Departing Trump hints at comeback
Heads for Florida club after military send-off
WASHINGTON — His presidency over, Donald Trump bid farewell to Washington on Wednesday but also hinted at a comeback.
Heading for Marine One on the South Lawn, Trump briefly addressed the press. “I just want to say goodbye, but hopefully it’s not a long-term goodbye,” he said. Then the couple boarded Marine One, which took a swing over the Capitol before heading to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for a send-off by family members, staff and supporters.
“Goodbye. We love you. We will be back in some form,” Trump told supporters at Andrews, where he received a 21-gun salute as part of a military send-off before boarding Air Force One for his last time as president.
As he addressed supporters for some 10 minutes at Andrews, Trump looked to his future as a private citizen without regret. “We’ve left it all on the field as some athletes say,” Trump said. “In a month when we’re sitting in Florida we’re not going to be looking at each other and saying, ‘If only we worked a little bit harder.’ You can’t work harder.”
Trump, who also made history as the first president to be impeached twice, did not mention President-elect Joe Biden by name, nor has he ever congratulated his successor or conceded the race.
“His voice sounded very good,” speech coach and communications specialist Ruth Sherman offered, before surmising “because he’s given it a rest.”
After Trump waved goodbye from Air Force One, Biden, Jill Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff headed to a church service at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle ahead of the inauguration. The Bidens had spent the evening at Blair House.
Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Republican Leader Mitch Mcconnell and House GOP Minority Leader Kevin Mccarthy attended the inauguration and missed Trump’s parting words.
Trump was already in Florida, at his private Mar-a-lago club in Palm Beach, by the time Biden was sworn in just before noon as the 46th president of the United States.
Trump was the first president in modern history to boycott his successor’s inauguration. He also refused to participate in many other symbolic passing-of-the-torch traditions surrounding the peaceful transition of power, though he did leave behind a note for Biden. Biden declined to say what Trump had written but described it as a “very generous letter.”
Trump orchestrated an elaborate farewell that included a red carpet and color guard, as well as his usual campaign soundtrack. Members of Trump’s family were visibly emotional during the program at the base.
Speaking without notes, Trump told several hundred supporters that it had been his “great honor and privilege” to serve as president.
He acknowledged that his was not a “regular administration.” Without mentioning Biden by name, Trump wished the new administration great luck and success, which he said would be made easier because he had laid “a foundation.”
Before arriving at the airport, Trump had told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House that being president had been the honor of his lifetime.
“It has been something very special,” he said over the sound of the Marine One helicopter. “And I just want to say goodbye, but hopefully it’s not a long-term goodbye. We’ll see each other again.”