Trump Slammed for Late Night Statement Declaring 'There Will Be an Orderly Transition'

After pressure on state legislatures and dozens of lawsuits failed to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election, outgoing President Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to descend upon D.C. on January 6th for the joint session of Congress to certify the election's results.

Trump's supporters erroneously hoped Vice President Mike Pence—who oversaw the joint session—would wield power he doesn't have to throw out the electoral results of at least six swing states where Trump lies that widespread voter fraud coordinated by Democrats tipped the election to Biden.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) was the first to back a House objection, targeting the electoral votes of Arizona and forcing the House and Senate into two hour separate debates.

The proceedings came to a halt when pro-Trump extremists stormed the Capitol, forcing the Vice President to evacuate and lawmakers to hide in offices and behind their seats. The rioters roamed freely through the Capitol, parading around the Senate floor and ransacking lawmakers' offices, like that of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

The siege on the Capitol occurred just after Trump spoke at a "Save America" rally, urging his supporters to "fight" for him and walk to the Capitol to make their position known.

Trump made haphazard attempts to calm his supporters with a video and two tweets urging them to go home, though he repeated the same election lies that mobilized them to storm the Capitol. His Twitter account was locked for 12 hours out of fears it would further incite violence.

The unprecedented chaos resulted in four deaths and dozens of arrests in the most gruesome culmination yet of Trump's months-long refusal to concede the election—a refusal that's persisted after multiple recounts, audits, failed court cases, and countless lies about American election integrity.

In the early hours of Thursday morning, Congress confirmed President-elect Biden's victory.

Hours later, a statement shared by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino expressed Trump's first explicit acknowledgment of an imminent presidential transition.

Though the statement was still riddled with the very lies that motivated insurrection from his supporters, Trump assured there would be an "orderly transition."

It took an armed insurrection and fears of his cabinet invoking the 25th Amendment for Trump to acknowledge he wouldn't get a second term.

After four years of erraticism from the White House, some people aren't buying it.

Some Trump supporters aren't taking the statement as a concession.

The President's lies that the election was "stolen" continues to erode faith in American democracy among his supporters—a false faith that, as yesterday showed, has led to violence.