Donald Trump Leaves D.C. on Air Force One for Final Time as President
President Donald Trump left Washington, D.C., aboard Air Force One for one final time as president Wednesday morning, hours after he pardoned 73 people, including his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, and rapper Lil Wayne, and commuted the sentences of 70 others.
At a farewell celebration at Joint Base Andrews, Trump went off script from his prepared remarks, failing to mention President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris by name, something he has yet to do.
Bucking the long tradition of attending his successor's inauguration, Trump is expected to have arrived in Florida by the time President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office. Once Biden is sworn in, Trump will no longer have access to Air Force One.
"I wish the new administration great luck and great success," Trump told a crowd of supporters assembled at Joint Base Andrews to see him off. "I think they'll have great success. They have the foundation to do something really spectacular."
Several hundred people assembled at Joint Base Andrews near Air Force One for the remarks, including Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Lara Trump and Tiffany Trump. As the president delivered his remarks, the crowd chanted, "Thank you, Trump."
Trump highlighted the work of his administration, including the development and distribution of coronavirus vaccines through Operation Warp Speed. Trump spoke of the pandemic as if it was in the past, saying, "as bad as the pandemic was," as 400,000 Americans and counting have died.
"We have worked hard. We left it all, as the athletes would say, we left it all on the field," Trump said.
Trump ended his remarks by telling his family members and supporters present to "have a good life."
The president will be living at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach Florida, after moving his residency from New York.
Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn in at noon local time.
This story was originally published by CBS News on Jan. 20, 2021 at 8:58 a.m. ET.
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