Trump to leave White House before Biden sworn-in

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Outgoing US President Donald Trump will depart the White House for a final time on the morning of Inauguration Day, just hours before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn-in, according to a report published Friday.

Trump had previously announced that he would not attend Biden's inauguration ceremony, breaking with precedent that dates back nearly 200 years. But the Washington Post newspaper reported that Trump will not only not attend, but will leave the executive mansion before the reins of power are formally handed over.

Normally, the outgoing and incoming presidents ride to the Capitol together to take part in the inauguration ceremony in a display that embodies the US's peaceful transfer of power. The tradition has been in place "with few exceptions" since 1837, according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.

Outgoing Vice President Mike Pence is expected to attend the ceremony.

Trump is bracing for his second Senate impeachment trial, the first time in history a president has been impeached twice, over his role in the riot that saw lawmakers taken into lockdown as the president's supporters stormed the US capitol. Trump now accounts for half of all four impeachments in US history.