Donald Trump Calls For National Healing In Thanksgiving Message

His Cabinet beginning to take shape, President-elect Donald Trump is offering a Thanksgiving prayer for unity after “a long and bruising” campaign season.

“Emotions are raw and tensions just don’t heal overnight,” the incoming president said in a video message released on the eve of the national holiday. He continued, “It’s my prayer that on this Thanksgiving we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country strengthened by shared purpose and very, very common resolve.”

Mr. Trump, who was gathered with family on Thursday at his Palm Beach estate, was expected to pause for a day after a two-week scramble to shape his nascent administration from scratch.

But early Thursday, Mr. Trump sent out another Twitter message announcing that he was “working very hard” even over the Thanksgiving holiday. 

He said he was “MAKING PROGRESS” on trying to get Carrier, an air conditioning company, to stay in the United States:

He injected the first signs of diversity into his Cabinet-to-be the day before, tapping South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and charter school advocate Betsy DeVos to lead the Department of Education. They are the first women selected for top-level administration posts. Haley is the daughter of Indian immigrants, so she also would be his first minority selection after a string of announcements of white men.

The South Carolina governor has little foreign policy experience, yet Mr. Trump praised her as “a proven dealmaker.” DeVos, like Mr. Trump, is new to government but has spent decades working to change America’s system of public education.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson on Wednesday said “an announcement is forthcoming” on his role, which would make him the first black choice - possibly as secretary of Housing and Urban Development - but he also suggested he’d be thinking about it over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Wednesday’s picks came as Mr. Trump worked to distance himself from the “alt-right,” a movement of white supremacists who continue to cheer his election. His first appointments included chief counselor Steve Bannon, who previously led a website popular among the alt-right.

Mr. Trump on Thursday was with his family behind closed doors at Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach estate. He’s spending the Thanksgiving holiday there after a week of interviewing potential appointees in New York, punctuated by announcements of members of his national security team.

The Associated Press contributed to his report.