Live political updates: President Trump expected to spend Thanksgiving at the White House
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The day before Thanksgiving offered a contrast between President-elect Joe Biden and Trump, who has yet to concede the election, and claims there was fowl play.
On Wednesday, Trump told a panel of Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania that the election was a “fraud” and falsely claimed he had won the pivotal battleground state.
Trump spoke to the group, which included Pennsylvania his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, via speakerphone after canceling earlier plans to attend in person.
President-elect Joe Biden urged Americans to remain patient for a coronavirus vaccine through Thanksgiving and called for unity.
“[The virus has] divided us, angered us, set us against one another,” Biden said. “I know the country has grown weary of the fight. But we need to remember: We’re at war with the virus, not with one another.”
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White House Thanksgiving proclamation calls for Americans to ‘gather’
President Donald Trump’s annual Thanksgiving proclamation calls for Americans to “gather” for the holiday, even though his own agencies, and federal public health officials, have warned against it as COVID-19 cases spike.
Issued by the White House press secretary’s office Wednesday evening, the last line of the proclamation reads: “I encourage all Americans to gather, in homes and places of worship, to offer a prayer of thanks to God for our many blessings.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have asked Americans not to travel and to limit gatherings to those in immediate households to try and stop the spread of the coronavirus.
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In multiple interviews, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, has expressed concern that holiday celebrations could further increase transmission rates of the coronavirus. He advises Americans to forgo their big, traditional holiday plans.
Holiday presidential proclamations are typically cursory statements put out by the White House, and similar language has been used in the past.
Despite the calls to gather, the proclamation also included sections dedicated to addressing the ongoing pandemic, reading, “This year, as our Nation continues to combat the coronavirus pandemic, we have once again joined together to overcome the challenges facing us” and nodded at first responders and medical professionals.
— Savannah Behrmann