The winner of the US presidential election, Donald Trump, headed to Washington last night for his inauguration ceremony on a US Air Force plane provided by US President Joe Biden, as the incumbent president stressed that he would adhere to traditional norms for the transition of power, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Trump usually flies on his private plane “Trump Force One“ (Trump Force One), but Biden sent the government plane to Florida and has stressed to his staff that they must work with Trump's transition team, a stark contrast to the last transition, when Trump refused to attend the inauguration or acknowledge Biden's victory.
Trump boarded a specially configured Boeing 757-200 in blue and white with the words “United States of America“ written on it.
His daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner were seen boarding the plane yesterday afternoon.
This is the same model of plane as “Air Force Two“ (Air Force Two), which carries the vice president, first lady, cabinet members and other senior officials.
President-elects traditionally travel to Washington on a government-provided plane for their inauguration, although Biden did not do so.
In 2021, Biden planned to arrive by train, but the plan was canceled after the Secret Service raised security concerns after thousands of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The Trump administration did not provide a plane, and Biden ultimately arrived in Washington on a private jet.
The president-elect said today that "most likely" will give TikTok another 90 days to reach an agreement that would allow the popular video-sharing platform to avoid a ban by US authorities, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
Trump said in an interview with NBC that he had not yet decided what to do, but was considering giving the platform a reprieve after he was sworn in on Monday.
The law, which prohibits mobile app stores and Internet hosting services from distributing TikTok to American users, takes effect today, the AP recalls.
Under the law passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden last year, TikTok's China-based parent company had nine months to sell the platform's American branch to an approved buyer.
The law allows the incumbent president to grant an extension of the deadline if the sale is in progress.
Meanwhile, several thousand people marched through the streets of Washington in protest against the policies of Trump and the Republican Party, dariknews.bg reported.
„The People's March“ is organized by a collective of civil rights and social justice groups, including the team behind the “Women's March“, that drew hundreds of thousands of people to the U.S. capital after Trump's first inauguration in 2017.
The protesters highlighted a number of issues they said were under attack by Trump, including access to abortion, climate change, the need for better protections against gun violence and immigrant rights.
Eight years after the historic first Women's March at the start of Trump's first term, marchers said they were surprised by Trump's victory and are now determined to show that support for women's access to abortion, transgender rights, combating climate change and other issues remains strong, the AP notes.