U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday morning delivered his final remarks as president at Joint Base Andrews before leaving for Florida, while his successor, President-elect Joe Biden, arrived at a Catholic church in downtown Washington for a prayer service that kicked off his Inauguration Day.
Addressing family members, a few staffers and some supporters in the chilly morning wind, Trump said it was his "greatest honor and privilege to have been your president," while wishing the incoming administration of Biden, whom he didn't mention by name, "good luck," claiming that "they have the foundation to do something really spectacular."
Trump also thanked Vice President Mike Pence, who had said his final goodbye to the president the previous day and chose to attend Biden's inauguration instead of Trump's farewell ceremony.
"Have a good life, we will see you soon," the president said in his final words before getting on the southbound plane that for the very last time was designated Air Force One for him. He was headed to the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida that became known as his "Winter White House" during his presidency.
Shortly after Trump's flight took off, Biden arrived at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in downtown Washington to attend a mass together with his family, the family of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, and congressional leaders of both parties.
Since the 1930s, incoming U.S. presidents have typically attended services at St. John's Episcopal Church across the Lafayette Square to the north of the White House.
However, Biden, soon to be the second Catholic president, broke that tradition by praying in St. Matthew's, where the funeral mass for President John Kennedy, also a Catholic, was held on Nov. 25, 1963, three days after he was assassinated.
Biden and Harris are expected to be sworn into office sometime around noon at the U.S. Capitol, where attendees of the inauguration ceremony are gradually gathering.
