Pomp and celebration, the standard TV tropes of the day, had been laced with remarks a couple of potential outbreak of violence, not an unreasonable concern within the wake of what occurred on the Capitol. After which there was the absence of Mr. Trump himself, the primary president in 152 years to skip out on the inauguration of his successor.
“This can be a second to show the web page,” mentioned the “60 Minutes” correspondent John Dickerson. “We simply have by no means seen a president who tried to carry on to the guide.”
Marine One took Mr. Trump from the White Home to Andrews Air Power Base, the place he orchestrated his personal farewell scene. Visually, it was no match for the patriotic regalia in retailer for Mr. Biden on the Capitol. A number of chants of “Thanks, Trump,” might be heard from the small crowd.
This was not the fearsome protagonist of “The Apprentice,” nor the pugnacious campaigner of his rallies. As an alternative, Mr. Trump delivered an informal and considerably circuitous speech, concluding, “Have a superb life.”
On Fox Information, the photographs had been overlaid with commentary in protection of Mr. Trump. “Relating to the press, he by no means acquired a break,” the “Fox & Associates” co-host Steve Doocy informed viewers. “He’s acquired to be slightly steamed that no one within the historical past of the American presidency has been overwhelmed up as badly as Donald Trump has over the previous 4 years.”
As for Mr. Trump, he stored up his position as government producer of the presidency till the very finish. He walked a crimson carpet to the doorway to Air Power One, boarding the presidential plane because the Village Individuals’s disco anthem “Y.M.C.A.” blared from loudspeakers.
The cameras caught with Air Power One because it ready to take off at round 9 a.m. With anchors hushed, a well-known valedictory tune might be heard: Frank Sinatra’s “My Approach.” The track reached a climax because the wheels of Air Power One left the bottom. On CNN, the panelists couldn’t suppress a number of chuckles.
Reduce to a picture of Mr. Biden and the longer term first woman attending a morning church service. “The Biden household,” mentioned the anchor Anderson Cooper. “A brand new starting.”
Tiffany Hsu contributed reporting.