AFP USA

US President Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons on Monday to former Covid pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci, retired general Mark Milley and close family members to shield them from “politically motivated prosecutions” under the Trump administration.In an extraordinary move in his last hours in the White House, Biden gave similar pardons to former Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney and other members of the congressional committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by Donald Trump’s supporters.Biden also commuted to home confinement the life sentence of Native American activist Leonard Peltier, 80, who has been imprisoned for nearly 50 years for the 1975 murders of two FBI agents.”I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics,” Biden said in a statement announcing the pardons of Fauci, Milley and the members and staff of the January 6 committee.”But these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing,” he said. “These public servants have served our nation with honor and distinction and do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions.”The Democrat added that the pardons “should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense.”Trump has repeatedly promised “retribution” against his political opponents and threatened some with criminal prosecution.Speaking after his inauguration, he condemned Biden’s pardons of the members of what he called the “unselect committee of political thugs,” saying they were “guilty of very bad crimes.””Why are we trying to help a guy like Milley?” he said. “Why are we helping Liz Cheney?”Cheney, the daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney and a fierce Trump critic, and Democrat Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the January 6 committee, thanked Biden for shielding them from “false prosecution.””We have been pardoned today not for breaking the law but for upholding it,” they said in a joint statement.Fauci also welcomed the pardon but stressed “I have committed no crime.”Fauci, who led the country’s fight against the Covid pandemic during Trump’s first term, has become a hated figure for many on the right, including Trump ally Elon Musk, who has called for the scientist to be prosecuted.- ‘Unrelenting attacks and threats’ -Trump was enraged after Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told journalist Bob Woodward that the Republican was “fascist to the core” and a “dangerous person.”Milley also revealed he had secretly called his Chinese counterpart after the Capitol attack to reassure Beijing that the United States remained “stable” and had no intention to attack China.Trump subsequently wrote on his Truth Social network that “in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!” for Milley.Milley thanked Biden for his executive action.”I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights,” he said.Just minutes before Trump was sworn in, Biden announced he was issuing pardons to his brother James Biden, James’s wife Sara Jones Biden, his sister Valerie Biden Owens, Valerie’s husband John Owens, and his brother Francis Biden.”My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics,” Biden said. “Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.”Trump has regularly complained of being the victim of “lawfare” under the Biden administration after being prosecuted for trying to subvert the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents.Monday’s moves were the latest in a slew of pardons and clemencies Biden has granted in his final days in office, including commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people in one day — and the controversial pardon of his son Hunter.Trump has described jailed supporters who took part in the January 6 attack on the Capitol as “political prisoners” and said he plans to pardon some of them.Former president Richard Nixon received a preemptive pardon from his successor, Gerald Ford, after resigning in disgrace in 1974 because of the Watergate scandal.

President Donald Trump on Monday cast himself as a peacemaker in his second inaugural address, but immediately vowed that the United States would be “taking back” the Panama Canal.Trump issued the threat without explaining details after weeks of refusing to rule out military action against Panama over the waterway, which the United States handed over at the end of 1999.”Above all, China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama. And we’re taking it back,” Trump said after being sworn in inside the US Capitol.Panama maintains control of the canal but Chinese companies have been steadily increasing their presence around the vital shipping link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino swiftly denied that any other nation was interfering in the canal, which he said his country operated with a principle of neutrality.”The canal is and will remain Panama’s,” Mulino said, calling for dialogue to address any issues. At his inauguration, Trump said that the United States has been “treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made.””The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States Navy,” he said.Marco Rubio, Trump’s choice for secretary of state, stopped short of threatening military action during his confirmation hearing last week but warned that China through its influence could effectively shut down the Panama Canal to the United States in a crisis.”This is a legitimate issue that needs to be confronted,” Rubio said.Trump has also not ruled out force to seize Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark where Russia has been increasingly active as ice melts due to climate change.The Panama Canal was built by the United States mostly with Afro-Caribbean labor and opened in 1914. Former US president Jimmy Carter, who died last month, negotiated its return in 1977, saying he saw a moral responsibility to respect a less powerful but fully sovereign nation.- ‘Peacemaker and unifier’ -Trump pledged an “America First” policy of prioritizing US interests above all else. He has put a focus on cracking down on undocumented immigration and said he will deploy the military to the border with Mexico.But Trump also cast himself as a peacemaker and pointed to a Gaza ceasefire deal whose implementation began Sunday.”My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be — a peacemaker and a unifier,” he said.The Gaza ceasefire, which includes an exchange of hostages and prisoners, follows the outlines of a proposal outlined in May by then-president Joe Biden, but it was pushed through after intensive last-minute diplomacy by envoys of both Biden and Trump.Trump has also promised to end the war in Ukraine by pushing for compromises — a contrast to Biden’s approach of supporting Kyiv to a potential military victory.Despite Trump’s vow to be a unifier, he immediately fired a symbolic but provocative shot above the bow to Mexico.He said in his address that the United States would start referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” — making the water body the latest in the world whose name is disputed between neighbors.”America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world,” Trump said.

President Donald Trump on Monday announced the United States would withdraw from the Paris climate accord for a second time, a defiant rejection of global efforts to combat planetary warming as catastrophic weather events intensify worldwide.The Republican leader also declared a “national energy emergency” to expand drilling in the world’s top oil and gas producer and said he would scrap vehicle emissions standards that amount to an “electric vehicle mandate.” He also vowed to curb wind farms, a frequent target of his scorn.Trump’s White House announced the decision to leave the Paris agreement in a statement shortly after he was sworn into office, but did not specify the timing.Under the agreement’s rules, exiting would take about a year after submitting formal notice to the United Nations.Even before a formal exit, critics warn the move undermines international cooperation on fossil fuel reduction and could embolden major polluters like China and India to weaken their own commitments.Argentina under libertarian maverick President Javier Milei — who attended Trump’s inauguration — has also indicated it is “re-evaluating” its participation. It comes as global average temperatures over the past two years surpassed the critical 1.5 degrees Celsius warming threshold for the first time, underscoring the urgency of climate action.  Trump also withdrew from the Paris Accord immediately on taking office the first time in 2017.However, the deal — adopted in 2015 by 195 parties — appears poised to endure. “The US withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is unfortunate, but multilateral climate action has proven resilient and is stronger than any single country’s politics and policies,” said Laurence Tubiana, a key architect of the accord.UN climate chief Simon Steill said the “door remains open” for the US, while Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he remained confident that “cities, states and businesses within the United States” along with other countries would work towards decarbonization.- More drilling, fewer EVs -Trump used his inauguration speech to preview a raft of sweeping energy-related federal orders aimed at undoing Biden’s climate legacy.”The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices, and that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will ‘Drill, baby, drill!'” Trump said.”With my actions today, we will end the Green New Deal, and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry.”Trump’s reference to the “Green New Deal” likely alludes to the Inflation Reduction Act — his predecessor Joe Biden’s signature climate law that channels billions into clean energy tax credits.Environmentalists note that Biden’s climate record is also clouded by the aggressive expansion of fossil fuel leasing under his administration. Last year, US greenhouse gas emissions fell just 0.2 percent, leaving the nation far from its climate goals even before Trump’s return to office.Trump’s domestic actions were welcomed by energy industry leaders, who view the administration’s policies as a return to the era of “American energy dominance.” “The US oil and natural gas industry stands ready to work with the new administration to deliver the commonsense energy solutions Americans voted for,” said Mike Sommers, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute. – Emissions reductions to slow -But they sparked immediate outrage from environmental advocates.”This declaration is more proof that Trump doesn’t seem to recognize the real world,” said Athan Manuel, director of the Sierra Club’s land protection program, in comments to AFP. “The US is producing more energy, more oil and gas than any country has ever produced.”Analysis by the Rhodium Group and Carbon Brief predict that Trump’s policies will significantly slow the pace of greenhouse gas emissions reductions, but experts remain optimistic that emissions will continue to trend downwards over the long term.Trump’s actions come despite overwhelming scientific consensus linking fossil fuel combustion to rising global temperatures and increasingly severe climate disasters.Last year, the US endured a barrage of catastrophic hurricanes, including Hurricane Helene, the second-deadliest storm to hit the mainland in over 50 years. More recently, wildfires intensified by climate change have devastated Los Angeles, leaving a trail of destruction.

With glacial temperatures forcing US President Donald Trump’s inauguration indoors Monday, a crowd of just several hundred supporters gathered on the National Mall where normally there would have been hundreds of thousands witnessing the ceremony unfold.Blocks away another 20,000 packed the city’s Capital One sports arena to watch the swearing-in on the facility’s enormous screens — a makeshift solution — with Trump promising to appear there in person for a “presidential parade” scheduled for later in the day.Loud applause and crowd of “USA! USA!” punctuated his address, with his most ardent supporters giving standing ovations at the arena as he announced executive actions on some of his biggest campaign promises.”I am here because I love Donald J. Trump, and he loves America,” 32-year-old Alexx Rouse from Texas told AFP.”He is the perfect man for this job. I could not be more excited to be here in this moment, because this is history.”Back on the mall, the crowd chanted the same “USA” refrain, joined by other outcries like “God bless America” from one woman and “Daddy’s home!” by another.People in small clusters watched the ceremony on their phones near the Capitol building, with the audio playing slightly off sync across the multitude of devices.”I feel on cloud 10,” said Gregg Donovan, 65, speaking from the mall moments after Trump was sworn in, adding that “the Golden Age of America has arrived.”The Hollywood native was wearing a top hat with a photo of Trump tucked in the brim, a red coat and a giant faux gold chain with more Trump photos.- ‘We’re celebrating’ -Earlier in the day, Trump supporters Lorri Williams and Ellie Hymes told AFP they were “winging it” after everything moved inside.The pair, who traveled to Washington from Michigan and Missouri respectively, were standing outside the looming Washington Monument obelisk, but were only there to take in the sights before heading indoors to watch the inauguration on television.Despite their shift in plans, the two remained undeterred in their dedication to celebrating Trump’s return to the White House.Hymes, 69, was buoyant: “We’re celebrating, all the MAGA fans, the American people, with our very favorite president, Donald Trump.”Some 220,000 tickets had been distributed for guests to watch the ceremony live from the National Mall, and even more people could have watched from further back on the grass on big screens — had bitter cold not forced the action indoors.Members of the Fairchild family visiting from Michigan were wearing red beanies and wrapped in Trump blankets as they stood before the Lincoln Monument ahead of the inauguration.”Ecstatic,” grandmother Barb told AFP when asked how they were feeling.Despite the chill, they said they were expecting a festive atmosphere and would watch the ceremony on TV.As they left, the matriarch turned back to look up at Lincoln’s marble visage, exclaiming gleefully: “Aren’t you so proud?”

The largest union of US federal government employees filed suit on Monday against President Donald Trump over his plans to create a cost-cutting “Department of Government Efficiency” headed by billionaire Elon Musk.The suit was filed in a district court in Washington by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and non-profit Public Citizen just minutes after Trump was sworn in as the 47th US president.Trump has tasked Musk, the world’s richest man, with slashing billions of dollars in federal government spending.Trump and Musk have claimed that $2 trillion could potentially be saved, but most experts believe that is not realistic without deep cuts to crucial social services or benefits.In its suit, the AFGE, which represents some 800,000 federal workers, said it wanted to ensure that DOGE complies with the requirements for federal advisory committees.”The advice and guidance that Mr Trump has charged DOGE with producing is sweeping and consequential,” the complaint said.”DOGE — the members of which currently do not represent the interests of everyday Americans — will be recommending cuts to government agencies and programs that protect health, benefits, consumer finance, and product safety,” it added.The AFGE said federal regulations authorize an administration “to establish and use commissions or task forces to obtain advice and recommendations from the private sector on a variety of topics.”But the regulations impose “various guardrails to prevent them from turning into vehicles for advancing private interests in the federal decision-making process,” it said.”Those guardrails include the requirements that advisory committee have a fair balance in viewpoints represented, that they do not meet in secret, and that their records and work product be made available for public inspection.”The AFGE urged the court to prevent DOGE from acting as an advisory committee until it complies with federal regulations.In addition to the AFGE, several other watchdog and public interest groups filed suit against Trump over DOGE on Monday.Trump tapped billionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to head DOGE alongside Musk but Ramaswamy has reportedly decided to step aside and run instead for governor of the midwestern state of Ohio.

Donald Trump said Monday that he will issue a raft of executive orders aimed at reshaping how the United States deals with citizenship and immigration.The 47th president will set to work almost immediately with a series of presidential decrees intended to drastically reduce the number of migrants entering the country.”First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border,” Trump said minutes after his inauguration.”All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.”I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country,” he said.Trump, who campaigned on a platform of clamping down on migration and whose policies are popular with people who fret over changing demographics, also intends to put an end to the centuries-old practice of granting citizenship automatically to anyone born in the United States.”We’re going to end asylum,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told reporters, and create “an immediate removal process without possibility of asylum. We are then going to end birthright citizenship.”The notion of birthright citizenship is enshrined in the US Constitution, which grants anyone born on US soil the right to an American passport.Kelly said the actions Trump takes would “clarify” the 14th Amendment — the clause that addresses birthright citizenship.”Federal government will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States,” she said.- Appointments cancelled -The first effects of Trump’s hardline stance on immigration became apparent minutes after Trump’s inauguration when an app unveiled under president Joe Biden to help process migrants went offline.”Effective January 20, 2025, the functionalities of CBP One that previously allowed undocumented aliens to submit advance information and schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry is no longer available, and existing appointments have been cancelled,” said a notice on the landing page.US media reported 30,000 people had appointments scheduled.Kelly said the administration would also reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy that prevailed under the last Trump administration.Under that rule, people who apply to enter the United States at the Mexican border were not allowed to enter the country until their application had been decided.- Court challenges -Kelly said Trump would seek to use the death penalty against non-citizens who commit capital crimes, such as murder.”This is about national security. This is about public safety, and this is about the victims of some of the most violent, abusive criminals we’ve seen enter our country in our lifetime, and it ends today,” she said.Many of Trump’s executive actions taken during his first term were rescinded under Biden, including one using so-called Title 42, which was implemented during the Covid pandemic preventing almost all entry to the country on public health grounds.The changes under Biden led to an influx of people crossing into the United States and images of thousands of people packing the border area.Trump frequently invoked dark imagery about how illegal migration was “poisoning the blood” of the nation, words that were seized upon by opponents as reminiscent of Nazi Germany.- Court challenges -While US presidents enjoy a range of powers, they are not unlimited. Analysts say any effort to alter birthright citizenship will be fraught.Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, said the 14th Amendment was “crystal clear” in granting citizenship to anyone born in the United States with the exception of children of foreign diplomats. “We have had birthright citizenship for centuries, and a president cannot take it away with an executive order,” he told AFP. “We expect rapid court challenges.”Reichlin-Malik said all sides of the immigration debate recognized that the laws needed reform, but presidential orders were unlikely to achieve lasting change.Cris Ramon, immigration senior policy advisor at civil rights group UnidosUS, said the administration was “using a ‘throw spaghetti at the wall’ approach.””We don’t care whether this is legal or not,” he said of the apparent attitude. “We’re just simply going to do it and see if it survives the courts.”

US President Donald Trump will issue a series of executive orders targeting diversity programs and gender identity policies Monday, using his inauguration speech to signal a definitive break with what he decries as “woke” culture.On the campaign trail Trump railed against diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the federal government and corporate world, saying they discriminated against white people — men in particular.He also demonized any recognition of gender diversity, attacking transgender people — notably transgender women in sports — and gender-affirming care for children.In his inauguration speech at the US Capitol, Trump said “as of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.”An incoming White House official told reporters ahead of the presidential inauguration Trump will order the US government to end federal diversity programs.”I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life,” Trump said in his inauguration speech, calling the new moves a “revolution of common sense.”The policies will almost certainly face legal challenges.In practical terms going forward, official documents would be forced to “reflect sex accurately,” the official said, without stating whether that meant gender assigned at birth.”No longer will the federal government be promoting gender ideology,” the official said.The government would also only recognize two genders — male and female — ending official policies that recognized a third gender, denoted by an “X” on US passports for example.- ‘Incontrovertible reality’ -The official did not specify any clear policies on gender transitions — but did suggest that genders assigned at birth could not be changed.”These are sexes that are not changeable, and they are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality,” they said.The government would also immediately move to curtail programs that sought to redress historical inequality but that Trump has insisted disadvantage white people, particularly men.”The Department of Treasury — this is a little while ago now — included diversity training that said all white people, regardless of how woke they are, contribute to racism. So this type of funding, we’re going to end at these (diversity) programs. We’re going to end that,” the official said.They added that the incoming administration would move to “terminate all discriminatory programs” while also seeking out civil service roles linked to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion that had been renamed by the Biden administration in an effort to protect them from Trump’s axe.”This includes environmental justice programs, equity related grants, equity action plans, equity initiatives, these types of things,” the Trump official said.- Transgender fear -Ahead of the election, Trump planned to “ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that the only genders recognized by the US government are male and female, and they are assigned at birth,” his political program stated.He had also promised to ban gender-affirming care for minors and to take legal action against any doctors and educators who carry out or enable the practice.Many in the queer community were alarmed by the election of Trump following a campaign in which the Republican put attacks on trans people and their rights front and center.The LGBT National Help Center has been receiving about 2,000 calls per day since the election results, instead of the usual 300, according to its director Aaron Almanza.Anti-trans rhetoric was a mainstay of Trump’s campaign rallies, drawing huge cheers from crowds fired up by the Republican’s false claims that children were being forced to undergo gender reassignment, among other lies.

Donald Trump arrived at the Capitol to be sworn in for a historic second term as president Monday, promising a blitz of immediate orders on immigration and the US culture wars as he caps his extraordinary comeback.Trump and outgoing President Joe Biden traveled by motorcade together to the Capitol, where the ceremony was being held indoors — and with a much smaller crowd — for the first time in decades due to frigid weather.Earlier, they and their spouses met for a traditional tea at the White House.”Welcome home,” Biden said to Trump as he and First Lady Jill Biden greeted their successors at the front door to the presidential residence.Republican Trump, 78, was a political outsider at his first inauguration in 2017, but as he takes the oath as the 47th US president he is surrounded by America’s wealthy and powerful.The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos and Google CEO Sundar Pichai all had prime seats in the Capitol alongside Trump’s cabinet members.Musk, who bankrolled Trump’s election campaign to the tune of a quarter of a billion dollars and promotes far-right policies on the X social network, will lead a cost-cutting drive in the new administration.While Trump refused to attend Biden’s 2021 inauguration after falsely claiming electoral fraud by the Democrat, this time Biden has been keen to restore a sense of tradition.Biden was joining former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton at the Capitol. Former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush were there but ex-first lady Michelle Obama stayed away.- ‘American decline’ -Unusually for an inauguration where foreign leaders are normally not invited, Argentina’s hard-right president Javier Milei was attending, along with Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.The frigid weather has forced Trump’s inauguration indoors for the first time since Ronald Reagan’s in 1985, missing out on the customary massive crowds along the National Mall.Behind the pomp and ceremony, the billionaire is kickstarting his nationalist, right-wing agenda with a barrage of around 100 executive orders undoing Biden’s legacy.Trump will declare a national emergency at the Mexico border, give the US military a key role on the frontier, and end birthright citizenship, as he seeks clamp down on undocumented migrants, an official from his incoming administration said.Trump has pledged to start immediate deportations of undocumented migrants.He will also sign an order for the US government to recognize only two biological sexes and seek to eliminate federal government diversity programs as he takes office.The announcement of the hardline policies came a day after Trump had promised a “brand new day” and to end “four years of American decline.””I will act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing our country,” Trump told an inauguration eve rally where he danced with the Village People band.- ‘Ecstatic’ -Despite promising a new “golden era,” populist Trump also campaigned on often apocalyptic depictions of the country in his victorious election campaign against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in November.At sunrise on Monday, the National Mall, where the inauguration was originally due to be held, was largely empty — save for the Fairchild family, who traveled from Michigan to pay tribute to Trump.”Ecstatic,” said grandmother Barb, when asked how they were feeling, adding she thought the move indoors was made “to protect our president.”In his final hours in office, Biden issued extraordinary pre-emptive pardons for former Covid-19 advisor Anthony Fauci and retired general Mark Milley to shield them from “politically motivated prosecutions” by Tump.Biden gave similar pardons to members, staff and witnesses of a US House committee probing the violent January 6, 2021 US Capitol attack by Trump’s supporters.Biden said he had also restored the tradition of leaving a letter for his successor — though he said the contents were between him and Trump.Trump will make history by replacing Biden as the oldest president to be sworn in. He is also just the second president in US history to return to power after being voted out, after Grover Cleveland in 1893.For the rest of the world, Trump’s return means expecting the unexpected.From promising sweeping tariffs, to making territorial threats to Greenland and Panama and calling US aid for Ukraine into question, Trump looks set to rattle the global order once again.Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Trump ahead of the inauguration and said Monday he was open to talks on the Ukraine conflict, adding he hoped any settlement would ensure “lasting peace”.

With glacial temperatures forcing US President-elect Donald Trump’s swearing in indoors, the National Mall, normally jam-packed for inaugurations with hundreds of thousands of revelers, was eerily dead on Monday.We’re “winging it,” Trump supporters Lorri Williams and Ellie Hymes told AFP from the mall.The pair, who traveled to Washington from Michigan and Missouri respectively, were standing in front of the looming Washington Monument obelisk, but were only there to take in the sights, before heading indoors to watch the inauguration on television.Law enforcement prepared security checkpoints to let people onto the grassy lawn, but no one waited to get in. Only the occasional jogger broke the emptiness.Despite their shift in plans, the pair remained undeterred in their dedication to celebrating Trump’s return to the White House.Hymes, 69, was buoyant: “We’re celebrating, all the MAGA fans, the American people, with our very favorite president, Donald Trump.”Some 220,000 tickets had been distributed to watch the ceremony live from the Mall, with even more people able to watch from further back on the grassy lawn on big screens.Now, the closest thing to a traditional crowd will be a live viewing party at the nearby Capital One Arena, where Trump has promised to make an appearance. The sporting facility has a capacity of only 20,000.Seats in the arena were filling up quickly, as spectators scanned an enormous screen in the middle of the room to catch a glimpse of Trump as he prepared for his swearing-in, applauding and chanting “USA, USA” whenever he appeared.”I am here because I love Donald J. Trump, and he loves America,” 32-year-old Alexx Rouse from Texas told AFP.”He is the perfect man for this job. I could not be more excited to be here in this moment, because this is history.”Back on the Mall, members of the Fairchild family visiting from Michigan were wearing red beanies and wrapped in Trump blankets as they stood before the Lincoln Monument.”Ecstatic,” grandmother Barb told AFP when asked how they were feeling.Despite the bitter cold, they said they were still expecting a festive atmosphere and would watch it on TV later.As they left, she turned back to look up at Lincoln’s marble visage, exclaiming gleefully: “Aren’t you so proud?”

US President Joe Biden issued pre-emptive pardons on Monday to former Covid advisor Anthony Fauci and retired general Mark Milley to shield them from potential “politically motivated prosecutions” under the Trump administration.In an extraordinary move in his last hours in the White House, Biden gave similar pardons to members, staff and witnesses of the US House committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Donald Trump’s supporters.”I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics,” Biden said in a statement. “But these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing.”These public servants have served our nation with honor and distinction and do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions.”Trump, who will be sworn in as the 47th US president on Monday, has repeatedly promised “retribution” against his political opponents and threatened some with criminal prosecution.Fauci, who led the country’s fight against the Covid pandemic during Trump’s first term, has become a hate figure for many on the right, including Trump ally Elon Musk, who has called for the scientist to be prosecuted.Trump was enraged after Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told journalist Bob Woodward that the Republican was “fascist to the core” and a “dangerous person.”Milley also revealed that he had secretly called his Chinese counterpart after the Capitol attack to reassure Beijing that the United States remained “stable” and had no intention to attack China.Trump subsequently wrote on his Truth Social network that “in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!” for Milley.Milley thanked Biden for his executive action.”I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights,” he said in a statement.- ‘Committed no crime’ -Fauci also thanked Biden for the pardon, according to US media reports, but stressed “I have committed no crime.”Responding to the report, Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. urged Fauci to turn the pardon down “if he did nothing wrong.”The members of the January 6 committee include former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, the daughter of former vice-president Dick Cheney and a fierce Trump critic.Adam Schiff, a Democrat who was a member of the committee and is now a US senator from California, responded to reports of the pre-emptive pardons being considered in December by saying he would be against such a move.”I don’t think the idea of a blanket pardon of some kind is a good idea,” Schiff said at the time.In his statement, Biden said “baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families.”The Democrat added that the pardons “should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense.”Trump has regularly complained of being the victim of “lawfare” under the Biden administration after being criminally prosecuted for offenses, including trying to subvert the 2020 election.Monday’s moves were the latest in a slew of pardons and clemencies Biden has granted in his final days in office, including commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people in one day — and the controversial pardon of his son Hunter.Trump has described jailed supporters who took part in the January 6 attack on the Capitol as “patriots” and “political prisoners” and said he plans to issue pardons for some of them.Former president Richard Nixon received a pre-emptive pardon from his successor, Gerald Ford, after resigning in disgrace in 1974 because of the Watergate scandal.