President Donald Trump leaves White House for the last time
20 January 2021, 13:31 | Updated: 20 January 2021, 14:48
Donald Trump departs White House for the final time as president
President Donald Trump has left the White House for the last time and boarded Marine One ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration this afternoon.
He crossed the White House lawn with First Lady Melania Trump, with the pair travelling to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for a departure ceremony.
"It's been a great honour, the honour of a lifetime," he told waiting members of the press before getting on board Marine One.
Inauguration day LIVE: Joe Biden to be sworn in as Donald Trump leaves White House
Speaking at his farewell ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Mr Trump started by telling the crowd: “We were not a regular administration.”
He said he got "many millions more votes than any other sitting president" at the election, and told his supporters they are "amazing".
The crowd was heard chanting "USA" and "thank you Trump".
He also wished the new administration "good luck" and said he thinks they will do well.
Mr Trump ended by saying: "Goodbye, we love you, we will be back in some form."
Four US Army cannons were set up for a 21-gun salute.
Mr Trump will now travel to Florida, where he will stay at his Mar-a-Lago golf club.
Mr Trump left Washington just hours before Joe Biden takes the oath of office as the 46th president.
He departed ahead of the swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday afternoon, making him the first President to snub his successor's inauguration since Andrew Johnson in 1869.
Donald Trump's farewell address: The movement we started is only just beginning
In a farewell speech on Tuesday, Mr Trump insisted his political movement "is only just beginning," and said he "took on the tough battles, the hardest fights and the most difficult choices" during his presidency, " because that’s what you (the American people) elected me to do".
During the defiant speech, Mr Trump suggested to his followers that he will soon return to the political spotlight.
The outgoing leader 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."
He also claimed to have built "the greatest economy in the history of the world", adding that his agenda "was not about left or right, it wasn’t about Republican or Democrat, but about the good of a nation, and that means the whole nation".
