Trump says serving as US president has been the greatest honour of his life.
Outgoing United States President, Donald Trump, kept hints of a possible future run for second term alive in his final speech on Wednesday, January 20, 2020.
The 74-year-old made a final address as president at Joint Base Andrews just moments before Joe Biden is set to be sworn in as America’s 46th president.
Biden beat Trump at the November 2020 election, a result Trump never accepted, and never conceded to the former Vice President.
In his Wednesday address, Trump was boastful of his administration’s achievements including on tax cuts, job creation, and the economy.
He also took credit for the rapid development of vaccines to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic that crippled the world in 2020.
Trump said he has set such a wonderful foundation for the incoming administration ‘to do something really spectacular’, even though he never mentioned Biden by name.
The president praised his family’s contributions to his administration’s success and appreciated the support of his followers over the past four years that he described as the greatest honour of his life.
“We love you. We will be back in some form. Have a good life. We will see you soon,” Trump said before he made his exit.
Trump leaves office a week after he made history as the first U.S. president to be impeached twice.
He was first impeached by the House of Representatives in December 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, but was acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate in February 2020.
He was again impeached last week by the House for “incitement of insurrection” for his role in the violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol two weeks ago.
Pro-Trump supporters invaded the Capitol Building in Washington DC on January 6 while lawmakers were certifying the result of the November 2020 election in Biden’s favour.
Five people died as a result of the invasion, including a police officer who was assaulted by rioters, one rioter who was shot by a security operative, and three people that died as a result of medical emergencies.
Trump’s remarks before, during, and after the riots were blamed for inciting his supporters and undermining America’s democratic institutions.
The House voted 232 to 197 in favour of impeachment, with 10 Republicans voting in support of the bid by the Democrat-controlled chamber.
An impeachment trial at the Senate to convict him on the charge of “incitement of insurrection” will happen after Biden has been sworn in, and with the chamber controlled by Democrats.
A two-thirds majority of the Senate would be needed to convict Trump. Senators could also opt to bar him from running for office again, sinking his possible plans to relaunch a second term bid in 2024.
