Trump leaves White House, skips Biden's inauguration ceremony
Washington: Donald Trump on Wednesday skipped his successor Joe Biden's inauguration and exited the White House for the last time as the US president to board a flight to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, which will be his permanent home after he failed to win his re-election bid.
Trump, 74, has already announced that he will not attend the inauguration of Biden as President and Kamala Harris as the Vice President, becoming the first president to skip his successor's inauguration since Andrew Johnson in 1869.
Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump emerged out of the White House around 8.12 am local time. Walking down a red carpet rolled out for the departing leader, Trump and Melania both wearing black posed for a picture.
"It was an honour of a lifetime," Trump said before departing the White House.
He said he just wanted to walk over and say "goodbye" and it will "not hopefully be a long goodbye". There is speculation that he might soon announce his 2024 re-election bid.
He left the White House on the Marine One presidential helicopter along with his wife Melania.
Trump, a Republican, became the first US president to lose a re-election bid since 1992. In 1992, George HW Bush failed to win his second bid for the White House.
He hosted a farewell ceremony at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before catching a final flight on Air Force One to begin post-presidential life at his Mar-a-Lago golf club in Palm Beach.
In his remarks at the Joint Andrews Air Force Base, Trump said: It is my greatest honour and privilege to be your president.
"We have the greatest country in the world," he said. "The future of this country has never been better," Trump said.
You are amazing people. This is a great, great country," Trump said to a crowd of his family and staff. While he wished the next administration "great luck," Trump did not mention President-elect Biden by name.
Will be back in some form, he said amidst loud applause from his supporters. We will see you soon, Trump said. Vice President Mike Pence did not attend Trump's farewell and is instead scheduled to attend Biden's inauguration.
In his last hours, Trump granted clemency to more than 140 people, including his former adviser Steve Bannon, who is facing fraud charges.
He departed when Washington DC is under militarised fortification meant to prevent a repeat of the riot by his supporters earlier this month.
Trump, who has ignored many of the farewell traditions of former administrations, on Tuesday released a video farewell address instead of the typically live, prime-time speech given by past presidents.
Extending his "best wishes" and praying for the success of the new administration in keeping America safe and prosperous, Trump in his farewell address has said that Americans must unify around their shared values and rise above partisan rancour to forge their common destiny.
Trump said he embarked on a mission to make America great again for all Americans.
"I took on the tough battles, the hardest fights, the most difficult choices because that's what you elected me to do. Your needs were my first and last unyielding focus.
"As I conclude my term as the 45th President of the United States, I stand before you truly proud of what we have achieved together. We did what we came here to do and so much more," he said.
Trump said to serve as the President has been an honour beyond description.
This week, we inaugurate a new administration and pray for its success in keeping America safe and prosperous. We extend our best wishes, and we also want them to have luck -- a very important word, Trump said on the eve of his departure from the White House for his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
In his message that lasted a little less than 20 minutes, Trump addressed the storming of the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6, which is considered as one of the darkest days in the history of American democracy and sought unity from his fellow Americans.
Listing out some of the key accomplishments of his administration from January 20, 2017 to January 20, 2021, Trump said it was more than anyone thought possible.
Trump said as he leaves the White House, he has been reflecting on the dangers that threaten the priceless inheritance all Americans share.
Trump, who lost his re-election bid to Democratic opponent and former US vice president Biden, 78, in a bitterly-fought campaign marked by a resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, never conceded his defeat.
Instead, he made unsubstantiated allegations of fraud in elections, charges dismissed by authorities and some senior members of his own Republican Party. He left the White House with a tainted legacy never seen before in American political history.
Meanwhile, some US media outlets reported that Trump may start a new political party as he was disgusted with Senate Republicans who will soon decide whether the ex-president should be convicted during his impeachment trial.
In his farewell message video, Trump vowed his movement will carry on.
The Wall Street Journal first reported Trump's interest in a new party, saying he would call it the Patriot Party."
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Bengal awaits May 4 results; TMC looks to retain power, BJP aims historic win after record turnout
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal heads into verdict day on Monday after over a month of frenzied campaigning, as it waits with bated breath to see whether the TMC manages to hold on to power or the BJP makes a historic breakthrough and claims the state for the first time.
As the EVMs open at 8 am, the CPI(M) and the Congress will be watching with equal keenness, hoping to reclaim a foothold in the state's electoral map after five years in the wilderness, following their wipeout in the 2021 polls.
Counting of votes will take place across 77 centres in the state, with elaborate security arrangements and a charged political atmosphere setting the stage for the declaration of results in 293 of the 294-seat House.
The Election Commission countermanded polls in the entire Falta constituency in South 24 Parganas district, citing “severe electoral offences and subversion of democratic process during polling in a large number of polling stations”.
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The fresh poll in that seat and the counting will take place on May 21 and May 24, respectively.
The two-phase polls in the state ended on April 29, with what the election watchdog said was the state's highest-ever voter turnout of 92.47 per cent since Independence.
Repolling in 15 booths in South 24 Parganas concluded on Saturday, with around 87 per cent turnout recorded, officials said.
The state’s political climate bordered on the vicious, even after the conclusion of polls, leading to fervent anticipation ahead of the announcement of results, with both primary contenders TMC and BJP, claiming they were dead certain about their victory prospects.
Courtesy the tight security arrangements – with over 2.5 lakh central paramilitary personnel on the ground, besides the presence of a thoroughly reshuffled state police force – electoral violence remained at a minimum, and no deaths were reported for the first time in the state’s election history of recent decades.
This was also the first election held in the state in twenty years, conducted after an extensive, albeit controversial, SIR exercise that revised the electoral rolls, removing over 9 million voters.
The jury is out on the impact of the exercise on the electoral fortunes of all parties across the board, prompting pollsters to burn the midnight oil to make sense of the likely choice of voters and keeping the public greatly enthused about what verdict the result day would deliver.
The campaigns recorded the BJP unleashing its full might, with top leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launching all-out attacks on the TMC over corruption, law and order, infiltration, women’s safety and unemployment, while promising welfare measures.
The TMC’s retaliation, with the CM and party MP Abhishek Banerjee leading the charge, focused on SIR harassment, Bengali persecution and ‘outsider’ plank, accusing the BJP of failing to deliver on its national commitments and upholding TMC’s development report card.
Polling for the elections was held on April 23 and April 29, with a total electorate of over 3.21 crores.
The poll body has scaled down the number of counting centres this year to 77 from 87 announced earlier, and 108 in 2021, while putting in place a multi-layered security grid.
“Comprehensive security arrangements have been made to ensure that counting is conducted in a peaceful, transparent and orderly manner,” a senior EC official said.
The run-up to counting, however, has been marked by high political drama, with TMC leaders, helmed by CM Mamata Banerjee, rushing to strongrooms in Kolkata, apprehending counting malpractice and alleging attempts to tamper with the sealed EVMs.
The EC rejected those allegations, maintaining that all electronic voting machines are kept under strict surveillance with round-the-clock security and CCTV monitoring.
“Strongrooms are secured under a three-tier security system, and candidates or their representatives are allowed to keep watch as per protocol. There is no scope for any tampering,” another poll panel official said.
Closer to the counting date, security outside strongrooms has been further tightened, with the EC deploying 165 additional counting observers and 77 police observers to oversee the process and ensure adherence to norms.
In Kolkata, counting for 11 assembly constituencies will be conducted across five locations - Ballygunge Government High School, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Education University, Shakhawat Memorial School, Netaji Indoor Stadium and St Thomas Boys’ School.
Counting for the Bhabanipur seat, arguably carrying the highest symbolic weight where Mamata Banerjee is taking on senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari in a prestige fight on her home turf, will be held at the Sakhawat Memorial centre.
The EC has introduced stringent access control measures, mandating entry only through QR code-based photo identity cards issued via its ECINet system. Mobile phones have been barred inside counting halls, except for returning officers and observers.
The counting exercise will be conducted under a framework upheld by the Supreme Court, which on Saturday declined to pass further directions on a TMC plea challenging the deployment of central government personnel.
The elections saw the TMC contesting in 291 seats and its ally Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), led by Anit Thapa, fielding candidates in three seats in the Darjeeling hills.
The BJP, Congress and the Left Front are gunning for all 294 segments, with parties like Humayun Kabir’s AJUP and Asaduddin Owasi’s AIMIM also trying their luck in some crucial pockets.
BJP leaders like Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Roopa Ganguly and Nishit Pramanik are in the fray, while prominent TMC candidates include Firhad Hakim, Kunal Ghosh, Madan Mitra and Udayan Guha.
