Donald Trump's Farewell Ceremony: Date, time, guests and all about the event at Joint Base Andrews
On the morning of Wednesday, January 20, outgoing President Trump has planned to organize an elaborate farewell ceremony at Joint Base Andrews before leaving the White House for Florida. The farewell ceremony will take place hours before the scheduled inauguration and swearing-in ceremony of President-elect Joe Biden.
Anonymous sources from within the White House who were familiar with the farewell plans revealed the details to Reuters.
Date and time
For the first time in centuries, the leaving president will not be attending his successor’s inauguration ceremony, as Trump is confirmed to skip Biden’s inauguration and also refrain from the traditional and symbolic helicopter lift from the US Capitol, said a report by USA Today. He was earlier scheduled to leave Washington on Tuesday but later made a change of travel plans.
Now, he is set to leave the White House at 8 am on Wednesday, January 20, after his grand farewell. Invitations sent out to guests for attending the event instruct them to arrive in the early morning hours, between 6 am and 7.15 am.
Venue
The farewell event will be held at Joint Base Andrews, which is the usual jumping-off point for Air Force One. The venue is located in Maryland, a little outside Washington.
Theme
Though many details about the event are not known, it was reported by Associated Press that the event might include a 21-gun salute, a color guard and a military band. It is also believed that there would be a red-carpet at the event.
Guests
The guest list about the event is not public. However, it was reported by Bloomberg’s Jennifer Jacobs that each attendee can bring up to five guests. All the guests have been strictly instructed to wear masks throughout the event for health safety reasons.
Where will Trump go?
After his presidency ends, Trump is expected to stay at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida where he will be flown in on Wednesday by Air Force One for the last time.
Pardons
Before the farewell event on Wednesday, Trump is reportedly planning to issue over a hundred pardons and commutations. In fact, Trump can continue issuing pardons up to noontime on Wednesday, beyond his scheduled time of departure.
Controversy has arisen since many of the rumored recipients of the presidential pardon are well-known fraudsters, convicted offenders and corrupt officials, said DailyMail.
Among his list of potential pardons, there is ophthalmologist Dr Salomon Melgen who was jailed in 2018 after committing dozens of health care frauds. However, unlike previous speculations in the media, Trump reportedly does not have plans to issue a pardon for himself or his children, reported CNN.