Donald Trump pumped his fist and waved as he departed the White House on Marine One on Wednesday for the last time as US president.
Donald Trump pumped his fist and waved as he departed the White House on Marine One on Wednesday for the last time as US president. “It’s been a great honour, the honour of a lifetime. The greatest people in the world, the greatest home in the world,” Mr Trump told reporters before heading to Marine One, rotors whirring, on South Lawn. “We love the American people, and again, it has been something very special. And I just want to say goodbye but hopefully it’s not a long term goodbye. We’ll see each other again.” Mr Trump will be the first president in modern history to boycott his successor’s inauguration. He did follow one presidential tradition. The White House said the Republican president left behind a note for his successor, Democrat Joe Biden. Deputy press secretary Judd Deere declined to reveal what Mr Trump wrote to Mr Biden or to characterise the sentiment in the note, citing privacy for communication between presidents. Mr Trump has refused to publicly concede to Mr Biden and did not mention the Democrat by name in a pair of farewell addresses. Marine One was headed to Joint Base Andrews where Air Force One was parked, a dramatic backdrop against the rising sun. “So just a goodbye. We love you,” Mr Trump told supporters at Joint Base Andrews where he walked across a red carpet and boarded Air Force One to head to Florida. “We will be back in some form.” Four US Army cannons were waiting to fire a 21-gun salute to the president. Hundreds of supporters greeted Mr Trump at Andrews.
