Donald Trump finally appeared to acknowledge the looming end of his time in office early on Thursday morning with a boast about having had “the greatest first term in presidential history.”
People immediately took the outgoing president to task over his brazen claim. Many recalled his administration’s scandals and failures – including its catastrophic handling of the coronavirus pandemic that has now killed more than 360,000 people in the US. Others simply scoffed at the brag.
Trump released the statement, which some of his supporters speculated was worded in such a way to indicate the president would continue to challenge the result or even run in 2024, via White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino.
It was posted soon after Congress certified President-elect Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. The president was at the time banned from posting on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram after using his accounts to encourage rioters who stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday in his name.
“Are you fucking kidding me? It was a GD train wreck from the moment it pulled out of the station,” one critic responded to the president’s statement.
Added another: “Just go away.”