RFI
21 Jan 2021, 05:01 GMT+10
U.S. President Donald Trump left the White House for the final time on Wednesday, heading by helicopter to a nearby military base where he flew to Florida, skipping the inauguration of successor Joe Biden in an extraordinary break with tradition.
Trump, 74, and First Lady Melania Trump walked a short red carpet and boarded Marine One on the White House lawn on a sunny but chilly day in Washington for the short flight to Joint Base Andrews, where he boarded Air Force One.
In brief remarks to reporters, Trump said it had been an "amazing four years" and the "honor of a lifetime."
"I just want to say goodbye," he said.
Trump was at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida when Biden was sworn in at noon (1700 GMT) as the 46th president of the United States.
A more elaborate departure ceremony took place at Joint Base Andrews including a 21-gun salute and remarks by the outgoing president, the first to skip the inauguration of his successor in more than 150 years.
Trump repeatedly and falsely claimed that he won the November 3 presidential election and his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 in a bid to disrupt the certification by Congress of Biden's victory.
(AFP)
Get a daily dose of Johannesburg Life news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Johannesburg Life.
More InformationThe February meeting of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Defense Ministers, the first since President Biden took power, revealed an ...
WASHINGTON, DC - Following two deadly crashes involving Boeing's 737 jets, a US government watchdog has asked the Federal Aviation ...
WASHINGTON, DC: While 11.3 percent of white Americans and 10.5 percent of Asian-Americans have received Covid vaccinations, only 4.6 percent ...
WASHINGTON, DC - The White House press secretary has told reporters it is not certain whether the United States will ...
NEW YORK, New York - Experts are searching for an answer as to what caused the flu to virtually disappear ...
A triad of intersecting world-wide pandemics simultaneously threatening humanity today are the end results of its own insatiable greedy human ...
Dubai [UAE], March 1 (ANI): Leading integrator of data networks Sterlite Technologies Ltd (STL) on Monday announced major new deals ...
Ratings agency Fitch has downgraded Transnet's long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings due to a downgrade of the ...
Lahore [Pakistan], March 1 (ANI): Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday informed that the High Performance department will hold a ...
The 78th annual Golden Globe Awards took place on Sunday night.The event was hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler ...
South Africa's Branden Grace conjured up an eagle-birdie finish to claim an emotional one-shot victory at the PGA Tour's Puerto ...
Kevin Sutherland pulled off a come-from-behind win, rallying from four shots back with nine holes to play to earn his ...