Outgoing President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania departed from Maryland’s Joint Base Andrews at 9 a.m. EST Wednesday morning (Jan. 20) to travel to their home in Florida, where they will be during President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration this afternoon. Trump thanked his supporters and family in a farewell speech before leaving the White House for the very last time.
“We were not a regular administration,” he told a crowd of staff, family and supporters. “What we’ve done has been amazing by any standard.”
USA Today reports that Trump reflected on his administration highlights, like he’s done at his past rallies. The president also wished Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris good luck, though he did not mention them by name.
“I wish the new administration great luck and great success. I think they’ll have great success,” he said. “They have the foundation to do something really spectacular.”
“I hope they don’t raise your taxes,” he added. “But if [they] do; I told you so.”
According to the outlet, Trump also left Biden and his new administration a letter, which is customary for the outgoing president to do. It was previously reported that Trump would not attend Biden’s inauguration, and would instead be at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach during the swearing-in.
“I will always fight for you. I will be watching and I will be listening,” he concluded. “And I will tell you that the future of this country has never been better.”
Shortly after his speech, “Trump is gone” and “HE’S GONE” were trending on Twitter, as social media users celebrated the departure of the 45th president.
“Y’all, people know that Joe Biden isn’t some magical savior. We know there’s still work to be done. Accountability, all of that. But today, people get to be happy *just* because Trump is gone,” one Twitter user wrote. “This has been ROUGH. Seeing him leave is reason to celebrate. Let folks have that.”
“Happy Inauguration Day! Trump is gone, Hallelujah!” Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson added.
Biden and Harris are set to be sworn in today around 12 p.m. EST. See reactions to Trump’s departure below.