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In this daily series, Newsweek explores the steps that led to the January 6 Capitol Riot.

The Trump campaign formally requested a recount in the state of Georgia on Saturday, November 21. The day before, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger had certified President-elect Joe Biden's win and then Georgia Governor Brian Kemp duly certified the appointment of a slate of electors, but President-elect Joe Biden's margin of victory was within 0.5 percent, which meant that the campaign had the right to ask for a formal recount.

At this point, the chances of flipping anyone's electoral votes had dwindled to zero. Trump's people focused on signature matching for mail-in ballots, but ironically the recount involved only rescanning all of the paper ballots, not addressing the issue of signatures.

But Donald Trump's strategy had shifted to consolidating his supporters around a general sense of distrust: a belief that there had been cheating and fraud. No one in the White House really believed that there was any way to overturn the election.

During the day, the president addressed his fellow heads of state at a G-20 virtual meeting, reportedly telling them he was looking forward to working with them "for a long time," which all interpreted as a statement that he was not ready to concede the election. Trump then boasted about the U.S. military, economy, and COVID-19 vaccine development.

Trump tweeted in the third person: "President Trump has done many great things (biggest tax & regulation cuts in history, Space Force, rebuilding our military, fixing the V.A., the Wall), but perhaps the most important of all will be what he is doing now, exposing the massive corruption in our Electoral Process."

Then he went to play golf at one of his own courses in Virginia.

COVID continued to wreak havoc in the White House. Andrew Giuliani, Rudy Giuliani's son and a White House aide, tested positive for COVID. So did Donald Trump Jr. "He's been completely asymptomatic so far and is following all medically recommended COVID-19 guidelines," a White House statement said.

An organization called Women for America First filed a permit application for a rally to be held at the Lincoln Memorial on December 12, again to protest the results of the 2020 election. (The group's original application for a rally in Freedom Plaza was denied because of inauguration preparations.)

"Women for America First is a pro-Trump, female led group," said the Secret Service in a "Protective Intelligence Brief" issued on January 4, 2021. "The group was the center of organization for both the November and December protests. The group plans to host a 'March for Trump' bus tour from California to Washington, DC, arriving on the January 6, 2021."

Its Facebook group called "STOP THE STEAL" had already been shut down, after gaining hundreds of thousands of members in just days. Before its deletion, the group hosted an events section, which publicized rallies organized by multiple groups occurring across the country. Amy and Kylie Jane Kremer, heads of Women for America First, then took a Facebook group called "Boot Pelosi" and rebranded it as a "March for Trump" group. It promoted the November 14 protests and issued a list of recommended influencers, an amalgam of conspiracy theorists, COVID deniers, white nationalists and anti-Islam activists.

Kelly O'Brien, who would later be arrested for her role on January 6, decried in a Facebook group the silencing of pro-Trump groups: "We will not be controlled. It is illegal. We have a duty to Our Country and Our Constitution. TO NOT COMPLY! I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees. PATRIOTS UNTIED [sic]."

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Donald Trump Tweeted about 'Massive Corruption,' Demanded Recount, Went Golfing - Newsweek

NEW YORK (AP) Former President Donald Trump is endorsing Rep. Paul Gosar, one day after the Arizona Republican was censured by the House of Representatives for posting a violent cartoon video that depicted a character with his face killing one with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs.

Trump, in a statement, hailed Gosar as a loyal supporter of our America First agenda and highly respected in Arizona, and said he has my Complete and Total Endorsement! The statement made no mention of the Houses rare rebuke just the fourth in nearly 40 years which also stripped Gosar of his two committee assignments, on the Natural Resources and the Oversight and Reform panels.

Gosar has said the video, which was produced by his taxpayer-funded office, had been mischaracterized and was not intended to be a threat. In addition to Ocasio-Cortez, the the video also depicted Gosars character attacking President Joe Biden with swords.

Gosar is no stranger to controversy. Hes made appearances at fringe right-wing events, including a gathering in Florida last February hosted by a man who has promoted white supremacist beliefs, and earlier this year looked to form an America First Caucus with other hard-line Republican House members that aimed to promote Anglo-Saxon political traditions.

Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, meanwhile, has called the censure an abuse of power by Democrats and signaled payback should Republicans retake the House majority next year.

Read more:
Donald Trump Endorses Rep. Paul Gosar One Day After House ...

Donald Trump previously teased that he was writing the book of all books.

But the ex-presidents first book project after being voted out of office last November is actually going to be a much more image-led affair.

Trump this week announced a hardcover coffee-table book chronicling his time in the White House. Winning Team Publishing, a new company created by his son Donald Trump Jr., is releasing the volume.

The twice impeached president reportedly handpicked and captioned every picture in Our Journey Together, according to the 45books.com website.

Some captions are even in his own handwriting, per the blurb.

The book claims to capture the greatness of the last four years unlike anything else that has been published, says the publicity.

Relive the unforgettable moments of President Trumps time in the White House: building the southern border wall; cutting Americas taxes; confirming almost 300 federal judges and 3 Supreme Court justices; rebuilding our military; creating Space Force; dealing with Kim Jong-Un, President Xi, President Putin, and many other world leaders; and battling liberals on two impeachment witch hunts! it brags.

Signed copies are available to preorder for $229.99. Unsigned copies are priced at $74.99. It is slated to ship in December.

With Trump still banned from Twitter following his incitement of the deadly U.S. Capitol riot, it fell to his acolytes and son to promote the book on social media.

Heres how it went down:

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

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News Of Donald Trump's MAGA Picture Book Gets Shredded On Twitter - Yahoo News

Former President Donald Trump has said that "most people" are happy with the verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse after a jury found him not guilty on all charges on Friday.

Trump spoke to Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Friday night and criticized the case against the 18-year-old Rittenhouse, saying he believed it had been "prosecutorial misconduct."

Rittenhouse had been faced with a number of charges. Those charges included first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide. He was acquitted on all counts.

"I think that it was a great decision," Trump told Ingraham.

"I was surprised it had to go this far. Somebody should have ended it earlier. And frankly, the case should have never been brought.

"It was prosecutorial misconduct in my opinion, and there's plenty of it going on in this country right now. It was disgraceful," he said.

Trump went on: "If you're talking about innocence based on self-defense, this was the poster boy.

"I think he would have been dead if he waited a quarter of a second when that gun was pointed at his head," Trump said, referring to Gaige Grosskreutz, who had pointed a gun at Rittenhouse and survived being shot by the teenager.

"That guy was gonna pull that trigger. And literally, you're talking less than a second he would have been dead," the former president said. "There would not have been a trial because they would not have tried the person who pulled the trigger."

"I was very happy to see it. A lot of people were happy to see it - most people," Trump added.

Trump went on to criticize the prosecution, saying he was surprised a case had been brought against Rittenhouse.

"The prosecutors, what they did in order to try to win, instead of looking for justice they were just looking for a win. It was probably a political case to a large extent. I've seen more political cases, but this was a political case also," Trump said.

"They did a very bad job and I think they gave another big bad mark for prosecutors," he said, arguing again that Rittenhouse should not have been prosecuted.

"This is a young man who should not have been prosecuted, based on every ounce of evidence that you look at," the former president said.

Trump called Rittenhouse "brave" for taking the stand and said he was "proud" of the jury, whom he said were "under pressure to do the wrong thing."

The former president also offered praise for the presiding judge, Bruce Schroeder, whose actions and comments made him a subject of criticism and controversy.

"I love the way the judge started - but they started getting him from the standpoint they were trying to intimidate the judge, both outside and inside the courthouse. He held up. He was having a hard time for a while," Trump said.

"I thought the judge could have ended the case earlier," he added.

Toward the end of his interview, Trump said: "A lot of people would have been very angry in this country if that young man was in any way convicted."

See the article here:
Donald Trump Says 'Most People' Are Happy With Kyle Rittenhouse Verdict - Newsweek

Another ally of Donald Trump has joined the chorus urging the former president to move on from his defeat in the 2020 election.

Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch is the latest public figure to highlight Trump's fixation with the election and suggest the time has come for American conservatives to look to the future.

Prominent Republicans have also spoken out, including former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

On Wednesday, Murdoch issued a rare public rebuke of Trump during an annual meeting of NewsCorp shareholders. The 90-year-old media mogul is chairman of the Fox Corporation, Fox News' parent company.

"The current American political debate is profound, whether about education or welfare or economic opportunity," Murdoch said.

"It is crucial that conservatives play an active, forceful role in that debate, but that will not happen if President Trump stays focused on the past. The past is the past, and the country is now in a contest to define the future."

Earlier in November, Christie told the Republican Jewish Coalition conference that the Republican Party needed to move on. The former governor has also said the 2020 election was not tainted by fraud and Trump should acknowledge the fact.

"We can no longer talk about the past and the past elections. No matter where you stand on that issue, no matter where you stand, it is over," Christie said.

"Every minute that we spend talking about 2020while we're wasting time doing thatJoe Biden, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are laying ruin to this country," he added. "We better focus on that and take our eyes off the rearview mirror and start looking through the windshield again."

Christie's remarks provoked an angry response from Trump, who issued a statement saying the former governor "was just absolutely massacred by his statements that Republicans have to move on from the past, meaning the 2020 Election Fraud."

Christie was a key early supporter of Trump and a close adviser, but may be considering his own run for the White House in 2024.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was Senate majority leader while Trump was in office and played a key role in the administration's agenda. However, he has repeatedly suggested that his party needs to look to the future. He expressed the sentiment again on November 8 while discussing next year's midterm elections.

"I think the key to '22 is to have a discussion with the American people about the new administration, the Democratic Congress and what they're doing. I think the election will be about the future and not the past," McConnell said.

Trump has furiously criticized McConnell and called for him to be replaced as Republican leader in the Senate. The senator has also dismissed claims of voter fraud and did not support an effort to object to Electoral College votes on January 6.

Former Rep. Paul Ryan, who was Speaker of the House from 2015 to 2019, suggested in May that the GOP needed to move away from Trump himself. Although apparently never close with the former president, Ryan was a key figure during Trump's first two years in office.

"Once again, we conservatives find ourselves at a crossroads," Ryan said at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. "And here's one reality we have to face. If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we're not going anywhere."

Ryan is also a member of the Fox Corporation's board of directors.

Other Trump allies are continuing to support the former president's unfounded claims of fraud, however.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell told Trump in an interview that aired this week that "anyone who moves on" from the last election would be "saying that you're OK" with the outcome.

Attorney Cleta Mitchell, who has pushed fraud claims and was a participant on Trump's January 2 call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, was recently appointed to the Election Assistance Commissiona bipartisan body with very limited authority.

Read more from the original source:
Donald Trump Struggles to Get Over Election Loss as Allies Speak Out - Newsweek