Trump refuses Biden government jet as new President’s inauguration holds today

Outgoing president of the United States, Donald Trump, has spent his last full day on Tuesday in the White House mulling pardons as President-elect, Joe Biden is set to arrive in Washington ahead of Wednesday’s inauguration that his predecessor, in a final break with tradition, would snub.

CNN reports that Trump had mostly dismissed the traditions that go along with leaving office. He has not contacted Biden and would be the first president in 150 years to boycott his successor’s inauguration.

AFP also reports that Trump had yet to publicly congratulate Biden on his win or invited him for the customary cup of tea in the Oval Office.

CNN reports that the live prime-time farewell address is another presidential tradition gone by the wayside in the norm-busting Trump era.

Outside the White House fence, central Washington has taken on a dystopian look ahead of Biden’s inauguration, swarming with National Guard troops and largely emptied of ordinary people.

According to AFP’s report, COVID-19 restrictions meant the swearing-in ceremony at noon on Wednesday was always due to be sparsely attended. But fears of right-wing attacks in the wake of the pro-Trump riot in the Capitol building on January 6 have triggered unprecedented deployments of armed soldiers, concrete barriers and secure areas dubbed green and red zones.

Biden, a veteran Democratic senator who also served as vice president to Barack Obama, was set to travel to Washington with his wife Jill Biden from their hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

Illustrating the level of worry after the attack by the pro-Trump mob, the defence department said that all Guard troops were being vetted by the FBI and military for possible threats.

For Trump, the main piece of unfinished business is now the expected slew of pardons that he is reported to be preparing. According to CNN and other US outlets, Trump has a list of about 100 people he would grant clemency to.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump also delivered Joe Biden one more snub Tuesday, forcing him to charter his own plane to fly from Delaware to Washington D.C. instead of authorizing an Air Force jet.

Just as the Biden family landed, the White House released a 20-minute farewell video from Trump, which did not mention his successor by name or congratulate him on his victory.

On Wednesday, the Trumps will fly out of Washington without greeting the Bidens, with the president holding his own farewell ‘ceremony’ at Andrews before getting on Air Force One to his Mar-a-Lago estate.

He timed the flight to ensure the executive 747 retains the call sign Air Force One for the duration of his time in the air. The Bidens instead will go to Mass with Congressional leaders including Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy – a sign of Trump’s diminishing influence in the Republican party. Even Mike Pence is not going to Trump’s farewell.

Trump fought to overthrow Biden’s election victory, and even after he finally acknowledged on January 7 that he would not remain in office, has not invited his successor to the White House. The snub has been echoed by Melania Trump’s refusal to invite Jill Biden to her new home.