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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump is now planning to leave Washington on Inauguration Day morning next Wednesday after considering a departure on Tuesday, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Trump, who had already said he will not attend President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, is planning a farewell ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, the base outside of Washington where Air Force One is based, the officials said. sources.
The sources stressed that the plan could change. It was unclear if Trump would speak on Wednesday.
Trump will then fly to Palm Beach, Florida, to begin his post-presidency at his Mar-a-Lago club, the sources told Reuters. He will likely be in Florida when Biden takes office Wednesday noon.
A handful of White House aides plan to work for Trump in Palm Beach as the former real estate mogul works to retain his influence in the Republican Party.
Some aides have been urging the president to host Biden in a meeting at the White House before Inauguration Day, but there have been no signs that Trump is willing to do so, an administration official said.
Trump, the only president in U.S. history to have been indicted twice, plans to issue more pardons before leaving, according to sources who added that he has been considering the unprecedented option of forgiving himself.
Trump has been trying to avoid a Senate conviction for articles of impeachment that are based on the assault on the United States Capitol on January 6 by his supporters.
A Pew Research Center poll said Trump leaves the White House with the lowest job approval of his presidency (29%) and increasingly negative ratings for his post-election behavior.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Edited by Howard Goller and Daniel Wallis)
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