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New York /AFP
President-elect Donald Trump was expected to huddle with advisers at his Manhattan residence on Sunday, plotting next moves after thousands of protesters besieged Trump Tower and marched in other US cities for a fourth day.
The demonstrations have become daily affairs following Trump’s upset defeat of rival Hillary Clinton, who blamed FBI director James Comey for her loss during a conference call to campaign donors.
Comey, who in late October re-opened a probe into her emails, had “stopped our momentum,” she told supporters, according to US media.
The move, she said, cleared the way for a victory for Trump, who appears to be making some headway in forming a new administration.
Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told reporters his appointment of a White House chief of staff was “imminent” and that Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus was among the candidates for the key post.
Trump has sought to strike a conciliatory tone since his election sent a shockwave around the world, announcing on Friday he no longer intended to completely scrap Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, Obamacare.
“This will prove to be a great time in the lives of ALL Americans. We will unite and we will win, win, win!” he tweeted on Saturday.
The news came as a crowd of more than 10,000 people marched toward Trump Tower in Manhattan amid cries of “Trump is NOT my president.”
In Los Angeles, as many as 10,000 people turned out for a march in the city’s downtown after a night of protests that ended in several hundred arrests. And thousands more marched peacefully in Chicago, walking past Trump’s skyscraper which is emblazoned with his name in giant letters.
New York’s Trump Tower has been the epicenter of furious activity as the Trump team fleshes out his cabinet picks and works to fill hundreds of other top government jobs.
“He’s receiving many visitors,” Conway said. “These are exciting times.”
Among those seen entering the tower Saturday were Nigel Farage, whose UK Independence Party backed the Brexit vote that stunned Britons just as Trump’s victory did many Americans. Conway said his meeting with Trump was “very productive.” “They absolutely had an opportunity to talk about freedom and winning and what this all means for the world,” she said.
Also entering the building was the provocative documentary filmmaker Michael Moore—whose impromptu effort to meet with Trump was blocked by Secret Service agents.
Marion Marechal-Le Pen, a rising star in France’s far-right National Front and niece to its leader, Marine Le Pen, said on Saturday she had contacted the Trump team about working with them.