Donald Trump left the White House at 8:15 a.m. (10:15 a.m. in Brasilia), for the last time as President of the United States.
With his wife, Melania, he boarded the Marine One helicopter to Andrews base, where he will take a flight to Florida. He will deliver a speech next to the plane, before boarding. This will be your last official trip on Air Force One.
Trump has decided not to attend Joe Biden’s inauguration, scheduled for 12 p.m. (2 p.m. in Brasilia), and to leave the post without saluting the new president, as is the tradition in the country. He is the first absent representative of his successor for over a century.
Other leaders did not leave Washington until after the transition and often had the company of the new president on the helicopter that took them. Thus, the departure of Trump has been compared by the American press to the departure of Richard Nixon, who left office after resigning in 1974.
In the last few hours in office, Trump has granted presidential pardon to more than 100 people, including Steve Bannon, who was his strategist in the 2016 campaign and was charged with fraud by asking for donations to build a border wall.