Shut down in the White House after a string of high-profile layoffs and the deadly riot at the Capitol on Wednesday that he openly ignited, and with less than two weeks into his tenure, Donald Trump has so far not been put off by the fact that he would soon become the first US president to be impeached twice by the House of Representatives. Instead, he’s determined to stay in office and make sure he looks good – aside from counting the body. According to a source with direct knowledge of the matter, at one point in the White House on Friday, the president shouted “literally” the words, “I’m NOT ACTING,” before starting a rant about how Democratic lawmakers will regret . their pressure to accuse him a second time, hurting “the country”.
Two other people familiar with the situation say Trump made other similar comments this week or gave no indication that he was concerned about an early departure or a move. Trump, the two sources said, also predicted it was a pointless undertaking for him, as the soon-to-be Democrat-controlled Senate, currently in the hands of the GOP, would never condemn him in any other impeachment process, and asked advisers or she agreed with him.
In addition to growing calls for his resignation or invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office, Trump now faces possible investigation into inciting uproar for his comments to supporters ahead of the storming of the Capitol on Wednesday.
Since Friday, the president has also been furious on Twitter for banning his @ realDonaldTrump account, demanding to know if there were legal solutions to the permanent suspension, those close to Trump say.
White House spokesmen did not respond to a request for comment Saturday afternoon. But campaign assistant Jason Miller, a current senior adviser to Trump, told The Daily Beast Saturday night, “Be careful what you wish for. Big Tech, Big Media, and their friends in the National Democratic Party have a unique ability to reach out, which results in a strengthening of President Trump’s political base. “
In the days since the pro-Trump riot and death toll, as well as in the recent days of a coronavirus outbreak in the United States, the outgoing president has been consumed by his standard diet of personal grievances and plans to advertise and brag about what he considers his “astonishing accomplishments” even as some of the top members of his own party are starting to distance themselves from his mess.
According to two knowledgeable sources, the president and several close advisers are now discussing the possibility that Trump will sit for multiple media interviews in the coming days, in an effort to brag about his tenure, including with one possible interview that they hope that he will focus on the Middle Eastern deals he and his son-in-law, senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, helped strike.
Several current and former Trump officials who don’t think he should step down immediately believe he should just disappear from view now before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Asked if the president should step down, Barry Bennett, who served as a senior Trump adviser during the 2016 campaign, said Saturday: “No. But go to Florida and stay. This is no time to let the boiling rage escalate across the country. Smart leaders will understand that anger on both sides is the real threat to our country. Not Trump. Escalation is no different from what he did. We can’t afford to go any further down this road … If it’s not too late. “