West Palm Beach, Florida — President-elect Donald Trump headed to Washington on Saturday ahead of his inauguration on a US military aeroplane supplied by US President Joe Biden, as the outgoing president emphasised sticking with traditional transition norms.
Trump arrived in Washington on Saturday evening for celebrations to mark his return to office on Monday.
For the occasion, he ditched his navy-and-crimson “Trump Force One” he often flies in favour of a government aircraft Biden sent to Florida. Biden has stressed to his officials that they must work with Trump’s transition team, a sharp contrast to the previous transition when Trump refused to attend the inauguration or acknowledge Biden’s win.
Both aircraft sat on the tarmac at Palm Beach International Airport before Trump’s departure Saturday. Trump’s son Eric and Eric’s wife, Lara, boarded the private plane.
For his less than three-hour flight to Washington Dulles International Airport, Trump flew aboard a specially configured Boeing 757-200 in trademark blue-and-white colours and bearing the words “US of America”.
His daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, were spotted boarding that aircraft Saturday afternoon.
It is the same model aircraft that is called Air Force Two when flown by the vice-president but is also used by the first lady, cabinet members and other high-ranking officials.
It is the norm for presidents-elect to take such a government-provided aircraft to their inauguration, though Biden did not.
In 2021, Biden had planned to arrive by train but the plan was cancelled after the Secret Service raised security concerns after thousands of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6 2021 in a bid to overturn his election defeat.
The Trump administration offered no plane and Biden ended up taking a private jet to Washington, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Photographs from Trump’s 2017 arrival in the Washington area to take office for his first term showed that he used a similar US aircraft then.
The White House and the US Air Force could not immediately be reached for comment.
Reuters
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