President Donald Trump left the White House and flew away aboard Air Force 1 for the final time of his presidency on Wednesday.
After leaving with his wife, Melania Trump, on the Marine One helicopter, the outgoing president arrived in Joint Base Andrews and delivered brief remarks to a crowd of supporters chanting “we love you” before he boarded Air Force One.
“What we’ve done has been amazing by any standard,” said Mr Trump. “We rebuilt the United States military. We rebuilt a new force called Space Force. That itself would be a major achievement for a regular administration. We were not a regular administration.
“We also got tax cuts – the largest tax cuts and reform in the history of our country so far. I hope they don’t raise your taxes, but if they do I told you so.”
Mr Trump also touted his regulatory reform while repeating many of his greatest hits from office, including referring to coronavirus as the “China virus” while offering condolences to victims of the Covid-19 pandemic and their families.
He also spoke to his supporters, promising to return.
“I will always fight for you. I will be watching, I will be listening, and I will tell you that the future of this country has never been better. I wish the new administration great luck, great success,” Trump
Before leaving, the crowd shouted “USA” and “thank you Trump.”
Mr Trump vowed, “we will be back in some form” – possibly alluding to his 2024 presidential campaign aspirations.
“Have a good life. We will see you soon,” he said as he waved goodbye.
Unlike most outgoing presidents, Mr Trump has opted not to attend Wednesday’s inauguration ceremony of President-Elect Joe Biden. However, CNN reported that Mr Trump did leave a letter on the Resolute Desk for Mr Biden – a tradition among presidents.
Instead, he will fly to his resort in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, and Vice President Mike Pence will perform the traditional welcoming ceremonies that presidents usually carry out for their successors.
Mr Trump’s departure comes mere hours after he issued a series of last-minute pardons for many of his political allies ensnared in corruption scandals, including his former campaign strategist Steve Bannon.
The Senate will also conduct an impeachment trial against Mr Trump at some point early in Mr Biden’s presidency for the outgoing president’s alleged role in inciting the mob that ransacked Capitol Hill two weeks ago.
Elsewhere, Washington was unusually quiet on Wednesday morning as final preparations were underway for the inauguration of Mr Biden as the 46th US president.
Since the events at the Capitol on January 6, the city has been fortified with police and more than 20,000 National Guard members.
The extra precautions were in addition to Covid-19 safety measures, which the Biden inauguration team previously planned, another indication that the ceremony will be vastly different from those that came before.
The public has been urged to stay at home and the National Mall, typically filled with thousands of spectators on inauguration day, has been closed. In an addition to proceedings that were either hauntingly beautiful or gloomy – depending on your perspective – 200,000 flags were placed on the Mall, representing those who cannot attend.
There are 1,000 expected at this inauguration, a group that will include congressional members, outgoing Vice President Mike Pence, former presidents George Bush, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, along with their spouses.
What is Donald Trump doing on inauguration day?
Donald Trump will be missing from the ceremony. The outgoing president scheduled a farewell ceremony at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday morning. From there, he and his wife Melania are expected to head directly to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Mr Trump's absence from the inauguration will be the first time in 152 years that an outgoing president has not attended his successor's inauguration ceremony.
Mr Trump will be the fourth president to do so. His early departure from Washington marks an end to one of the most divisive presidencies of modern times.
What did Biden do on the eve of the inauguration?
After arriving in Washington by private plane, an extra security measure, Mr Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris went to the Lincoln Memorial. There they held a tribute to the 400,000 people in the US who died from Covid-19.
Mr Biden and his wife Jill spent the night across from the White House at Blair House, a pre-inaugural tradition since 1977.
On Wednesday morning, the Bidens headed to St Matthew’s Cathedral where they attended a service with Republican and Democratic congress members.
Mr Biden is expected to arrive at the ceremony in the presidential limo, a 10-tonne behemoth nicknamed "the beast" because of its unique design.
The armoured vehicle is fitted with 25-centimetre thick bulletproof windows.
___________
Gallery: Looking back on Trump's presidency
-
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump leave the stage after the first presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York on September 26, 2016. AFP -
Demonstrators hold up placards in protest a day after Donald Trump’s victory, during a rally outside Los Angeles City Hall in Los Angeles, California, on November 9, 2016. AFP -
Paul Ryan, speaker of the US House of Representatives, vice president-elect Mike Pence, and president-elect Donald Trump leave the stage after speaking to supporters at a Thank You Tour 2016 rally on December 13, 2016 in West Allis, Wisconsin. AFP -
President Donald Trump takes the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts, as his wife Melania holds the Bible, and with his children Barron, Ivanka, Eric and Tiffany, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on January 27, 2017. AP -
Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 20, 2017. Reuters -
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump dance at the Freedom Ball in Washington, DC on January 20, 2017. EPA -
US President Donald Trump sits in the drivers seat of a semi-truck as he welcomes truckers and CEOs to the White House in Washington, DC, on March 23, 2017, to discuss healthcare. AFP -
US First Lady Melania Trump listens while US President Donald Trump speaks to the press before a meeting with Argentina's President Mauricio Macri in the Oval Office of the White House on April 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. AFP -
US President Donald Trump and US First lady Melania Trump, pose for a picture with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Saudi Arabia's King Salman during the inauguration of the Global Centre for Combating Extremist Ideology "Etidal" in Riyadh, on May 21, 2017. AFP -
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump wave as they board Air Force One before leaving Riyadh to Israel, on May 22, 2017. AFP -
US President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalem’s Old City on May 22, 2017. AFP -
Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House in Washington, on July 17, 2017. Reuters -
White nationalists participate in a torch-lit march on the grounds of the University of Virginia ahead of the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 11, 2017. Reuters -
Donald Trump pauses to drink water while touting his foreign policy accomplishments during his trip to Asia in a speech in the Diplomatic Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on November 15, 2017. EPA -
US President Donald Trump gestures as he meets with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un at the start of their historic US-North Korea summit, at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore on June 12, 2018. AFP -
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin adjust their earpiece plugs during a joint press conference following their summit talks at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16, 2018. EPA -
US President Donald Trump speaks alongside fast food he purchased for a ceremony honoring the 2018 College Football Playoff National Champion Clemson Tigers in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2019. AFP -
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi tears up a copy of the State of the Union address that US President Donald Trump just delivered, as US Vice President Mike Pence looks on, in front of the floor of the US House of Representatives on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on February 4, 2020. EPA -
US President Donald Trump holds the front page of the Washington Post with headline 'Trump acquitted' as he speaks in the East Room of the White House a day after his Senate impeachment trial acquittal in Washington, DC on February 6, 2020. EPA -
Donald Trump participates in a meeting with African American community, business and faith leaders in the Cabinet Room prior to the National African American History Month reception at the White House in Washington, DC on February 27, 2020. EPA -
President Donald Trump holds up a Bible as he stands in front of St John's Episcopal Church across from the White House after walking there for a photo opportunity during ongoing protests over racial inequality in Washington, June 1, 2020. Reuters -
Donald Trump arrives for the Independence Day events at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in Keystone, South Dakota, on July 3, 2020. AFP -
Donald Trump walks towards the media platform surrounded by his secret service detail after arriving on Air Force One at Sacramento McClellan Airport in McClelland Park, California, on September 14, 2020. The President visited Sacramento County to be briefed on the deadly wildfires that had burned more than three million acres across California. EPA -
Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed hold up documents after participating in the signing of the Abraham Accords where the countries of Bahrain and the UAE recognise Israel, at the White House in Washington, DC, on September 15, 2020. AFP -
President Donald Trump speaks, with a flag behind him, during a campaign rally at Cecil Airport in Jacksonville, Florida, on September 24, 2020. Reuters -
Donald Trump, Joe Biden and moderator, NBC News anchor, Kristen Welker participate in the final presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 22, 2020. AFP -
President Donald Trump returns to the White House from playing golf in Washington, DC on November 7, 2020, after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election. AFP -
An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of US President Donald Trump gather in front of the US Capitol Building in Washington, on January 6, 2021. Reuters -
US President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up after touring a section of the border wall in Alamo, Texas on January 12, 2021. AFP
