Donald Trump finally leaves White house, will not attend Joe Biden’s inauguration tonight

Donald Trump departed the White House for the final time on Wednesday morning, having pardoned his former aide Steve Bannon and nearly 150 others in the final hours of his presidency.

“It’s been a great honour, the honour of a lifetime,” he said before crossing the South Lawn to the presidential helicopter.

Flouting tradition, Mr Trump left Washington ahead of the inauguration of Joe Biden rather than accompany his successor to the Capitol. He will address a crowd at Joint Base Andrews before heading to Florida.

By the time Biden is sworn in, Trump will already have landed at his private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, to face an uncertain future, but not before giving himself a grand sendoff — with a red carpet, a military band and even a 21-gun salute.

Last week, the outgoing president talked to a number of close aides and allies about forming a new party, which he would like to call the “Patriot Party” in line with his “America First” rhetoric.