State Dept. condemns arrests, repression in Russia

With the trappings of a Trump rally on a cold and windy morning, President Trump arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland just after 8:30 a.m. on Biden's Inauguration Day to once again try to rewrite the history of the last four years. 

A military band played "All Hail the Chief" as Trump walked onto a small stage, lined with American flags, and up to a lectern bearing the presidential seal. He first praised his own family -- whom he put into positions of power, breaking with presidential norms -- and singled out first lady Melania Trump -- known for her privacy -- to say a few words. 

"Being your first lady was my greatest honor. Thank you for your love and your support. You will be in my thoughts and prayers," she said.

Trump ticked off his accomplishments, spoke about the pandemic in past tense and predicted a boom in the stock market in the coming weeks, before offering a warning of the new administration -- without ever mentioning Biden's name.  

"I hope they don't raise your taxes," Trump said, "but if they do, I told you so!"

He later added, "I wish the new administration great luck and great success. I think they'll have great success. They have the foundation to do something really spectacular."

"So just a good-bye. We love you. We will be back in some form," Trump vowed. "Have a good life. We will see you soon."

Trump is now headed on Air Force One to his resort in West Palm Beach, Florida, for the final time as president.

President Trump departed the White House for the final time as president -- leaving embattled, twice-impeached and with his lowest approval rating in his four years in office.

Trump, in a black suit with a white dress shirt and trademark red tie, alongside outgoing first lady Melania Trump, in a black dress and coat, walked out on a red carpet before Trump briefly spoke to reporters and, for one last time as president, boarded Marine One, to depart the White House.

Trump told reporters the presidency was a "great honor" and an "honor of a lifetime" and that he just wanted to walk over and say "goodbye," adding "hopefully it's not a long term goodbye."

Trump's unconventional, norm-busting approach to the country's institutions -- that will likely outlast the one-term leader and leave a transformative and divisive legacy in Washington -- continue on Biden's Inauguration Day.

He is not greeting the incoming president on the North Portico and joining him to the Capitol, as is tradition, but leaving town early for his Mar-a-Lago Resort in West Palm Beach, Florida, while he still bears the title as president and the aeronautical resources the office provides.

Marine One took a final lap over Washington -- including the Capitol, where Biden’s inauguration preparations are underway.

As Trump continues to refuse to accept the election results, he has also refused to make contact with the incoming president, despite the Biden's staying across the street Monday night in Blair House -- far from the warm welcomes given by previous presidents to their successors, no matter the party lines.

Vice President Mike Pence will not appear at Trump's departure at the White House, nor his "military-style send-off" at Joint Base Andrews. The outgoing vice president is scheduled to attend Biden's inauguration.

Though hours remain in his president, Trump hasn't heard the last of Washington either as he still faces a second impeachment trial in the Senate.

Despite Biden and his family staying just across the street overnight in Blair House -- outgoing President Trump did not invite them to the White House and still has not made contact with the president-elect with just hours to go until one loses the power of the presidency and the other gains it.

Incoming White House communications director Kate Bedingfield was asked directly by ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America" whether Biden has had "any contact at all, direct contact, with President Trump."

"He has not, no," Bedingfield said.

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Trump is skipping Biden's inauguration this morning and the traditional welcome on the White House North Portico to star in his own cold and windy sendoff at Joint Base Andrews while he still bears the title of president  -- making him the first president to skip his successor's swearing since an impeached Andrew Johnson in 1869 snubbed Ulysses Grant.

Biden is waking up as president-elect at Blair House -- across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, where in a matter of hours he will enter as the 46th president of the United States.

Assuming the office on his third try for the White House, Biden is assuming a busy schedule for his first day alongside soon-to-be Vice President Kamala Harris -- who is making history as the first woman, first Black woman and first South Asian American to serve as the country’s second in command.

Biden and wife Jill Biden and Harris and husband Doug Emhoff -- the nation’s first second gentlemen -- will begin the morning with Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. In a show of unity, Biden extended invitations and is expected to be joined by bipartisan congressional leaders including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

The inaugural ceremonies, limited in attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic, begin at 11:30 a.m. at a fortified U.S. Capitol -- two weeks to the date pro-Trump supporters stormed the West Front steps. Harris will be sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor ahead of Biden who will be sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts at noon, as 25,000 National Guard members patrol the Washington area.

After taking their oaths of office, Biden and Harris will head to Arlington National Cemetery and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, and President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Clinton.

Sens.-elect Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Alex Padilla of California will also be sworn into office by the new vice president at an afternoon ceremony at the Capitol -- triggering Democrats taking the majority in the Senate as Harris will cast tie-breaking votes as President of the Senate.

In the evening, Biden will sign executive orders in the Oval Office and swear in Day One appointees in a virtual ceremony. Biden and Harris are then scheduled to deliver remarks before 9 p.m. during the “Celebrating America” inaugural program and close off the night with a wave to the nation from the Blue Room Balcony.

Meanwhile, with their titles until noon, President Trump and first lady Melania Trump are scheduled to depart the White House around 8 a.m. for Palm Beach, Florida, on Air Force One with a “military-style send-off” for Trump as Joint Base Andrews, per his request. Though Trump’s presidency will soon be over, his presence will loom in Washington as he still faces a second impeachment trial in the Senate.