Don Jr tests positive, as his father dodges media questions
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Donald Trump held a press conference on Friday to discuss prescription drug prices, but the moment also included him falsely claiming “he won” the 2020 election while accusing Moderna and Pfizer of working to stop his re-election efforts. The two pharmaceutical companies announced their coronavirus vaccines were 90 per cent or more effective against the novel virus following the election.
The press conference was actually not a press conference because the president took no questions. His decision not to take questions potentially came after White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany held her press briefing since 1 October on Friday.
Ms McEnany, who defended Mr Trump’s refusal to concede the election, was heckled by one reporter during the briefing over her inability to accept the election results. She also entered into a verbal spat with a CNN reporter, whom she called an “activist”, after refusing to answer more questions.
This comes after Mr Trump was told to to move aside by Republican senator Lamar Alexander, who said on Friday that the US president should allow the transition to a Biden administration to take place after more than two weeks of delay. Sources close to the president suggested that his refusal to concede was, in part, an act of revenge on Democrats who investigated Russian interference in his 2016 win over Hillary Clinton.
And later in the day it was confirmed that the president’s son, Don Jr, had tested positive for coronavirus and was quarantining.
Fox pundit wants to name Covid vaccine after president
Fox News pundit Geraldo Rivera wants a jab of Trump in every American's veins.
The network's correspondent-at-large suggested naming the Covid-19 vaccines after the president as a “nice gesture” that will live on in an eternal reminder of Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus.
"With the world so divided and everybody telling him he’s got to give up and it’s time to leave and time to transition and all the rest of it, why not name the vaccine ‘The Trump?’" Mr Rivera said.
Justin Vallejo reports:
Fox pundit wants to name Covid vaccine after Trump
'Years from now, it would become just a kind of generic name'
People who know Rudy Giuliani are shocked by what he’s become. People who know Trump say he’s terrifed
Andrew Feinberg with his latest analysis for The Independent:
The correct response to Rudy Giuliani isn’t laughter
Yes, it’s funny. But it’s also the death of democracy, and if we’re not careful then Trump will speak ‘bigly’ at its wake
Trump lawyer Sidney Powell fires back at ‘rude’ Tucker Carlson as even he says she lacks evidence for voter fraud
One of the Trump campaign’s leading attorneys has been criticised by top Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson for refusing to provide any concrete evidence of voter fraud – and she has responded by retweeting bizarre conspiracy theories about him, writes Andrew Naughtie.
Sidney Powell’s description of supposed fraudulent programming of electronic voting machines and her description of nefarious international efforts to steal the election have won her praise in much of the conservative media and among many grassroots Trump supporters.
But in a Thursday night segment on his show Tucker Carlson Tonight, the host (and dogged Trump loyalist) pointed out that she has “never demonstrated that a single actual vote was moved illegitimately by software from one candidate to another”.
Trump lawyer Sidney Powell blasts ‘rude’ Tucker Carlson as even he says she has no evidence
As effort to overturn election flounders, top lawyer has drawn ridicule for propagating outlandish conspiracy theories
Senior Republican House member says it’s time for Trump to ‘move on’
Representative Kay Granger, a Republican of Texas, was asked on Capitol Hill about Donald Trump’s efforts to try to overturn election results in states like Michigan.
“I have great concerns about it,” she said, according to CNN. “I think that it's time to move on.”
A vast majority of Republican lawmakers have remained silent about Mr Trump’s refusal to accept the election results, and most of them have also not acknowledged Joe Biden as the president-elect.
Ms Granger’s statement comes on the same day Republican Senator Lamar Alexander implored the Trump administration to assist the Biden team in its transition.
Ivanka Trump accuses New York prosecutors of ‘harassment’ over probe into first family’s finances
A seemingly rattled Ivanka Trump has accused New York prosecutors of "harassment" after reports emerged that investigations into her father's businesses are circling in on consultancy fees allegedly paid to the future first daughter as part of a tax write-off.
The Trump organisation appears to have paid $747,622 to a consultancy company owned by Ms Trump while she was still working as an executive officer for her father's companies, according to White House disclosure forms she filed in 2017, which have been reviewed by the New York Times.
Matt Mathers reports:
Ivanka Trump accuses New York prosecutors of ‘harassment’ over probe into first family’s finances
“This ‘inquiry’ by NYC Democrats is 100 per cent motivated by politics”, says Ms Trump
BREAKING: Trump accuses Pfizer and Moderna of working to stop his re-election
Donald Trump has accused Pfizer and Moderna of working to stop his re-election by delaying their vaccines.
The accusations were made during a press conference with the president on Friday.
Graeme Massie has the breaking news:
Trump accuses Pfizer and Moderna of working to stop his re-election
Donald Trump has accused Pfizer and Moderna of working to stop his re-election by delaying their vaccines.
Trump refuses to take press questions
Donald Trump spoke in the White House press briefing room on Friday about lowering prescription drug prices.
The press was gathered for the event, but Mr Trump took no questions and instead left the room following the briefing.
Mr Trump has not answered questions from reporters for 17 days. The last time he took questions was on Election Day on 3 November.
John T Bennett has more on the president’s briefing:
Trump refuses to take questions after falsely claiming he won election in first media appearance in weeks
Donald Trump, making his first public remarks in weeks, declined to take reporters’ questions after falsely claiming from the White House briefing room “I won” the general election.
Trump lawyers test negative for coronavirus
Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, both of whom are personal lawyers to Donald Trump, tested negative to the coronavirus this morning.
In a statement shared on Twitter, Ms Ellis said the “entire legal team will continue to follow the advice and protocols of our doctors.”
The statement comes after Mr Giuliani’s son, Andrew Giuliani, tested positive for the coronavirus this morning. Andrew works as a special assistance to the president and was in attendance at the press conference held by the Trump legal team on Thursday, causing concern other members were at risk to get the novel virus.
The press conference was held indoors in a packed room at the Republican National Committee’s headquarters in Washington DC.
BREAKING: Georgia Secretary of State certifies election results that Joe Biden won
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, has officially certified the 2020 election results on Friday following a hand recount of every ballot cast in the state.
The recount confirmed that Joe Biden won the state. He won by more than 12,000 votes, making it the closest victory for the Biden campaign in the race.
Mr Biden picking up the state, which typically goes for the Republican candidate, is a major blow to Donald Trump, who easily won the state in 2016. Despite the latest news, Mr Trump has not conceded the race.
Obama jokes on ‘Kimmel’ that Navy SEALS can remove Trump from the White House if necessary
Former President Barack Obama was the special guest on Thursday night's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where he was promoting his just-released memoir, A Promised Land.
During his visit, the former President covered a lot of ground, joking about his status in his family ("you’re never a prophet in your own land!"), being “afraid” of his daughter Sasha, and dismissing Donald Trump's 2011 conspiracy theory that a Navy SEAL team killed a body double and not Osama Bin Laden.
"You’ve got this guy who, by the way, I’m sure, you know, floated the idea that they didn’t actually kill Bin Laden," said Kimmel. "You killed like Weird Al or something like that. Did you kill Weird Al Yankovic?"
Rachel Brodsky reports:
Obama jokes on ‘Kimmel’ that Navy SEALS can remove Trump if needed
The former President visited the late-night show to promote his brand-new memoir, 'A Promised Land'
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