'This is not the end,' Trump pledges, in his final speech after tumultuous four-year term

Donald Trump today delivered his final speech as the world’s most powerful politician, pledging this was not the end of his tumultuous affair with governing in the USA.

While at the Joint Base Andrews military facility in Maryland following a short flight with First Lady Melania Trump after leaving the White House for the final time, he spoke of the “honour of a lifetime” while serving his four-year term.

And he added: “We love the American people, and again, it has been something very special.

“And I just want to say goodbye but hopefully it’s not a long-term goodbye. We’ll see each other again.”

In keeping with his hugely unorthodox tenure, Mr Trump became the first president in modern history to boycott his successor’s inauguration, instead opting to travel to Florida.

He did follow at least one presidential tradition, as the White House confirmed the outgoing Republican president had left behind a note for his successor, Democrat Joe Biden.

Deputy press secretary Judd Deere declined to reveal what Mr Trump wrote to Mr Biden, citing privacy for communication between presidents.

Mr Trump has refused to publicly concede to Mr Biden and did not mention the Democrat by name in his farewell address.

The Marine One helicopter carried Mr Trump and his wife to Joint Base Andrews where the President’s official aircraft, Air Force One, awaited, a dramatic backdrop against the sunshine.

A red carpet was placed on the ground for Mr Trump to walk as he boarded the plane, and four US Army cannons were waiting to fire a 21-gun salute to the out-going president.

By the time Mr Biden was sworn in some three hours later, Mr Trump had already landed at his private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Aides had urged Mr Trump to spend his final days in office trying to salvage his legacy by highlighting his administration’s achievements - passing tax cuts, scaling back federal regulations and normalising relations in the Middle East.

However, Mr Trump had largely refused the advice, taking a single trip to the Texas border and releasing a video in which he pledged to his supporters that “the movement we started is only just beginning”.

In the final hours of his presidency, Mr Trump issued pardons for more than 140 people, including his former strategist, rap performers, ex-members of Congress and other allies of him and his family.

Mr Trump, awaiting his second impeachment trial, headed to Florida with a small group of former White House aides to chart a political future that looks very different now than just two weeks ago before the Capitol Hill riot.

Cleaning crews worked overnight into today at the White House and were still continuing as the sun rose to get the building prepared for its new occupants, Mr Biden and his wife, Jill, the new First Lady.

During his time in the capital, Mr Trump rarely left the confines of the White House, except to visit his own hotel. He and his wife never ate dinner at any other local restaurant, never ventured out to shop in its stores or see the sites.

When he did leave, it was almost always to one of his properties - often to attend his golf courses in Virginia, New Jersey and Palm Beach in Florida.

Washington overwhelmingly supported Mr Biden, with 93 per cent of the vote in November’s election. Mr Trump received just 5.4 per cent of the vote.