Mr Trump has left the White House and is heading to his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida as Mr Biden prepares to be sworn in as US President
Donald Trump has officially left the White House after four years as the President of the United States, saying “we will be back in some form”.
Mr Trump is heading to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida as Joe Biden prepares to be sworn in as America’s new leader in Washington DC.
Speaking before boarding the plane, he told supporters it has been “an incredible” four years and thanked his family, as his daughter Tiffany watched on, shedding some tears.
This comes after Donald Trump has said that he will “pray for the success” of the 46th President Joe Biden’s administration, but added that the political movement he created during his Presidency “is only just beginning”.
He said that “we left it all on the field”, adding that “it has been my greatest honour and privilege to have been your president”.
He wished the new administration “great luck and great success” – but added “we will be back in some form”.
The outgoing US president is the first to skip his successor’s inauguration since Andrew Johnson in 1869, and only the fourth to have done so in history.
Mr Trump held hands with First Lady Melania Trump as he walked across the lawn of the White House before waving as he boarded the Marine One helicopter.
He said: “As I prepare to hand power over to a new administration at noon on Wednesday, I want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning. There’s never been anything like it.
“The belief that a nation must serve its citizens will not dwindle but instead only grow stronger by the day.”
This comes after fears about a potential insider attack during Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration have prompted the FBI to conduct a vetting procedure on all 25,000 National Guard troops who will be on duty at the monumental event.
Mr Trump’s final action as the US President saw him pardon or grant clemency to 143 people, including Steve Bannon, his former chief strategist, as well as rapper Lil Wayne.
Bannon, who had previously been fired by President Trump back in August of 2017, is accused of swindling Trump supporters and was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering in connection to the We Build the Wall campaign, he pleaded not guilty in the trial.
Lil Wayne pleaded guilty last month for being in possession of a loaded, gold-plated handgun while on a private flight in 2019 and is due to be sentenced next week.
