Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump has conceded -- for the first time in his own words -- that President-elect Joe Biden would become the next president this month, putting closure to his unprecedented campaign to revoke the outcome of the November polls, the Financial Times and other news sources reported Friday.
Trump, without mentioning Biden by name, said in a three-minute video that "a new administration will be inaugurated on January 20th."
His denial to accept the election results ended in violence on Wednesday, when swarms of his loyalists stormed the U.S. Capitol and thwarted House proceedings to tally electors' votes and validate Biden's victory.
In a video posted on Twitter Thursday evening, Trump tried to keep a low profile from the assault on the nation's capital, accusing the angry mob of "defiling the seat of American democracy."
Peacefully Leave The White House?
With less than two weeks left in his term, Trump finally bowed to reality in the face of growing talk to boot him out early, and acknowledged that he will peacefully depart after Congress confirmed his loss.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Trump's Cabinet to remove the president from office through the emergency stipulations of the 25th Amendment.
Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger called for the president's ouster in a Twitter video Thursday morning. "It is time to invoke the 25th Amendment and to end this nightmare," Kinzinger said.
People Must Die First
Five people died in the Capitol attack -- including a woman who was shot in the chest. The chief of the D.C. police and Secretary of the Army, commander of the D.C. National Guard, admitted their collective failure to protect the Capitol, the Washington Post reported.
According to Trump, his focus now is to ensure a "smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power." Reading from a teleprompter, he said: "This moment calls for healing and reconciliation."
The video message marked a sharp contrast from a fiery speech he delivered Wednesday in which he said: "We'll never give up. We'll never concede... You don't concede when there's theft involved," FT quoted him as saying.
