Trump looking mad

U.S. President Donald Trump grimaces during a meeting with NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg at Winfield House in London, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

It took more than two months and a violent siege of the U.S. Capitol, but President Trump has finally conceded the 2020 election to President-elect Joe Biden.

A day after a pro-Trump mob ransacked the House and Senate after overrunning police officers, Trump made his first public declaration that he would leave office on Jan. 20.

“Congress has certified the results. A new administration will be inaugurated on Jan. 20,” Trump said in a recorded video released on Twitter. “My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly, and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation. “

The remarks are by far Trump’s most explicit promise to leave the White House peacefully in two weeks’ time, and come a day after Trump incited a mob of his supporters to protest Congress’ certification of Biden’s win at the Capitol, then stood back and watched for hours after they smashed through barricades and marauded through the building.

Trump issued a statement through an adviser early Thursday morning that promised an “orderly transition” on Jan. 20. But this is the first time he himself has publicly, on camera, said he would leave office in a way that might be believed by his supporters.

Trump’s concession comes after he spent most of a year claiming the election would be rigged against him, refusing to commit to a peaceful transition of power if he lost. Once he did lose, Trump spent two months lying that it had been stolen from him. He and his allies lost more than 60 court cases seeking to prove that and overturn results of the election. On Wednesday, he urged his GOP allies in Congress to block the certification of the states’ electors, the final procedural step to confirm the election results, and then incited a mob of supporters to storm the Capitol.

This is a marked change of tone. But Trump has sometimes managed to sound “presidential” when reading off a script, only to return to his normal bad behavior soon after. It remains to be seen whether he’ll stick to the promise he made in this video or revert to his dangerous lies that the election was stolen, renewing calls for his supporters to rise up to prevent that.

And it’s unclear what, if anything, Trump’s staff may have left out of this brief statement. An abrupt cut in the middle of the video leaves open the possibility that Trump may have said something else that his staff decided not to include.

The recorded comments also marked the first time Trump had condemned the violent rioters who stormed Congress in his name. He called it a “heinous attack” and said he was “outraged by the violence lawlessness and mayhem,” a day after telling rioters “We love you, you’re very special” in a video message that got him suspended from Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. He then lied that he’d immediately called in the National Guard to help. Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said yesterday that he sent in the troops after talking to Pence, and it’s been reported that Trump resisted pleas from staff to send reinforcements to help the swamped police.

The tweeted video was the first time Trump was allowed to use social media in more than a day after the major platforms blocked him for inciting violence.

Trump’s term ends in 13 days. There have been loud calls from Democrats for his immediate removal from office before he can do any more damage to America or risk any more violence. Republicans have so far resisted, and these comments will likely throw cold water on already-unlikely efforts to get Trump out immediately.

But it appears, at least for now, that Trump will willingly and peacefully leave the White House when his term ends on Jan. 20.