US President Donald Trump has made his first public appearance since the election, participating in a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington military cemetery near Washington.
As heavy rain fell, he saluted the tomb before walking forward and touching a large wreath. He was accompanied by his wife Melania and Vice-President Mike Pence and his wife.
Trump has spent the last several days holed up at the White House tweeting angry, unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud after his election loss. He hasn’t made public comments since President-elect Joe Biden surpassed the 270 electoral votes on Saturday needed to win the presidency.
While Trump made no remarks at the cemetery, in Twitter posts on Wednesday he kept up his narrative of voter fraud, referring to “a mountain of corruption & dishonesty” while also assailing pollsters.
“We win!” Trump wrote.
Biden, meanwhile, commemorated Veterans Day with his wife, Jill, in Philadelphia.
In a tweet he addressed veterans, saying: “To our proud veterans – I will be a commander in chief who respects your sacrifice, understands your service, and will never betray the values you fought so bravely to defend.”
Elsewhere, British officials and royals attended a memorial service at London’s Westminster Abbey, paying tribute to those who have died in conflict.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and leader of the opposition Keir Starmer attended the ceremony.
It has been one hundred years since the body of an unknown British soldier was brought back from northern France in 1920 and laid to rest in the abbey.
He is seen as a symbol of all those who lost their lives yet went “unnamed and unclaimed.”
Prince Charles laid a wreath on the grave of the Unknown Warrior.
Armistice Day commemorates the November 11, 1918 armistice ending World War I and pays homage to all those who have died for their nations.
Rita Osakwe/Agency Reports