U.S. President-Elect Donald J. Trump has issued a Thanksgiving message to the nation directly via YouTube. In the short clip, Trump urges all American citizens to unite and work together to heal and improve the country.
It appears as the next president will be using the internet in an unprecedented fashion, releasing at least some speeches and statements via the internet directly to the American people rather than at the usual press conference or through broadcast television.
Trump made his disdain for the media one of the central points of his campaign, and it looks as if he is intent on bypassing reporters and transforming the traditional methods of reaching U.S. citizens by utilizing his YouTube channel, for now dubbed "Transition 2017."
Trump's speech is all about healing and coming together from both sides of the aisle, and while in some respects he may not be practicing what he's preaching — for example his recent rant on Twitter against the cast of the Broadway show Hamilton for directly calling out Vice President-Elect Mike Pence while he sat in the audience — Trump, in other respects, appears to be putting his money where his mouth is.
Trump recently pledged not to pursue charges against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton by appointing a special prosecutor when he takes office, despite his promise to do so during the election campaign. He has also embraced former rivals from within his party for appointments, such as Mitt Romney, who is considered a serious candidate for secretary of state, as well as Democrats such as New York's Chuck Schumer, whom he made it a point to recently praise.
You can view Trump's full Thanksgiving Day message to the nation as well as read the full transcript of his statement below:
We are very blessed to call this nation our home. And that is what America is: it is our home. It's where we raise our families, care for our loved ones, look out for our neighbors, and live out our dreams.
It is my prayer, that on this Thanksgiving, we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country, strengthened by a shared purpose and very, very common resolve.
In declaring this national holiday, President Lincoln called upon Americans to speak with "one voice and one heart." That's just what we have to do.
We have just finished a long and bruising political campaign. Emotions are raw and tensions just don't heal overnight. It doesn't go quickly, unfortunately, but we have before us the chance now to make history together to bring real change to Washington, real safety to our cities, and real prosperity to our communities, including our inner cities. So important to me, and so important to our country. But to succeed, we must enlist the effort of our entire nation.
This historic political campaign is now over. Now begins a great national campaign to rebuild our country and to restore the full promise of America for all of our people.
I am asking you to join me in this effort. It is time to restore the bonds of trust between citizens. Because when America is unified, there is nothing beyond our reach, and I mean absolutely nothing.
Let us give thanks for all that we have, and let us boldly face the exciting new frontiers that lie ahead.
Thank you. God Bless You and God Bless America.
