WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump headed to Washington on Saturday ahead of his inauguration on a U.S. military airplane supplied by U.S. President Joe Biden, as the outgoing president emphasized sticking with traditional transition norms.
Trump will arrive in Washington on Saturday evening for celebrations to mark his return to office on Monday.
For the occasion, he is ditching his navy and crimson “Trump Force One” he often flies in favor of a government plane Biden sent to Florida. Biden has stressed to his officials that they must work with Trump’s transition team, a sharp contrast to the last transition when Trump refused to attend the inauguration or acknowledge Biden’s win.
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Both planes 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 will fly aboard a specially configured Boeing 757-200 in trademark blue and white colors and bearing the words “United States of America.”
His daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner were spotted boarding that aircraft Saturday afternoon.
It is the same model aircraft that’s 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 plane to their inauguration, though Biden did not.
In 2021, Biden had planned to arrive by train but the plan was canceled after the Secret Service raised security concerns after thousands of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. 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 U.S. aircraft then.
The White House and the U.S. Air Force could not immediately be reached for comment.
(Reporting by Nathan Layne, Trevor Hunnicutt and David Shepardson; Editing by Heather Timmons and Deepa Babington)
As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office, he is following tradition by traveling to Washington D.C. by train for his inauguration. Meanwhile, outgoing President Donald Trump has broken from tradition by flying on Air Force One to the nation’s capital.
The contrast in travel methods highlights the differences between the two leaders and their approaches to the presidency. Biden’s decision to take the train, a mode of transportation he has long favored, is a nod to his working-class roots and a signal of his commitment to unity and bipartisanship.
On the other hand, Trump’s decision to fly on Air Force One, the iconic presidential plane, reflects his unconventional and often divisive style of leadership. The use of the plane for a personal trip is also a departure from protocol, as it is typically reserved for official presidential business.
As Biden and Trump prepare for the transition of power, their differing travel choices serve as a reminder of the stark contrast between the two men and the paths they have taken to the highest office in the land.
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- Presidential traditions
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- Biden inauguration tradition
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