Timothy L. O'Brien, Columnist

So Long, Citizen Trump

Assessing the former president’s legacy as he leaves power.

January 21, 2021 at 11:30 AM UTC

Timothy L. O'Brien is senior executive editor of Bloomberg Opinion. A former editor and reporter for the New York Times, he is author of “TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald.”

Final morning as president.
Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg

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Departing the White House aboard Marine One on Wednesday, Donald Trump flew over an uneasy capital sewn tight by armed troops and razor wire. The seat of the federal government was a crime scene awash in a pandemic, and Trump was fleeing to Joint Base Andrews for a last ride aboard the presidential jet to his Palm Beach country club.

As he stood on the tarmac near Air Force One amid a small crowd of aides and loyalists, a military band and several hundred fewer Army cannons than he probably wanted, the first president in modern history to skip his successor’s inauguration promised there would be a second act.

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