Trump ‘plans farewell event with 21-gun salute’ after leaving Washington DC on morning of Biden’s inauguration
DONALD Trump is set to leave Washington DC on the morning of Joe Biden's inauguration and host a farewell event "with a 21-gun salute" at Joint Base Andrews, reports claim.
The president is planning to leave the White House on January 20, after pondering leaving one day earlier, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
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Trump, who had already announced plans not to attend President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, is instead planning an event at the base outside Washington where Air Force One is headquartered, the source said.
Part of the events may include a military band, 21-gun salute, red carpet, and color guard, the Associated Press reported.
Officials are still considering the elaborate state visit-style send off, according to the AP.
This event is understood to be taking place on January 20.
He will then fly on to Palm Beach, Florida, to begin his post-presidency at his Mar-a-Lago club, the source told Reuters.
Trump will be leaving as President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony takes place.
On Thursday, the incoming president's inauguration rehearsal was reportedly postponed amid security fears.
Biden's Sunday run-through has been pushed back to Monday and his scheduled train journey from Wilmington, Delaware, to D.C has been axed over threats of violence, sources told Politico.
The Sun reached out to the Biden transition team for comment.
The postponement reported on Thursday night came hours after FBI Director Chris Wray warned of possible armed violence nationwide around Biden’s inauguration.
“When we talk about potential threats, we have to say about that we are seeing an extensive amount of concerning online chatter about a number of events surrounding the inauguration,” Wray said in his first briefing since the January 6 riot.
Law enforcement officials have locked down the Capitol building and area since President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the building last week to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s win.
More than 20,000 National Guard members are being deployed to the Capitol and thousands of Guardsmen have already been sleeping on the floor of the building.
On Wednesday, officials with the FBI, Secret Service and national security teams briefed Biden about the security threats.
“In the week since the attack on Congress by a mob that included domestic terrorists and violent extremists, the nation has continued to learn more about the threat to our democracy and about the potential for additional violence in the coming days, both in the National Capital Region and in cities across the country,” Biden’s transition team stated.
“This is a challenge that the President-elect and his team take incredibly seriously.”
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