President Donald Trump departed the White House on Wednesday morning for the last time as the commander in chief.
“Have a good life; we will see you soon,” Trump said at the end of off-the-cuff remarks delivered to supporters at Joint Base Andrews, discarding a prepared statement and ignoring advisers who thought he should have thanked Biden by name.
“We were not a regular administration,” Trump said, delivering a truncated version of his self-aggrandising campaign rally speech, and imploring those gathered — most without masks — to “remember” all of his accomplishments.
“We will be back in some form,” he added, before walking away from his last appearance as the nation’s commander in chief to the strains of “YMCA.” by the Village People.
His vice president, Mike Pence, did not attend his farewell event.
Despite flouting most of the conventions associated with the peaceful transfer of power, Trump did abide by one presidential norm — leaving the traditional note to Biden in the Oval Office, according to a White House official.
It was not clear what the letter said.
Trump left the White House on a red carpet, hand in hand with Melania Trump, the first lady, who wore a dark suit and sunglasses, and spoke briefly with reporters before boarding his helicopter, where he stood in the doorway one last instant, waving goodbye with his right hand.
