[ad_1]
Democratic President-elect Joe Biden and sitting Republican President Donald Trump, like thousands and thousands of Americans, had been celebrating Thanksgiving quietly at house on Thursday, because the coronavirus pandemic raged throughout the United States.
Biden was spending the vacation within the small seaside city of Rehoboth, Delaware, the place he and his spouse Jill have a trip house. The Bidens are internet hosting daughter Ashley Biden and her husband Dr. Howard Krein for the vacation meal.
The former vice chairman, showing together with his spouse Jill in a video message posted to his Twitter account on Thanksgiving, stated his household usually holds a big gathering on the island of Nantucket off Massachusetts, however would stay in Delaware this 12 months “with just a small group around our dinner table” due to the pandemic.
In the presidential-style tackle to a nation that has misplaced greater than 260,000 lives to the coronavirus, Biden stated Americans had been making a “shared sacrifice for the whole country” and a “statement of common purpose” by staying at house with their instant households.
“I know this isn’t the way many of us hoped we’d spend our holiday. We know that a small act of staying home is a gift to our fellow Americans,” stated Biden, who shall be sworn in as president on Jan. 20. “I know better days are coming.”
Republican President Trump usually likes to have fun holidays at his Mar-a-Largo resort in Florida, however on Thursday he remained within the Washington space, spending a part of the morning at his Trump National Golf Club in Virginia.
It was a far cry from final 12 months when he made a shock go to https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-afghanistan/trump-makes-surprise-afghanistan-trip-voices-hope-for-ceasefire-idUSKBN1Y225Y to Afghanistan, the place he served turkey to U.S. troops earlier than sitting all the way down to eat Thanksgiving dinner with them. The president is scheduled to talk with members of the army Thursday afternoon.
In distinction to Biden, who pleaded with Americans to have fun the vacation safely by carrying masks and socially distancing, Trump in his Thanksgiving proclamation on Wednesday urged Americans to “gather” for the vacation.
“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 president, who recovered from his personal case of COVID-19 final month, stated in a press release.
Trump has regularly ignored public well being warnings and hosted massive teams on the White House, with lots of his visitors refusing to put on masks. In addition to Trump, a number of different distinguished Americans together with first girl Melania Trump and members of Congress have examined optimistic for COVID-19 following such occasions.
On Thursday, the president tweeted “HAPPY THANKSGIVING!” in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s choice late on Wednesday to dam New York state from imposing attendance limits at spiritual companies.
BIDEN TRANSITION
While fewer Americans than regular are anticipated to journey this 12 months for Thanksgiving, thousands and thousands nonetheless defied pleas from state and native officers and well being consultants to make their strategy to household gatherings slightly than keep house, regardless of a spiraling an infection fee.
U.S. deaths from COVID-19 surpassed 2,000 in a single day on Tuesday for the primary time since May, and hospitalizations reached a file of greater than 89,000 on Wednesday.
Biden, who defeated Trump within the Nov. three election, has been pushing forward with the transition to his new administration, and has pledged to prioritize getting a grip on the virus. Earlier this week he introduced key members of his international coverage and nationwide safety group and has promised to announce extra appointments, together with his financial group, in coming days.
But he has drawn fireplace from members of his personal occasion, together with Black lawmaker James Clyburn, the U.S. House of Representatives majority whip, who expressed disappointment on Wednesday that African Americans – a constituency important to Biden’s victory – have to date not been given extra distinguished positions within the incoming administration, The Hill reported.
Despite having but to concede defeat, Trump has agreed to let Biden’s transition formally proceed, clearing the way in which, for instance, for the Democrat to obtain high-level intelligence briefings. But the president continues to make unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud, tweeting once more on Thursday that the election was “rigged”, whereas his authorized group continues to pursue efforts to overturn the outcomes, with little success.
[ad_2]
Source hyperlink