Photo: Reuters
Trump unveils his Inauguration Day plans
Trump will depart Washington on Wednesday morning before Biden is sworn in, becoming the first modern-day president to skip his successor’s inauguration.
Instead, Trump will attend an unprecedented farewell event at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, where Air Force One is kept. No recent president has had his own sendoff ceremony at Andrews.
Don’t believe the rumors: Trump and Giuliani are still pals (though it’s unclear if Trump is paying his legal fees)
When Rudolph W. Giuliani was treating his efforts to carry out President Trump’s wishes to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election as a payment opportunity — he proposed a daily retainer of $20,000 for his legal services from the burgeoning Trump campaign legal fund — the president dismissed it and responded by demanding to personally approve each expense.
Nine weeks and another impeachment later, Mr. Trump began the day on Thursday by asking aides to erase any sign of a rift. Stripped of his Twitter account, Mr. Trump conveyed his praise through an adviser, Jason Miller, who tweeted: “Just spoke with President Trump, and he told me that @RudyGiuliani is a great guy and a Patriot who devoted his services to the country! We all love America’s Mayor!”
White House officials are universally angry with Mr. Giuliani and blame him for both of Mr. Trump’s impeachments. But the president is another story.
Even as he complains about Mr. Giuliani’s latest efforts as fruitless, the president remains unusually deferential to him in public and in private. “Don’t underestimate him,” Mr. Trump has told advisers.
But only up to a point. While Mr. Trump and his advisers balked at the $20,000 request weeks ago, it is unclear whether the president will sign off on Mr. Giuliani being paid anything other than expenses.
An ambitious plan out of the gate
Already a subscriber? Log in or link your magazine subscription
Already a subscriber? Log in or link your magazine subscription
Already a subscriber? Log in or link your magazine subscription
