While Americans exchanged Christmas wishes for peace and goodwill, President Trump spent the holiday shuttling between the Southern White House and his West Palm Beach golf club tweeting grievances about the 2020 election, Twitter flagging his statements and a stalemate over COVID relief.
The amount of time the president spent at Trump International, as a federal financial lifeline to millions of Americans languished in limbo and downtown Nashville smoldered after a mysterious “intentional” blast, also became a source of social media debate.
On Friday afternoon, Christmas Day, Trump appeared to fire back at critics ridiculing a White House statement the president was working “tirelessly” while images surfaced of him playing golf.
Three Christmases: Highlights of Trump’s previous Mar-a-Lago holiday stays
“Made many calls and had meetings at Trump International in Palm Beach, Florida. Why would politicians not want to give people $2000, rather than only $600? It wasn’t their fault, it was China. Give our people the money!” Trump wrote in a tweet.
Problem is, the battle over the extra $1,400 is between the president and “politicians” from his own party. Congressional Republicans oppose bolstering the amount of per person assistance while rival Democrats support it.
Trump also issued not-so-veiled threats at fellow Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who he ripped for sitting back and watching while the president said he was fighting a “crooked and vicious foe, the radical Democrats.” Trump warned: “I will NEVER FORGET!”
Trump continued to rage on Twitter Saturday with another handful of tweets about an election he again claimed had been “Rigged & Stolen” despite his legal team having failed during ample opportunities to prove the president’s case in court. He vented his anger at Republicans, the U.S. Supreme Court, the FBI, the Justice Department and even repeated a hyperbolic comment told to him that elections in “Afghanistan are far more secure and much better run than the USA’s 2020 Election.”
The president’s elections-related tweets were labeled by Twitter as “disputed,” which also drew an irate missive from the president on. Trump lashed out at the social media platform writing: “Twitter is going wild with their flags, trying hard to suppress even the truth.”
In another tweet, Trump referenced a “Florida meeting” on Thursday in which “everyone was asking why aren’t the Republicans up in arms & fighting over the fact that the Democrats stole the rigged presidential election.” The president didn’t say where the meeting was held or who attended.
Top state Republican leaders did not speak of such a meeting on social media.
Neither the Florida Republican Party, nor Gov. Ron DeSantis, nor state GOP chairman Joe Gruters mentioned such a gathering in their Twitter holiday postings though Gruters tweeted support for the president again on Christmas Day.
There was also silence on the matter from U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott. And from U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who vowed in West Palm Beach last week that he would lodge a “longshot” challenge the Electoral College vote in Congress on Jan. 6.
The holiday was not a typical one for the Trumps. The first couple did not attend Christmas Eve services at a local house of worship.
Their traditional church, Bethesday-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, opted for COVID-compliant virtual services. Family Church, the downtown West Palm Beach evangelical church where the president and first lady attended Christmas Eve services last year, did have have in-person services this year but the Trumps did not attend.
Trump tweeted Friday afternoon that he would give a “short speech” to U.S. troops via videoconferencing, another Christmas holiday staple for the president. But the president provided no details and added the “fake news” was not invited.
Trump has stayed largely out-of-sight since arriving Wednesday evening in Palm Beach to spend a third — and final — Christmas holiday as president in his adopted hometown.
Over 100 devoted followers of the president lined the motorcade route along Southern Boulevard on Wednesday evening. The motorcade slowed while passing the crowd and the president waved through the window.
Those dotting the roadway, like the president, were in no mood to acknowledge the election defeat.
“This definitely is the last motorcade of this year,” said Stan Brown, refusing to concede that the holiday visit could be Trump’s last as president. “If he’s not given a second term I am going to fly my flag upside down for the next four years.”
Traveling with the president on Air Force One was Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. As he exited the Palm Beach International Airport tarmac, Giuliani said he was in town to continue discussions on legal challenges to the Nov. 3 election as well as the Dec. 14 Electoral College balloting.
Asked about the remaining legal options, Giuliani confirmed more challenges would be forthcoming, but declined to discuss specifics.
“I can’t tell you that,” he said when asked what the next move would be.
Trump in Palm Beach for Christmas: 10 things to expect
But at about the time he and first lady Melania Trump landed at PBIA, the president revealed on Twitter what he thinks should be the next step — a special counsel probe — in his so far failed and futile attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election result that saw him lose the popular vote by 7 million votes and trailing badly in the electoral tally, 306 to 232.
“After seeing the massive Voter Fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election, I disagree with anyone that thinks a strong, fast, and fair Special Counsel is not needed, IMMEDIATELY,” read Trump’s tweet, which was marked as “disputed” by the social media platform. “This was the most corrupt election in the history of our Country, and it must be closely examined!”
Trump to return to a Florida rattled by virus, but with election loss on his mind
As has been well-documented, legal challenges by Trump and GOP allies to voting results in key swing states have been summarily dismissed by judges for lack of any credible evidence to support the White House’s allegations of “massive” fraud.
In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court, including the three justices nominated by Trump, have refused to even hear two of those cases.
Before leaving Washington, Trump settled a score on another grievance front by pardoning two more key allies convicted of felonies as part of the Russia probe conducted by former special counsel Robert Mueller.
Wednesday’s additional 26 pardons included ones for former Palm Beach County commissioner Mary McCarty and developer James Batmasian. But those were overlooked by pardons for Trump’s campaign manager of four years ago, Paul Manafort, and South Florida political operative Roger Stone.
Trump this year had already commuted Stone’s prison sentence, which followed his conviction on charges of obstruction of Congress. Ironically, the pardon for Stone came almost a year to the day that Trump, when asked by the Palm Beach Post, said he had given no “thought” to a pardon to the well known South Florida political trickster and strategist.
Manafort and Stone now join two others — former national security adviser Mike Flynn and 2016 campaign aide George Papadopoulos — who were also charged by Mueller and who have recently received pardons from Trump.
The paradox, of course, is that acceptance of a pardon is also an admission of guilt.
So in accepting Trump’s pardon, all four have tacitly admitted culpability — belying the president’s claim the Mueller probe was a “hoax.” And, as he declared on the PBIA tarmac in March 2019, that the Mueller report exonerated him and his 2016 campaign.
However, the mood among Trump’s ardent supporters on Southern Boulevard was festive.
For many Trump supporters, flag-waving events on Friday nights and gathering along the motorcade route have become social affairs, with food, music and lots of Trump merch — from rhinestone necklaces to Trump dog attire.
“I have made friends for life,” said Michael Bafumo, of West Palm Beach. “We’re patriots … we’re not loyal to the Republican Party, we are loyal to Donald Trump.”
Because Trump’s schedule is now public, it has been easy to know what time to gather along the motorcade route. Tracking his schedule after he leaves office shouldn’t pose a problem, said Vinny Caldara, driver of the Trump Train, a converted EMS vehicle painted red, white and blue and decked out with Trump swag.
Caldara, who has driven the Trump Train to 15 states in the last three weeks, said if Trump is not re-inaugurated on Jan. 20, he expects the president will announce a 2024 comeback campaign. Once another campaign is underway, it is easy to know where and when Trump will be, Caldara said.
“That’s not going to happen,” said Caldara about Trump leaving office in January. “Until he hands the keys to the White House to someone else, we will be here.”
Source Article from https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/politics/2020/12/26/trump-airs-grievances-he-shuttles-between-mar-lago-golf-club/4047024001/
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