He's a thousand miles away, but President Trump can't escape the election results.
Every year, Trump celebrates New Year's Eve at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, walking the red carpet surrounded by club members. But Trump has spent his holiday trip to Palm Beach "single-mindedly focused on the election results and the upcoming certification process in Congress," leading him to return to the White House before the ball drops this year, CNN reports.
Throughout his Mar-a-Lago visit, Trump has "has been in an irritated mood" and "fumed about everything from the election outcome to first lady Melania Trump's renovations to his private quarters," multiple people who spoke with him tell CNN. Trump has also reportedly grown concerned that Iran could retaliate for his decision to kill its top general Qassem Soleimani; Trump ordered the Jan. 3 strike on Soleimani from Mar-a-Lago. That's potentially another reason Trump wants to get back to Washington, one person told CNN.
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Overall, Trump has largely been fixated on Jan. 6, when Congress, led by Vice President Mike Pence, will meet to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's win, sources tell CNN. Pence has reportedly made it clear to Trump that there's nothing he can do to overturn the results, but Trump still spent his Florida trip pushing senators to oppose the certification. Even so, there is a sign Trump has realized he's not going to be in the White House much longer: He's reportedly "polling" allies to determine whether he'll go to Biden's inauguration, CNN reports.
The official White House schedule for Thursday confirmed Trump and the first lady would depart Florida for the White House at 11 a.m. Read more at CNN.
