PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) – President Donald Trump spent Christmas playing golf in Florida as the government closes and the relief of COVID remains in balance.
Trump, at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach on vacation, had no events on his public schedule after questioning the future of a massive COVID relief and government funding bill. Failure to sign the bill, which arrived in Florida Thursday night, could deny relief checks to millions of Americans on the brink and force a government shutdown amid the pandemic.
The White House declined to share details of the president’s schedule, though he was expected to play golf on Friday with South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close ally.
White House spokesman Judd Deere said Trump was informed of the explosion in downtown Nashville early Friday the authorities said they seemed intentional, but the president said nothing about it in a few hours.
Trump tweeted that he planned to make “a small speech to service members around the world” by video conference Friday to celebrate the party, but stated, “Uninvited fake news!” Without giving details, the White House only said Trump would work “tirelessly” over the holidays and that he had “many meetings and calls.”
Trump’s vacation came as Washington continued to bust his surprise, the 11-hour demand that a year-end spending bill that congressional leaders spend months negotiating give most Americans 2,000 COVID control dollars, far more than the 600 members of his own party. he accepted. The idea was quickly rejected by House Republicans during a rare Christmas Eve session, which left the proposal on edge.
The bipartisan compromise had been considered a deal made and had garnered widespread approval in the House and Senate this week after the White House assured Republican leaders that Trump supported it. Refusing to sign the agreement, which is attached to a $ 1.4 trillion government funding bill, will force the federal government to stop, as well as delay aid controls and stop unemployment benefits and protections against evictions in the worst part of the pandemic.
“I made a lot of calls and had meetings at Trump International in Palm Beach, Florida. Why would politicians not want to give people $ 2,000 instead of just $ 600? “He tweeted after leaving the golf course on Friday afternoon.” It wasn’t his fault, it was China. Give money to our people! “
Trump’s decision to attack the bill has been seen, at least in part, as a political punishment for what he considers insufficient support by Republicans in Congress for his campaign to overturn the Nov. 3 election results. with unfounded allegations of electoral fraud.
“At a meeting in Florida today, everyone was wondering why Republicans don’t fight guns and fight for Democrats to steal manipulated presidential elections?” Trump tweeted Thursday.
“I’ll never forget!” he added later.
Trump has for weeks refused to accept the election results and has pushed for increasingly outrageous new schemes to try to nullify the results. He has been incited by allies such as his lawyer, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who accompanied the president to Florida aboard Air Force One.
Trump has not provided credible evidence to support his election claims, which have been refuted by a long list of officials, including judges, former Attorney General William Barr, Republican governors and local election administrators.
Meanwhile, the nation continues to roll as the coronavirus spreads, with record infections and hospitalizations and more than 327,000 deaths. And now millions spend their holidays alone or have difficulty getting their first days without adequate income, food or shelter thanks to the economic weight of the pandemic.
The Justice Department said acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen was also informed of the Nashville explosion and ordered that all departmental resources be available to help. The FBI will take the lead in the investigation, said agency spokesman Joel Siskovic.
Three people were treated at hospitals after a RV exploded in a warning recorded about an impending detonation that exploded in downtown Nashville. The blast sparked widespread communications cuts that tore down police emergency systems and established ground flights at the city’s airport.
On the occasion of the party, President and First Lady Melania Trump sent a tweet with a previously recorded video message in which they wished a Merry Christmas to the Americans and thanked the first people who responded and the military .
“As you know, this Christmas is different from years past,” said Ms. Trump, who focused on the acts of “kindness and courage” that the pandemic had inspired.
Trump congratulated the vaccine doses being administered and thanked those responsible. “It’s really a Christmas miracle,” he said.
Meanwhile, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have tried to save the year-end legislation to try to prevent a closure. Democrats will again convene House lawmakers in Washington to vote on Trump’s $ 2,000 proposal on Monday, though he would likely die in the Republican-controlled Senate. They are also considering the possibility of voting Monday on a failure measure to at least avoid a federal shutdown and keep the government running until Democrat Joe Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20.
In addition to relief checks, the approved COVID bill would establish a temporary additional benefit of $ 300 per week for unemployment, provide a new round of grants for affected businesses, restaurants and theaters, and money for schools, and provide money for health care providers. medical care. and to assist with the distribution of the COVID vaccine.