First to ABC: Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi won’t attend Trump’s inauguration
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(WASHINGTON) — Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not attend President-elect Donald Trump‘s inauguration, according to her spokesperson.
Pelosi notably attended Trump’s inauguration in 2017, when she was the House Democratic leader.
A spokesman did not disclose a reason why the California Democrat is skipping the high-profile event.
While she broke her hip on an international trip to Luxembourg late last year, Pelosi returned to the Capitol for both the first day of the new Congress as well as the count of the electoral votes on Jan. 6.
Attending 11 inaugurations so far, Pelosi has rubbed elbows with presidents at their inauguration dating back to her high school days when John F. Kennedy was sworn into office in 1961.
Pelosi has mostly maintained cordial relationships with Republican presidents, particularly George W. Bush despite their differences over the Iraq War and Afghanistan.
But the friction and public battles with Trump, including shouting matches in the Oval Office — have created headlines — such as when she pointed a finger at him in a White House photo opportunity or when she stood over his shoulder and ripped up a copy of his State of the Union remarks in 2020.
Pelosi’s criticism only amplified after the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Pelosi also grew enraged when Trump mocked the violent hammer attack against her husband, Paul Pelosi.
In turn, Trump labeled Pelosi at his 2024 campaign rallies as “an enemy from within.”
“She’s a crooked person. She’s a bad person, evil. She’s an evil, sick, crazy,” Trump said before appearing to mouth the word “b*tch” “Oh no. It starts with a B– but I won’t say it. I want to say it. I want to say it,” Trump said about Pelosi at his final campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
ABC News’ John Parkinson and Lalee Ibssa contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Incoming first lady Melania Trump appeared on “Fox & Friends” Monday where she promoted her new documentary, indicating that production crews have started filming her day-to-day with the transition team and how it will show her return to the White House next week.
She said she will spend most of her time in Washington.
“I will be in the White House. And you know when I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach. But my first priority is, you know, to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife. And once we are in on January 20, you serve the country,” she said.
Asked what is different this time around, Melania Trump talked about being familiar with the process but appeared to take a jab at the Obama administration, claiming it withheld information in 2017.
“I know the rooms where we will be living. I know the process. The first time was challenging. We didn’t have much of the information. The information was upheld for us from the previous administration,” she said.
She continued, “But this time, I have everything. I have plans I could move in. I already packed, I already selected the, you know, the furniture that needs to go in. So, it’s very different.”‘
ABC News is reaching out to the Obama team for comment.
She also indicated that she would continue and expand her “Be Best” initiative, which focused on well-being for youth and advocated against cyberbullying.
“I will continue with Be Best, and also I will expand Be Best,” she said.
“I started the first in the first administration. I didn’t have much support from anyone. I invited all of the streaming platforms to the White House. I had the roundtable, and I didn’t have much support from them. And imagine what we could do in those years if they would rally behind me and teach the children what to do to protect them about social media and their mental health.”
Her apparent dig at streaming platforms is notable considering her documentary will air exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. Also, on the campaign trail, Barron Trump played a significant role in bringing podcasters to his father to help secure the youth vote.
Asked if her son will have a room in the White House residence, she said she thinks he’ll visit.
“I think he will come and visit. Yes, he will bring his friends,” she said.
As she has done before, she indicated that her voice would not be lost in the mix, detailing that she has previously given her husband, President-elect Donald Trump, advice.
“I gave him my advice, and sometimes he listens. Sometimes he doesn’t and that’s okay,” she said.
Asked if she’s different from eight years ago, she said she’s always been herself, but she didn’t feel accepted the first time around.
“I feel I was always me the first time as well. I just feel that people didn’t accept me. Maybe they didn’t understand me the way. Maybe they do now. And I didn’t have much support,” she said.
She continued, stressing her independence, “Maybe some people they see me as just the wife of the president, but I am standing on my own two feet. Independent. I have my own thoughts. I have my own yes and no. I don’t always agree with what my husband is saying or doing, and that’s okay.”
Melania Trump’s views became noteworthy on the campaign trail when she expressed her support for abortion rights without government interference in the eleventh hour, breaking from her husband’s position that it was up to individual states to decide.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Friday is set to award the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration, to seven U.S. Army veterans for heroism during the Korean War and Vietnam War.
The Medal of Honor is awarded to those who “distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their own lives above and beyond the call of duty,” according to the White House.
“The meritorious conduct must involve great personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her comrades and must have involved risk of life,” it said ahead of the White House ceremony taking place just under three weeks before Biden leaves office.
Five of the recipients were killed in battle. Among the two who survived and being honored is Korean War veteran Richard Cavazos, who became the first Hispanic four-star general for the Army.
Cavazos, who has since died, is receiving the Medal of Honor for heroism when fighting as a first lieutenant in the Korean War, for which he previously received the Distinguished Service Cross.
“He was a man of deep faith who loved his country, loved his family, loved his soldiers, and it was that love, that selfless love of which there’s no greater love that drove him up the hill that night in 1953 to collect the men of his company and get them to safety,” his son Tommy Cavazos told reporters ahead of the ceremony.
Richard Cavazos was ordered to withdraw his troops while fighting under intense enemy fire and brought his troops to safety, according to the Army. However, he remained on the battlefield alone and found five wounded men, evacuating them one by one. He then returned to the battlefield to search for missing soldiers, leading at least two groups of men who had been separated from the main fighting force to safety.
“He firmly believed that the Army provided the opportunity for ordinary citizens to raise their hands, take their oaths and do the extraordinary job of protecting this country,” Tommy Cavazos added.
On May 9, 2023, Fort Hood in Texas was renamed Fort Cavazos as part of a broader Biden administration effort to rename military installations named after Confederate generals.
“Gen. Cavazos was known around the Army as a battle proven warrior,” Lt. Gen. Sean Bernabe, commanding general of III Armored Corps, said at the time. “Let his name and all that it represents inspire us all every single day to live up to his legacy.”
Pfc. Charles R. Johnson, Cpl. Fred B. McGee, Pfc. Wataru Nakamura and Pvt. Bruno R. Orig will also be honored for actions in the Korean War, while Capt. Hugh R. Nelson Jr. and Pfc. Kenneth J. David will be honored for actions in the Vietnam War.
David, who also previously received the Distinguished Service Cross, is the only recipient still alive. He is being awarded for gallantry in a 1970 battle in which he helped his team of 14 soldiers push back hundreds of North Vietnamese troops.
On May 7, 1970, David exited his platoon’s defense perimeter and repeatedly drew attention toward himself after an initial enemy assault that mortally wounded his platoon leader and several other service members, according to the Army.
“Surrounded on three sides by the larger enemy force, he engaged them with his rifle and hand grenades,” the White House said in its press release. “When the enemy attempted to concentrate their fire on the wounded, Private First Class David jumped from his position and yelled to draw the fire back to himself.”
Though wounded in the attack, he continued to draw enemy fire away from his platoon so the wounded could be evacuated, denying aid for himself until all others were safe.
“It was not until the last helicopter was landing that he retreated from his position in front of the perimeter and continued laying down fire until finally being evacuated himself,” the White House added.
ABC News’ Matt Seyler and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — As President Joe Biden prepares to pass the baton to President-elect Donald Trump on Monday, it’s unclear if Biden will follow the tradition of leaving his successor a note in the Oval Office.
President Ronald Reagan started the ritual in 1989, according to the Washington Post, when he left a note for his former running mate, President George H.W. Bush.
He used light-hearted stationery that said, “Don’t let the turkeys get you down,” with a drawing of turkeys climbing on top of an elephant. Reagan wrote, “I treasure the memories we share and I wish you all the very best. You’ll be in my prayers. God bless you & Barbara. I’ll miss our Thursday lunches.”
Every president since has taken part in the tradition. But since Reagan’s letter to Bush, each handover has been from a Democrat to a Republican or vice versa.
Bush, who lost the 1992 election to Bill Clinton, said to the nation’s new leader, “Don’t let the critics discourage you or push you off course.”
“You will be our President when you read this note,” he wrote. “I wish you well. I wish your family well. Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you. Good Luck.”
“I love that letter,” Clinton told ABC News in 2018. “I thought it was vintage George Bush. I thought he meant it, but I also thought he was trying to be a citizen in the highest sense of the word. It was profoundly moving to me personally.”
Clinton followed his predecessor’s tradition in 2001, when he said in a letter to President George W. Bush, “Today you embark on the greatest venture, with the greatest honor, that can come to an American citizen.”
“Like me, you are especially fortunate to lead our country in a time of profound and largely positive change, when old questions, not just about the role of government, but about the very nature of our nation, must be answered anew,” Clinton said. “You lead a proud, decent, good people. And from this day you are President of all of us. I salute you and wish you success and much happiness.”
“The burdens you now shoulder are great but often exaggerated. The sheer joy of doing what you believe is right is inexpressible,” he wrote. “My prayers are with you and your family. Godspeed.”
In 2009, George W. Bush wrote to President Barack Obama, “Congratulations on becoming our President. You have just begun a fantastic chapter in your life.”
“Very few have had the honor of knowing the responsibility you now feel. Very few know the excitement of the moment and the challenges you will face,” he said. “There will be trying moments. The critics will rage. Your ‘friends’ will disappoint you. But, you will have an Almighty God to comfort you, a family who loves you, and a country that is pulling for you, including me. No matter what comes, you will be inspired by the character and compassion of the people you now lead. God bless you.”
When Obama handed off to Trump in 2017, he wrote to his successor, “Congratulations on a remarkable run. Millions have placed their hopes in you, and all of us, regardless of party, should hope for expanded prosperity and security during your tenure.”
“We’ve both been blessed, in different ways, with great good fortune,” Obama said, according to CNN. “Not everyone is so lucky. It’s up to us to do everything we can (to) build more ladders of success for every child and family that’s willing to work hard.”
Obama noted later in the letter, “We are just temporary occupants of this office. That makes us guardians of those democratic institutions and traditions — like rule of law, separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties — that our forebears fought and bled for. Regardless of the push and pull of daily politics, it’s up to us to leave those instruments of our democracy at least as strong as we found them.”
He concluded by saying, “Michelle and I wish you and Melania the very best as you embark on this great adventure, and know that we stand ready to help in any ways which we can.”
Trump described Obama’s letter as “long,” “beautiful” and “so well-written, so thoughtful.”
“I called him and thanked him for the thought that was put into that letter,” Trump told ABC News “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir in 2017.
Then, in 2021, despite the contentious handover from Trump to Biden when Trump refused to admit he lost the 2020 election, Trump did follow tradition and leave Biden a note.
Biden described it as a “very generous letter,” according to Politico. The letter has never been released.