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'We will be back in some form': Trump highlights his achievements in final address as President

I hope they don't raise your taxes: Trump on incoming Biden administration

trump-melania-fnial-address-AP President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump look at supporters before boarding Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021 | AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

On January 20, US President Donald Trump left the White House for the final time and delivered his final address as president, one in which he highlighted his administration's achievements, reflected on the devastation of the "China virus" and expressed optimism for the future of America.

Largely avoiding controversy in his final address, Trump said to a cheering crowd, "We will be back in some form," while providing his best wishes to the incoming administration. He left the White House on the Marine One presidential helicopter along with his wife Melania. He will host 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. 

While Trump did not name Joe Biden, he wished his administration luck and expressed his belief that the next administration would inherit a strong economy and the benefits of accelerated COVID-19 vaccine development. "Remember us when you see incredible things happening," he said.

“You are amazing people. This is a great, great country. It is my greatest honor and privilege to have been your President,” Trump said.

“I will always fight for you. I will be watching. I will be listening, and I will tell you that the future of this country has never been better. I wish the new administration great luck and great success. I think they'll have great success. They have the foundation to do something really spectacular,” he added. 

Trump said his administration had rebuilt the US military, set up a space force, enacted historic tax reforms and built the base for a strong economy. He repeatedly invoked the disruption caused by the coronavirus, expressing pride that the US had developed the "miracle of the vaccine" in just nine months.  

"I hope they don't raise your taxes," he said, in an apparent jab at the incoming Democratic administration. 

Unlike his previous speech, this address appeared unscripted. Trump began by asking First Lady Melania to say a few words.

Trump avoided mentioning his most controversial legacy: The claim of a "stolen" election. He mentioned how he had won 75 million most, a record in the history of sitting presidents (but did not mention that Biden had won over 81 million).

Saying his team had worked as hard as they could, Trump said they had "left it all on the field" and that you could not fault his administration for not working hard enough.

Trump will skip his successor Joe Biden's inauguration and exit the White House for the last time as the US president, boarding 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. 

"It was an honour of a lifetime," he said before departing the White House. Trump, a Republican, became the first US president to lose a re-election bid since 1992. In 1992, George H.W. Bush failed to win his second bid for the White House. 

Vice President Mike Pence will not attend Trump's farewell and is instead scheduled to attend Biden's inauguration.

With inputs from PTI

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