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- Two former American diplomats said President Donald Trump remains a “danger” if he stays in office until January 20 when President-elect Biden takes over.
- Gary Locke, ex-ambassador to China, said in an interview with CNBC that Trump “is completely off-kilter and is a danger to the country.”
- Kirk Wagar, a former ambassador to Singapore, echoed Locke’s comments, saying “every day that Donald Trump is in office is a danger to our country.”
- Their comments come as Congress leaders call for Trump be removed from office with the 25th Amendment or with impeachment.
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President Donald Trump remaining in office until January 20 is dangerous for America, two former American diplomats told CNBC on Friday.
Congress confirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election early Thursday morning hours after violent pro-Trump protesters stormed the Capitol. Biden will be the next president of United States in less than two weeks, but questions are arising about whether Trump should be removed from office via the 25th Amendment before then.
Gary Locke, US ambassador to China from 2011 to 2014, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” that Trump “is completely off-kilter and is a danger to the country.”
“He does need to go, the question is whether or not using the 25th Amendment would really work,” he said.
Locke, who was also the 21st governor of Washington and secretary of commerce, said any process to remove Trump from office would take “so much time.”
"I think it may be equally effective if the members of his administration simply ignore him and make sure that they're not carrying out any orders that he may have that would be very injurious to the national security and to the interests of America," he added.
Kirk Wagar, US ambassador to Singapore from 2013 to 2017, told CNBC: "I think what we learned yesterday - which many of us have felt for a number of months, if not years - is that every day that Donald Trump is in office is a danger to our country."
Wagar, who is chair of consultancy Wagar Global Advisors, said now that various Trump administration officials have resigned following the riots, "this is where our competitors - those countries who want to do us harm - really have a moment to strike."
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An increasing number of Congress members, including the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, and the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, are calling for Trump to be removed from office either with the 25th Amendment or with impeachment.
On Thursday, Pelosi also described the president as "a very dangerous person who should not continue in office," adding: "This is emergency of the highest magnitude."
In connection with the violence at the Capitol building Wednesday, which Trump incited, one woman was fatally shot by police, three people died due to medical emergencies, and a police officer died due to sustained injuries. This brings the total number of deaths to five.