Will Donald Trump be sworn in on March 4, 2021, as the 19th president of the United States of America? No, that's not true: Joe Biden is president. He took office on January 20, 2021, and is expected to serve for four years. Biden is the nation's 46th president.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on BitChute on January 18, 2021. Titled "TRUMP WILL BE SWORN IN ON MARCH 4, 2021 AS THE 19TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA", the post included a video of a woman talking directly to the camera. Reading off her screen, the woman said:
A peaceful transition is coming. Trump will not be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on January 20th. Trump will take office as the 19th president of the United States on March 4th under the restored republic.
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TRUMP WILL BE SWORN IN ON MARCH 4, 2021 AS THE 19TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Canadians for the U.S.A. Nesara, Gesara to be introduced.
The woman in the video continued:
Let me explain: You believe you live in a nation called United States of America. This nation hasn't existed since 1871, when this country ceased to be a nation and became a corporation belonging to the City of London. Every time you see an American flag with a gold fringe and gold tilt attached to it, it represents the corporation not the country. This is the reason you can never make progress financially. This is why the law always seems to be against the average citizen, while the rich and the elite literally get away with murder and worse things.
If Biden, Harris, Pence, Pelosi etc. are arrested for their crimes before January 20th, there will be no one to assume the presidency. Since Trump has not been certified as the presidential winner by Congress, he cannot remain president. If there is no president on January 20th, the corporation known as the United States of America will be dissolved. The military will then become the guardians of the nation during the transition. People will then have irrefutable proof that the election was stolen by foreign entities and that Trump was chosen by a landslide. Trump then assumes the presidency as the 19th president of the United States.
The woman's claims have no basis in fact. We'll address them one by one, in reverse chronological order, starting with the claim that Trump will become the 19th president of the United States. That's not true.
Biden is president. He took office in a public ceremony on January 20, 2021, and is expected to serve for four years, barring any unforeseen circumstances. He is the country's 46th president. Biden assumed the presidency after defeating Trump in the 2020 election. The election was not "stolen" and Trump did not win in a "landslide," as the woman alleged in the video, providing no proof. Lead Stories has covered dozens of claims of election fraud. See a sampling of those stories here.
Next, the woman in the video laid out a series of events that did not take place. She supposed that Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former Vice President Mike Pence and others would be arrested before Biden's inauguration on January 20. As the country would then not have a president, the "corporation known as the United States of America will be dissolved," she said. Obviously, none of that happened. Biden is president. Harris is vice president; Pence has not been arrested.
The woman's arguments seem to stem, in part, from a fundamental misunderstanding of the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871. Although the video did not identify the act by name, a well-trodden conspiracy theory claims that the act established the United States as a corporation. It did not. What it did was establish a new, unified government for Washington, D.C. The act made no changes in the nation as a whole and is not the basis for a restoration of Trump's powers. You can see the full text of the act here and read a Lead Stories debunk of the theory here.
Finally, as purported evidence of the fact that the United States is a corporation, the woman pointed to gold fringe that can sometimes be seen on American flags. Such a flag, she said, does not represent the country but the corporation. Her claim is a variation on a common conspiracy theory that wrongly imputes a special signifigance to gold fringe on flags. It is merely known as an "honorable enhancement" among vexillologists. See our previous reporting on bogus gold fringe theories here.
