Trump leaves the White House for the last time as president
With only a few hours left in his term, President Trump has departed the White House.
Trump on Wednesday morning boarded Marine One to leave the White House for the last time as president and head to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where he has a farewell ceremony planned and is expected to deliver remarks. He will subsequently be headed to Florida.
Traditionally, the outgoing president would welcome the incoming commander-in-chief at the White House on the day of the inauguration. But Trump, who falsely claimed he won the election, won't do so and will refuse to attend President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony. This, according to The Associated Press, will make him the "first incumbent president since Andrew Johnson not to attend his successor's inauguration."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump on Tuesday released a pre-taped farewell address, in which he offered "best wishes" and prayers for the "new administration" and for its "success in keeping America safe and prosperous," though he did not name Biden. While Trump isn't attending Biden's inauguration, Vice President Mike Pence is set to be there and will be skipping Trump's farewell event at Joint Base Andrews.
As Trump left the White House for the last time, CNN's Kaitlan Collins noted there was "no sign of" Pence, while NBC's Geoff Bennett pointed to a "striking image": as Trump departed, he wrote, the area on the South Lawn "typically reserved for staffers and supporters" was "completely empty." Brendan Morrow
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Nasa’s new dark matter mapUnder the Radar High-resolution images may help scientists understand the ‘gravitational scaffolding into which everything else falls and is built into galaxies’
-
Is the US about to lose its measles elimination status?Today's Big Question Cases are skyrocketing
-
‘No one is exempt from responsibility, and especially not elite sport circuits’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
EU and India clinch trade pact amid US tariff warSpeed Read The agreement will slash tariffs on most goods over the next decade
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearingSpeed Read Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy
