US President Donald Trump gave his farewell address to Americans on Tuesday, telling them to "pray" for the success of the incoming Biden administration.
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"This week, we inaugurate a new administration and pray for its success in keeping America safe and prosperous," Trump said in the video, released by the White House on the last full day of his presidency. "We extend our best wishes, and we also want them to have luck – a very important word."
A major factor in facilitating recent normalization deals between Israel and Arab countries in recent months, Trump touted the successes of his administration.
"As a result of our bold diplomacy and principled realism, we achieved a series of historic peace deals in the Middle East," Trump said. "Nobody believed it could happen."
"The Abraham Accords opened the doors to a future of peace and harmony, not violence and bloodshed. It is the dawn of a new Middle East, and we are bringing our soldiers home," he added. He said that he was proud to have "started no new wars."
The outgoing president's video comes at the backdrop of a muted presence in recent weeks, after social media platforms banned his account for inciting violence on Capitol Hill on January 6. His message comes as the Senate moves ahead with his impeachment trial for his role in the mob that stormed Capitol Hill.
Although Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not stated whether he would vote to impeach Trump, on Tuesday he delivered his harshest rebuke of the president, saying that "the mob was fed lies" and "provoked by the president and other powerful people."
The incident has led to heightened security surrounding fears of armed protests for incoming President Joe Biden's inauguration January 20.
Trump was also expected to spend his final hours granting clemency to as many as 100 people, according to two people briefed on the plans. The list of pardons and commutations is expected to include names unfamiliar to the American public – regular people who have spent years languishing in prison – as well as politically connected friends and allies like those he's pardoned in the past.
In his farewell address, Trump cast his presidency as a triumph for everyday people as he also highlighted the development of coronavirus vaccinations and the creation of a new Space Force.
"As President, my top priority, my constant concern, has always been the best interests of American workers and American families," he said. "I did not seek the easiest course; by far, it was actually the most difficult. I did not seek the path that would get the least criticism. I took on the tough battles, the hardest fights, the most difficult choices because that's what you elected me to do."
Trump also made clear that he has no plans of going quietly into the night, telling his supporters that, as he prepares "to hand power over to a new administration at noon on Wednesday, I want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning. There's never been anything like it."
Trump is set to leave Washington early Wednesday morning after a grand farewell event at nearby Joint Base Andrews. Once there, he will board Air Force One for a final time, flying to Florida and becoming the first outgoing president in more than a century to skip the inauguration of his successor.
But it remains unclear how many people will be there to see him off. Several former administration officials-turned-Trump critics have expressed surprise that they received invitations. And even Vice President Mike Pence will be absent. A person familiar with his schedule cited the logistical challenges of getting from the base back to Washington DC for Biden's inauguration ceremonies, which Pence will be attending.
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A long list of Trump staffers have already packed their offices and departed the White House, leaving the West Wing deserted – a warren of empty offices and bare walls – surrounded by an unprecedented security apparatus with National Guard troops, military vehicles and checkpoints aimed at staving off further violence.
Moving trucks were spotted in Florida on Monday arriving at Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club.
