Trump leaves DC on Air Force One for final time as president

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President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump stop to talk with the media as they walk to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. Trump is en route to his Mar-a-Lago Florida Resort. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Trump is leaving Washington, D.C. aboard Air Force One Wednesday morning for the last time as president, hours after he pardoned 73 people, including his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, and rapper Lil Wayne, and commuted the sentences of 70 others.

A farewell celebration is scheduled to send Trump off at 8 a.m. Bucking the long tradition of attending his successor’s inauguration, Trump is expected to have arrived in Florida by the time President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office. Once Biden is sworn in, Trump will no longer have access to Air Force One.

It’s unclear how many people were invited to the president’s send-off event, but each attendee is allowed to bring five guests, according to a copy of the invitation.

The president will be living at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach Florida, after moving his residency from New York.

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn in at noon.

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