President Donald Trump left the White House and Washington for a final time as commander-in-chief on Wednesday, after a tumultuous presidency stained by two impeachments, deep political divisions, and a pandemic that caused 400,000 US deaths.
The Republican president departed the White House with his wife, Melania, saying it had been a great honour to serve and giving a final wave as he boarded the Marine One helicopter for Joint Base Andrews, where he delivered farewell remarks.
"So just a goodbye. We love you. We will be back in some form," Mr Trump told supporters before boarding Air Force One for a flight to Florida. "Have a good life. We will see you soon."
The plane then taxied and lifted off as Frank Sinatra's classic song "My Way" played over the loudspeakers.
Mr Trump left a note for his successor, Democrat Joe Biden, a spokesman confirmed. Mr Trump has declined to mention Mr Biden's name even as he wished the incoming administration luck on his way out of office.
Mr Trump, 74, bade his farewell hours before Mr Biden was to be inaugurated. That made him the first outgoing president since Andrew Johnson in 1869 to skip the Inauguration Day ceremony that marks the formal transfer of power, in a final display of pique at his failure to win re-election in November.
They have the foundation to do something really spectacular
Mr Trump's arrival at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach is being timed to get him behind the wall of the resort before his term as president expires at noon.
"I will always fight for you. I will be watching. I will be listening. And I will tell you that the future of this country has never been better," Mr Trump said in his final public remarks. "I wish the new administration great luck and great success. I think they'll have great success. They have the foundation to do something really spectacular."
Inauguration
Mr Trump has a long way to go to rebuild an image left in tatters by his stormy presidency, particularly the final months. Mr Trump now has a unique place in history - as the only president ever impeached twice.
Even after he leaves office, the Senate is still to hold a trial on the impeachment charge brought by the Democratic-led House of Representatives that Mr Trump incited an insurrection in connection with the January 6th deadly storming of the US Capitol by his supporters. Its outcome could determine whether he will be disqualified from running again for president.
“He is going to be as an asterisk president, a one-termer who did more damage than good," said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley.
Mr Trump maintained to his last days in office that the November 3rd election was stolen from him, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Courts have rejected his campaign's unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud and his vice president, Mike Pence, led the US Congress in certifying Mr Biden's victory over Mr Trump's objections, after the protesters had been cleared from the Capitol following the deadly assault.
The Washington that Mr Trump leaves behind is being guarded by 25,000 National Guard troops, while the National Mall, traditionally thronged with spectators on Inauguration Day, is closed to the public because of threats of violence from groups that attacked the Capitol.
With only a small number of attendees present, Mr Biden will take the oath of office before US Chief Justice John Roberts just after noon local time (5pm Irish time), placing his hand on an heirloom Bible that has been in the Biden family for more than a century.
Historic moment
His running mate, Kamala Harris, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, will become the first Black person, first woman and first Asian American to serve as vice president after she is sworn in by US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court's first Latina member.
Mr Biden, who has vowed to “restore the soul of America,” will call for American unity at a time of crisis in his inaugural address, according to advisers.
He will waste little time trying to turn the page on the Trump era, advisers said, signing a raft of 15 executive actions on his first day in office on issues ranging from the pandemic to the economy to climate change. The orders will include mandating masks on federal property, rejoining the Paris climate accord and ending Trump's travel ban on some Muslim-majority countries.
In an early sign of his plan to reach across the political aisle, Mr Biden has invited top congressional leaders, including House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, to join him at church on Wednesday morning.
Mr Pence, former US presidents George W Bush, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and both McCarthy and McConnell are all expected to attend Mr Biden's inauguration ceremony.
Mr Trump, who has grown increasingly isolated in the waning days of his tenure, has still not formally conceded the November 3rd election.
He issued more than 140 pardons and commutations in his final hours in office, including a pardon for his former political adviser, Steve Bannon, who has pleaded not guilty to charges that he swindled Trump supporters as part of an effort to raise private funds for a Mexico border wall.
But Mr Trump did not issue preemptive pardons for himself or members of his family, after speculation that he might do so.
