NEW YORK: Uttering what could be the epitaph for his years in the White House, “We were not a regular administration,” President Donald Trump left Washington on Wednesday to face an abyss of uncertainty.
His departure was anti-climactic after some media and pundits speculated that he would not leave the citadel of American power and would have to be forced out. He ultimately accepted the results of the November election after questioning it even two weeks ago.
Hours before his term ends, Trump left the White House on the presidential helicopter Marine One to nearby Joint Base Andrews to board Air Force One jumbo jet for the last time as President and head to Florida, his new home.
He has an impeachment hanging over him for his alleged role in instigating an “insurrection” when his supporters attacked Congress on January 6.
Trump is boycotting the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden in a break with about 150 years of tradition.
“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,” he said before boarding the plane.
He repeated his campaign line sarcastically: “I hope they don’t raise your taxes,” Trump said in one of his only references to Biden. “But if you do, I told you so.”
However, he is reported to have followed the tradition of presidents leaving a secret letter for their successors.
Trump, who had been a resident of New York City, a bastion of the Democratic Party, has shifted his residence to Florida, a Republican-friendly state and will stay at his estate in Mar-a-Lago.
He left a Washington that was turned into an armed camp after the January 6 attack on Congress as it prepared for the swearing-in of Biden and Kamala Harris as Vice President.
For the riot, the House of Representatives has impeached him — voted a charge sheet for a judicial-style trial by the Senate.
