WASHINGTON- Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, head of the inaugural transition, acknowledged the difficulty of overseeing the transfer of power to President Trump at the site where his supporters sought to overturn the election results, but also said it was important to her and other Democrats. recognize Trump's victory in 2024.
“We had a job to do,” Klobuchar, chairwoman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, who worked for two years on transition planning, said in an interview Monday night. “And that's why President Obama and President Clinton came, they were very aware of what had happened in that application. But that was our job.”
Asked if it was difficult to speak at Trump's inauguration, for whom Klobuchar did not vote, he responded: “Well, everything about this can be a little difficult.”
But he added that he wanted to take the opportunity to impress upon Trump the need to support Los Angeles' recovery from the wildfires, as well as the importance of the 2028 Olympics in Southern California. “That's important,” Klobuchar said.
In introducing Monday's inauguration ceremony in the historic Capitol Rotunda, Klobuchar coyly addressed the dichotomy of the formal inauguration that took place in the same place that Trump supporters stormed when they tried to stop the certification of his defeat. 2020.
“Today, President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Vance will be sworn in and we will witness the peaceful transfer of power at the heart of our democracy,” said Klobuchar, who ran for president in 2020 before dropping out and endorsing Biden. . “Our theme this year is our enduring democracy. The presence of so many presidents and vice presidents here today is truly a testament to that resilience.”
