“They have the foundation to do something really spectacular. “I think they’ll have great success,” Trump said of the incoming government, before his message took a turn. As Americans clamored for the vaccine, the Trump administration vowed to release vaccine doses held in reserve, only for it to emerge that no such reserve exists.Īs Trump’s speech came to a close, for a brief moment it appeared the president would belatedly adopt a statesman-like tone, only for Trump to laud himself instead. In reality, Trump has been criticized for the deployment of the vaccine. “We did something that was really considered a medical miracle,” Trump said of his team’s response to the virus. Those looking for some remorse or self-reflection over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic would also be disappointed. Instead, Trump seemed sombre and lacking in energy as he addressed his crowd, perhaps disappointed by the scale of the event.
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Trump, who has not left the White House for over a week, had reportedly spent recent days in a dejected mood, but according to CNN, the outgoing president had been “eagerly anticipating” the sendoff event. Senior Republicans had shunned the event, including the House GOP leader, Kevin McCarthy, and Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, in favor of attending Biden’s inauguration, and the audience for Trump’s final sendoff far from filled the small viewing pen that the that had been set up.Įven Trump’s vice-president Mike Pence didn’t make it – a White House official told reporters it would be difficult for Pence to attend both the sendoff and the inauguration.
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Trump was due to speak at 8am, but there was a delay, leaving the crowd waiting. Both songs have been staples at Trump’s rallies. Trump arrived in Marine One as the song Gloria by Laura Branigan blasted out at the stage, and exited the helicopter to the sound of Don’t Stop Believing, by Journey. The Air Force One presidential plane was parked in the background, waiting to fly the president out. A campaign-style stage was set up at the base, with total of 17 US flags hung behind a speaker’s podium. There was none of the usual grace shown by presidents to their successors – instead Trump remarked of the incoming Biden administration: “I hope they don’t raise your taxes, but if they do I told you so.”Īttendees had been told to arrive at the Joint Base Andrews between 6am and 7.15am, when the temperature hovered above zero. The president then touted the economy, which was sent into freefall by a coronavirus pandemic that Trump has, by any measure, mishandled. Trump said his administration had “rebuilt” the military, and said he “took care of the vets”, who, in Trump’s telling, had been treated “very badly” before his presidency.
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The list of his government’s accomplishments, however,felt sparse. “What we’ve done has been amazing by any standard.” “This has been an incredible four years, we’ve accomplished so much together,” Trump said, before thanking his family, friends and staff. A day after the coronavirus death toll hit 400,000 in the US, Trump praised his administration’s response to the crisis and gave a catalog of what he said his government has achieved. The soon-to-be former president arrived at the military base just before 8.30am, and was met with a flat sendoff marked by a sparse crowd.Īs is his wont, Trump gave a defiant, partisan and sometimes delusional speech as he bade goodbye to the nation.
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Trump had demanded that aides prepare an ostentatious ceremony at the base, accompanied by a sprawling audience, but two weeks after Trump incited a riot at the US Capitol, he got neither.