Donald Trump vows ‘we’ve only just begun’ before leaving Washington (2024)

President Trump called on Americans to “pray for the success” of Joe Biden’s administration in a farewell address in which he refused to mention his successor by name or retract claims of election fraud.

Mr Trump, who has not been seen in public for a week, issued a video message vowing that his “Make America Great Again” movement was “only just beginning” as he prepared to leave Washington this morning before Mr Biden’s inauguration.

The outgoing president defiantly insisted that “we did what we came here to do and so much more” and that the “movement we have started is only just beginning”, in an indication that he may be thinking again about running in 2024.

He may not have that choice, however. After he became the first president to be impeached twice, the prospect of his disqualification from public office increased when the most senior Republican in Congress, Mitch McConnell, accused him of provoking the mob that stormed the Capitol.

Mr McConnell has the ability to sway a number of Republican senators towards the two-thirds majority required to convict Mr Trump at a trial which is due to start imminently. Democrats in the House of Representatives are expected to transmit the single article of impeachment — for incitement of insurrection at the Capitol on January 6 — to the Senate as soon as this week.

“The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people,” Mr McConnell said.

Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, said that Mr Trump could be an accessory to murder in the wake of the riots at the US Capitol. “Presidents’ words are important. They weigh a ton,” she told MSNBC, lambasting Mr Trump for stoking false claims about widespread voter fraud.

She added that if members of Congress were proven to have collaborated with members of the group that attacked the Capitol, both they and Mr Trump could be accessories to crimes committed during the insurrection. “And the crime, in some cases, was murder,” she said. “And this president is an accessory to that crime because he instigated that insurrection that caused those deaths and this destruction.”

The Senate is duty-bound to begin the trial of Mr Trump within 24 hours of receiving official notification, which so far has been withheld to allow the start of confirmation hearings for Mr Biden’s Cabinet nominees and avoid overshadowing his inauguration at midday. Mr Biden hopes that the Senate will be able to continue with confirming his nominations and considering his legislative proposals in the mornings, while staging Mr Trump’s trial in the afternoons.

To convict him, 17 of the 50 Republicans in the Senate would need to vote with the Democrats. This would lead to a lifetime ban on Mr Trump running for public office.

Mr McConnell, 78, has warmed relations with Mr Biden, also 78, to the point where they will attend Mass together this morning at St Matthew’s church before the swearing-in ceremony. Also attending will be Ms Pelosi, who will make the final decision on when to transmit the impeachment article, and Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who will become leader of the Senate after the inauguration.

With new details of the Capitol invasion emerging daily, and many of the individuals who have been charged pointing to Mr Trump as their inspiration, Mr McConnell used a speech on the Senate floor yesterday to show that he may well be among those who vote to convict a fellow Republican. “[The mob] tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like,” he said. “But we pressed on. We stood together and said an angry mob would not get veto power over the rule of law in our nation, not even for one night.”

Security in the capital is at its highest since the US civil war. A dozen national guardsmen were relieved of duty over suspicions of far-right activity and fears of another attack.

Mr Trump will leave the White House this morning in Marine One, the presidential helicopter, for a farewell ceremony at Joint Base Andrews.

Mike Pence, 61, the vice-president, has said it would be logistically impossible for him to be present at the send-off, because of his involvement in the inauguration. He was infuriated by the pressure Mr Trump placed on him to block the election results in his role as Senate president. Some of the rioters who assailed the Capitol on January 6 were heard chanting “hang Mike Pence”.

Invitations to presidential events are normally highly prized, but people invited to Mr Trump’s farewell ceremony, who must gather before 8am at the airbase in Maryland, were told that they could bring as many as five guests each. Anthony Scaramucci, a former White House communications director fired by Mr Trump, and who has become a fierce critic, said that the fact he received one of the invitations meant that the White House must be “looking for people” to attend.

Mr Trump has not extended the customary invitation to show the Bidens around the White House before he departs. He is leaving isolated and aggrieved after spending days plotting his final list of pardons.

He has weighed up numerous requests, including from figures involved in organising the rally of his supporters before the Capitol attack. He has shown scant interest in the usual activities of the presidency since he began pouring his energies into attempts to question the validity of the November election. He has not left the White House nor been seen in public for more than a week.

Last night he released a recorded valedictory address, filmed on Monday, lauding his achievements and insisting that he had been a president for all Americans. “Our agenda was not about right or left, it wasn’t about Republican or Democrat, but about the good of a nation, and that means the whole nation,” he said. Despite his refusal to take responsibility for failures of testing and prevention during the pandemic, he said: “I took on the tough battles, the hardest fights, the most difficult choices – because that’s what you elected me to do.”

Mr Trump railed against “cancel culture” and the social media bans on him and his followers in the wake of the bitter divisions over the election results he stoked, saying: “The greatest danger we face is a loss of confidence in ourselves – a loss of confidence in our national greatness. No nation can long thrive that loses faith in its own values, history, and heroes – for these are the very sources of our unity and our vitality. America is not a timid nation of tame souls who need to be sheltered and protected from those with whom we disagree.”

His exclusion from most social media platforms means that his ability to drive the news agenda has been dramatically curtailed and he has shown no interest in using traditional means of communication with the American people, such as interviews or press conferences.

YouTube announced yesterday that it had extended a ban on Mr Trump’s channel for the potential for inciting violence. The suspension of uploading or streaming live video to Mr Trump’s channel had been due to be lifted on the eve of Mr Biden’s inauguration.

“In light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence, the Donald J Trump channel will be prevented from uploading new videos or livestreams for an additional minimum of seven days,” YouTube said. “As we shared previously, comments will continue to be indefinitely disabled under videos from the channel.”

Staff members who did not quit after the Capitol Hill siege have generally slunk away from the West Wing in recent days. Kayleigh McEnany, the press secretary who aggressively defended the president for months, cleared her office on Friday and has not returned. Hope Hicks, an adviser whose relationship with him dates back to his business days, left the White House without fanfare even earlier.

About 12 White House staffers, mostly junior, are following Mr Trump to Florida to help him to establish his post-presidential career.

He is said to be furious that more allies did not stand behind his claims of election fraud. According to The New York Times, he is especially angry with Kevin McCarthy, leader of the House Republican caucus, referring to him repeatedly as a “puss*”. Mr McCarthy voted against certifying Mr Biden’s victory and against Mr Trump’s impeachment but during that latter debate criticised Mr Trump’s actions and suggested he would back a censure motion.

In one of his final acts as president, Mr Trump ordered an end to the ban on air visitors flying into the US from Europe and Brazil, aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus. That decision was rejected by aides to Mr Biden, who said that he would rescind the move when he takes office today.

Mr Trump also issued an executive order listing dozens of “historically significant” Americans that he wants to be honoured in a new “national garden of American heroes”. Plans for the new monuments were announced at the height of the statue-toppling racial justice protests in the summer. Among those named in the order were the singer Whitney Houston, the basketball player Kobe Bryant and the director Alfred Hitchco*ck.

Among several presidents on the list was Grover Cleveland, the only man to serve two non-consecutive terms in the White House — which some have interpreted as a nod to Mr Trump’s ambitions of a comeback in four years. “In short, each individual has been chosen for embodying the American spirit of daring and defiance, excellence and adventure, courage and confidence, loyalty and love,” the order read. Others on the list included Martin Luther King, Bob Hope and Elvis Presley.

ORDER OF THE DAY

8am (1pm GMT) President Trump leaves the White House on board the Marine One helicopter. It will take him to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where he will deliver a speech to staff and supporters and receive a 21-gun salute.

8.45am Joe Biden attends a Mass at St Matthew’s in Washington.

11.30am The inauguration ceremony begins at the Capitol, with the national anthem sung by Lady Gaga. Other performers will include Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks. Leo O’Donovan, a Jesuit priest, will give an invocation. Andrea Hall, a black firefighter from Georgia, will recite the pledge of allegiance.

Pre-noon Kamala Harris is sworn in.

Noon Mr Biden is sworn in, before delivering the inaugural address.

8.30pm Tom Hanks will host a 90-minute celebration featuring Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi.