Trump’s ‘American Carnage’

Post Reports

The Washington Post

Daily News, Politics, News

4.4 • 5.1K Ratings

🗓️ 8 January 2021

⏱️ 31 minutes

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Summary

Trump’s promise for a smooth transition of power might be too late, amid growing calls to remove him from office. After the attack on the Capitol, lawmakers seemed to come together — but will that last with a 50-50 Senate? And an update from Georgia.

White House bureau chief Phil Rucker brings us behind the scenes of a week when President Trump incited a mob of his supporters to attack the Capitol, and then, grudgingly, admitted his loss.

With Democratic victories in Georgia’s runoff elections, the Senate will be equally split, with Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris serving as a tie-breaking vote. David Fahrenthold breaks down what that could look like.

Last month, our host Martine Powers and producer Ted Muldoon reported from Georgia on the runoff elections, and all the people on the ground who were working to deliver a victory to the Democrats — and the first Black senator from the state. One of those people was Bob Melvin, who we learned after the canvassing trip had contracted the coronavirus. We checked in with him this week after the Democrats’ victory.

Correction: A previous version of this episode mistakenly said that Trump would be the second president to skip his successor’s Inauguration. In fact, there have been at least three others — John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Johnson.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports.
0:15.9	I'm Martín Powers.
0:20.0	It's Friday, January 8th.
0:24.8	Today finally a kind of concession from President Trump, plus what will happen in a 50-50
0:31.0	Senate and an update from Georgia.
0:40.4	Four years ago in January of 2017, President Trump stood on those steps of the Capitol and
0:45.9	was sworn into office.
0:47.5	What a great honor to be able to introduce for the first time ever anywhere the 45th President
0:54.0	of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump.
0:59.3	He declared an end to what he called American Carnage.
1:03.9	This American Carnage stops right here and stops right now.
1:11.8	Phil Rucker is the White House Bureau Chief for the Post.
1:14.8	And little did we imagine that four years later, at the sunset of his presidency, that
1:20.5	Trump would bring American Carnage physically to the Capitol.
1:25.0	We will never give up.
1:26.4	We will never concede.
1:27.8	It doesn't happen.
1:29.0	You don't concede with this theft, it goes.
1:34.2	Our country has had enough.
1:36.3	We will not take it anymore.
1:38.9	And that's what this is all about.
1:41.5	Considering his supporters directing them and citing them, that was a visual of American
	...

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