Trump, meanwhile, has regularly attacked Biden, too, portraying him as a demented old man, regularly impersonating the incumbent president at his rallies by pretending to walk into walls or getting lost while trying to exit the stage.
Gone were the insults today, of course, along with the false claims of election fraud that were an ongoing feature of Trump’s campaign – until he won.
Indeed, last week’s victory was so resounding that Trump not only won all seven battleground states, he also claimed the popular vote and helped the Republicans take control of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
His allies, however, did not get their way today when Republicans in Congress voted for South Dakota Senator John Thune as their leader to replace Mitch McConnell, who is standing down after 17 years at the helm.
MAGA loyalists, including Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson and Robert F. Kennedy, Jnr had put their weight behind Florida Senator Rick Scott for the job, mounting a pressure campaign to thwart Thune and Texas senator John Cornyn.
But in defiance of the push, Thune won the secret ballot to become the new GOP leader, declaring immediately that “this Republican team is united behind President Trump’s agenda, and our work starts today”.
Musk, however, has become an influential feature within Trump’s orbit and was even seated in the front row when the president-elect met with the House Republican conference in Washington this morning.
Alongside conservative firebrand Vivek Ramaswamy, the SpaceX chief will also helm an outside commission called the “Department of Government Efficiency,” which will aim to “dismantle government bureaucracy” and cut regulations.
“This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!” he warned in a statement.
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