Donald Trump has said he will ‘always and forever be a champion for the American People’ in his first official statement since leaving office.
Trump revealed he had opened the ‘Office of the Former President’ in Florida that will handle his duties and seek to further his administration’s agenda.
‘The Office will be responsible for managing President Trump’s correspondence, public statements, appearances, and official activities to advance the interests of the United States and to carry on the agenda of the Trump Administration through advocacy, organizing, and public activism,’ the statement on executive letterhead said.
‘President Trump will always and forever be a champion for the American People.’
Donald Trump has said he will ‘always and forever be a champion for the American People’ in his first official statement since leaving office
The statement, which was sent to reporters via email, includes a new logo designed by Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale, according to Wall Street Journal journalist Rebecca Ballhaus.
Parscale first been demoted from campaign manager after the disastrous June rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which he claimed one million wanted to attend but had ended up with empty seats, then quit entirely in disgrace after being arrested at his house following a drunken armed standoff.
But Parscale now appears to be back in the fold, having called the Trumps ‘family’ and spoken loyally in their favor despite being forced out.
The announcement came on the same day the House of Representatives delivered to the Senate an impeachment article charging the former President with inciting insurrection in a speech to supporters before the attack on the Capitol on January 6. The Senate trial is expected to start on February 9.
Former U.S. Presidents are funded for the costs of their ‘transition’ in leaving office for seven months under the Presidential Transition Act.
This can include the funds required to set up a new office and pay staff for 30 months.
Trump broke his silence since leaving office on Friday and told the Washington Examiner: ‘We’ll do something, but not just yet.’
The brief interaction took place at his regular table at the private Trump International Golf Club restaurant in Florida before an aide quickly cut short the encounter.
In farewell remarks on his last day as president last Wednesday, Trump told supporters: ‘We will be back in some form.’
Trump has made no public appearances since flying that day to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump revealed he had opened the ‘Office of the Former President’ in Florida that will handle his duties and seek to further his administration’s agenda
Before leaving office, Trump talked with associates about forming a political party called the ‘Patriot Party,’ the Wall Street Journal reported.
Trump has now become the first former president to face an impeachment trial, which will test the Republican party.
Republican senators are balancing the demands of deep-pocketed donors who are distancing themselves from Trump and voters who demand loyalty to him.
For Democrats the tone, tenor and length of the upcoming trial, so early in Biden’s presidency, poses its own challenge, forcing them to strike a balance between their vow to hold Trump accountable and their eagerness to deliver on the new administration’s priorities following their sweep of control of the House, Senate and White House.
Biden himself told CNN late Monday that the impeachment trial ‘has to happen.’ While acknowledging the effect it could have on his agenda, he said there would be ‘a worse effect if it didn’t happen.’
Biden himself told CNN late Monday that the impeachment trial ‘has to happen.’ While acknowledging the effect it could have on his agenda, he said there would be ‘a worse effect if it didn’t happen’
Biden said he didn’t think enough Republican senators would vote for impeachment to convict, though he also said the outcome might well have been different if Trump had six months left in his term.
In a Monday evening scene reminiscent of just a year ago – Trump is now the first president twice impeached – the lead prosecutor from the House, this time Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, stood before the Senate to read the House resolution charging ‘high crimes and misdemeanors.’
Earlier, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said failing to conduct the trial would amount to a ‘get-out-jail-free card’ for others accused of wrongdoing on their way out the door.
Republicans appear more eager to argue over trial process than the substance of the case, he said, perhaps to avoid casting judgment on Trump’s ‘role in fomenting the despicable attack’ on the Capitol.
Schumer said there’s only one question ‘senators of both parties will have to answer before God and their own conscience: Is former President Trump guilty of inciting an insurrection against the United States?’
Trump has also pursued unsuccessful legal challenges to overturn his Nov. 3 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, falsely claiming there had been widespread electoral fraud.