Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump bid farewell to the White House, his residence of the past four years, early on Wednesday morning, ready to head to Joint Base Andrews on Marine One for a send-off ceremony following which he will fly to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
In doing so, Trump, waving hands while embarking on the presidential helicopter with First Lady Melania Trump, intentionally skipped his successor President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration scheduled sometime around noon on Capitol Hill in the nation's capital.
He will be the first sitting president since 1869 to be absent from the incoming president's swearing-in ceremony.
Shortly after, Biden left the Blair House just outside the White House's northern fence to attend a church service, kicking off his Inauguration Day.