book of his Tweets if the real estate game remains precarious during the prolonged global COVID pandemic.
A new career in Media, however, is my guess. The Book of Tweets is just the sweetener. But until January, his Tweeting will undoubtedly still create headlines and put a spur in the Biden transition process, and possibly long thereafter.
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