"I hope it's not goodbye for long."
Outgoing President Donald Trump has left the White House early on Wednesday and will move to the Mar-a-Lago complex in Florida. The Republican will not be present at Joe Biden's inauguration, as tradition dictates.
"It has been the honor of my life. I hope it is not a goodbye for a long time," said Trump on the way to the helicopter that has taken him to Andrews Air Force Base for the farewell ceremony and from where he will depart for Florida.
There it is: Donald Trump leaves the White House.
I have leaves office with a 34% approval rating. pic.twitter.com/pbmWkpXBwB
- The Recount (@therecount) January 20, 2021
"They have been four incredible years. People do not imagine how hard this family has worked," Trump said at the farewell ceremony.
The last president who did not attend his successor's inauguration was Andre Johnson 152 years ago. Andrew Johnson wasn't the first, either. John Adams left Washington at four in the morning on the day of Thomas Jefferson's inauguration in 1801. His son, President John Quincy Adams also did not attend the inauguration of his successor, Andrew Jackson, in 1829.
