Trump will address troops on Christmas but ‘Fake News not invited!’
Donald Trump makes Christmas Day speech to deployed troops but doesn’t invite ‘Fake News’
- President Donald Trump tweeted on Christmas Day that he would be delivering a short speech to servicemembers
- ‘Fake News not invited!’ he wrote in his tweet, with the White House calling a ‘lid’ shortly thereafter, meaning journalists would not be allowed in
- Trump has largely avoided engaging with the press since losing the presidential election to President-elect Joe Biden
- On Tuesday he shocked Washington by putting out a video message saying he might veto the giant spending and COVID-19 relief package Congress passed
- On Christmas Day, he doubled down on his demand for checks to Americans to be increased from $600 to $2,000
- Not even Republican lawmakers and administration officials have been able to predict Trump’s next move and he hasn’t talked to reporters about his stance
President Donald Trump announced Friday afternoon that he would be addressing American troops stationed abroad on Christmas, but he would not allow reporters in the room.
‘Going now to make a short speech to service members from all over the world. It is a celebration of Christmas. Video Conference,’ the president tweeted. ‘Fake News not invited!’
Shortly after Trump sent out the tweet, reporters covering the president’s Mar-a-Lago Christmas vacation were given a ‘lid,’ meaning they would not have access to the president for the rest of Christmas Day.
President Donald Trump tweeted on Christmas Day that he would be addressing American troops who are stationed abroad, but he wouldn’t allow journalists to be in the room with him
Trump tweeted that the ‘Fake News not invited!’ to a forthcoming video conference with U.S. troops. The president has largely avoided engaging with the press since losing the election to President-elect Joe Biden
Trump spent hours on Christmas Day at his West Palm Beach golf club. He will address troops from his Palm Beach resort, Mar-a-Lago where he’s spending his final holidays in office
Trump’s tweet came after he spent several hours at his West Palm Beach, Florida golf club with Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Since losing the presidential election to President-elect Joe Biden, which he continues to refuse to concede, Trump has only taken questions from reporters a handful of times .
After the election was called for Biden on November 7, it took Trump until November 26 to take questions from journalists.
On December 7, when his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, was in the hospital being treated for COVID-19, he talked to the pool of reporters in the Oval Office.
The president has also kept his public events to a minimum since Election Day, spending much of his time working with advisers, scheming to overturn the results.
Trump’s low-profile has caused chaos in Washington, because even top Republicans and administration officials can’t predict his next move.
On Tuesday, he shocked Capitol Hill when he tweeted out a brief speech he made – again, in the absence of his press pool – hinting that he would veto the giant spending bill and COVID-19 relief package that lawmakers had just passed.
He demanded that the bill include checks for $2,000 to Americans instead of the $600 amount lawmakers on both sides of the aisle had negotiated.
The president also complained that the government spending part of the bill included things like foreign aid.
Politico Playbook reported Friday morning that Trump was fed up with the amount of so-called ‘pork’ in the bill.
On Christmas Day, the president doubled down on his demand that the checks get a boost.
‘Made many calls and had meetings at Trump International in Palm Beach, Florida,’ Trump tweeted. ‘Why would politicians not want to give people $2000, rather than only $600? It wasn’t their fault, it was China. Give our people the money!’
On Thursday, House Republicans stopped their Democratic counterparts from moving through a stand-alone bill that would boost the checks’ amount.
Senate Republicans also indicated that they were not on board.
Trump can sign, veto or do nothing now that the bill has been sent to him at Mar-a-Lago.
If he does nothing, unemployment benefits for millions of Americans will expire Saturday and a government shutdown will occur Monday at midnight.
