Biden charters plane to DC after Trump REFUSED him government jet

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Donald Trump delivered Joe Biden one more snub Tuesday, forcing him to charter his own plane to fly from Delaware to Washington D.C. instead of authorizing an Air Force jet.

The president-elect flew the short hop from his home state, after a tear-stained speech eulogizing his dead son Beau, on a private Boeing 737 – then as he landed at Joint Base Andrews taxied past an idle Air Force Boeing 757 on the tarmac.

The snub was the latest in Trump’s defiant refusal to acknowledge his successor. In contrast the Obama administration sent an Air Force plane to New York for the Trumps in January 2017.

Just as the Biden family landed, the White House released a 20-minute farewell video from Trump, which did not mention his successor by name or congratulate him on his victory.

On Wednesday, the Trumps will fly out of Washington without greeting the Bidens, with the president holding his own farewell ‘ceremony’ at Andrews before getting on Air Force One to his Mar-a-Lago estate.

He timed the flight to ensure the executive 747 retains the call sign Air Force One for the duration of his time in the air. The Bidens instead will go to Mass with Congressional leaders including Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy – a sign of Trump’s diminishing influence in the Republican party. Even Mike Pence is not going to Trump’s farewell.

Trump fought to overthrow Biden’s election victory, and even after he finally acknowledged on January 7 that he would not remain in office, has not invited his successor to the White House. The snub has been echoed by Melania Trump’s refusal to invite Jill Biden to her new home.  

In contrast, Biden set an emotional tone as he departed Delaware, crying as he spoke about his late son Beau, who died of cancer in 2015.

In 2009, President-elect Barack Obama took a train from Philadelphia and picked up Biden, the vice president-elect in Wilmington, traveling to Washington, D.C.’s Union Station. 

Biden recalled that day – and how important it was that a black man became president of the United States. 

‘And here we are today – my family and I – about to return to Washington to meet a black woman, of south Asian descent, to be sworn in as president and vice president of the United States,’ Biden said, referring to his running mate, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. 

‘As I told Beau on that station waiting for Barack – and Hunter and Ashley – I said don’t tell me things can’t change,’ Biden continued. 

‘They can and they do.’ 

He said this hopeful mentality was thanks to Delaware, a state he said had given his parents work when they needed it – his family left Scranton, PA, when he was 10 – and had helped him heal from the loss of his first wife Neila and baby daughter Naomi in a car crash in 1972.

‘That’s America. That’s Delaware. A place of hope and light and limitless possibilities,’ Biden said. 

He asked the audience to excuse his emotion as he talked about his adopted home state, one that gave his parents ‘a home and a livelihood when they needed it most.’ 

And, he said, Delaware sent him as a ‘kid’ to the U.S. Senate. 

Biden was elected at age 29 and sworn-in, as the Constitution permits, at age 30. 

‘When I die, Delaware will be written on my heart and the hearts of all of the Bidens,’ he said. 

‘We love you all, you’ve been there for us in the good and the bad, you never walked away,’ Biden continued. 

‘And I am proud – proud, proud, proud to be a son of Delaware and I am even more proud to be standing here doing this from the Major Beau Biden facility.’ 

That’s when the president-elect wished his son would have been the Biden to make it to the White House. 

Before his death, Beau Biden had encouraged his father to run for president in 2016, instead of letting Hillary Clinton become the heir to President Barack Obama’s legacy. 

After Beau Biden died, Joe Biden sat out the 2016 race, which saw Clinton lose to Republican President Donald Trump. 

Biden decided to run for president in 2020 after watching Trump handle the racial violence in Charlottesville in 2017.  

Biden was introduced by Delaware’s Democratic Gov. John Carney, who said the president-elect was ‘born for this moment.’ 

‘I have one particular feeling that’s hard to describe and it’s one that so many Americans haven’t felt for so long,’ Carney said, explaining that that feeling was ‘hope.’ 

Carney also spoke of Beau Biden’s death, calling him Joe Biden’s ‘pride and joy.’ ‘And Delaware’s as well,’ Carney said. 

‘He has picked himself up and brought us along with him,’ Carney said of the incoming president. ‘Now he stands ready to pull the country out of this morass out of the chaos and onto higher ground.’

At Wednesday’s swearing-in ceremony, Biden’s inaugural address will center on unifying the country in the post-Trump era. 

 Biden is expected to speak for between 20 and 30 minutes.  

When Biden lands in Washington, he’ll arrive at a city filled with National Guard troops and military checkpoints, as the main downtown arteries and Capitol Hill are all blocked off on the heels of the January 6 insurrection attempt.

The National Mall, which usually hosts major crowd for the swearing-in, has been blocked off to the public, with a flag display taking the place of humans.

Biden will be joined by Harris for a 5:30 p.m. event at the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflection Pool to honor the lives lost in the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. hit the dismal mark of 400,000 deaths from COVID-19.

Biden and Harris’ inauguration was always going to have a smaller human footprint because they’ve been strict about COVID-19 protocols.

But the MAGA mob’s siege made security even tighter. 

While President Obama sent President-elect Trump an Air Force One-type jet for his family’s Washington arrival, Biden took a white and gray charter jet – a Boeing BBJ, based on the Boeing 737 – between Delaware and D.C. 

As Biden’s white and gray private plane landed at Andrews, it passed one of the government planes used as Air Force One on the tarmac.

Trump’s refusal to send Biden a military jet was largely seen as a snub.

The president also refused to meet with Biden, a normal part of the transition.

First lady Melania Trump paid the same courtesy to Jill Biden, refusing to give her a tour of the residence, also a transition tradition.

The White House’s chief usher Timothy Harleth will greet the Bidens at the White House instead of the outgoing first family.

Even this week, The New York Times reported Monday, Trump was telling allies that he was the true winner of the election. 

Trump will fly to West Palm Beach, Florida Wednesday and arrive there before noon, so he can fly onboard ‘Air Force One’ one final time.

The Air Force One label applies to the president’s plane, no matter what make or model. 

But it is security that now defines the capital and the Capitol itself.  

Twelve National Guardsmen have now been removed from the presidential inauguration security mission after they were found to have ties with right-wing militia groups or posted extremist views online, officials say. 

The officials, a senior intelligence official and an Army official briefed on the matter, did not say which fringe group the Guard members belonged to or what unit they served in. 

They did say, however, that here was no threat to Joe Biden. 

Neither the National Guard or Secret Service would comment on the removal of the Guardsmen. 

Their removal from the massive security presence at the nation’s capital comes as the FBI worked to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops headed to the area for Biden’s inauguration amid concerns of insider threats in the wake of the Capitol riots. 

It comes after the National Guard chief, General Daniel Hokanson, said earlier on Tuesday that the 25,000 armed troops protecting DC were ‘trained and ready for anything’ and he wasn’t concerned about the potential for insider threat. 

The National Guard said troops from all 50 states are supporting law enforcement for the inauguration.   

Gen. Hokanson said the vetting of his troops was standard practice but was heightened given the large number of Guardsman brought in to fortify DC in the wake of the insurrection at Capitol by pro-Trump rioters. 

In addition to the 25,000 National Guardsman, the Pentagon also authorized 750 active-duty troops with expertise in chemical, biological, nuclear, radiological and explosive weapons to provide additional security in the capital.  

‘We’ve done a lot of work. We’re making sure that our folks are trained and ready for anything they’re going to be asked to do. Our folks are always trained in deescalation techniques,’ Gen Hokanson told NBC’s Today on Tuesday.  

He said the decision to arm his troops during the inauguration was made by the Secret Service amid the ongoing threats. 

Gen Hokanson said he wasn’t concerned about the potential for an insider attack from service members involved in securing the inauguration after defense officials raised concerns.  

‘It’s not a threat for me, I’m not concerned about that at all. If you look at our National Guardsman, we vet them throughout the process. We don’t allow extremism of any type in our organization,’ he said. 

‘As we look at this as a national special security event… this type of vetting is standard.’

Gen Hokanson has been meeting with Guard troops as they arrive in DC and as they gather downtown. He said he believes there are good processes in place to identify any potential threats.

It comes after Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told The Associated Press that officials are conscious of the potential threat and he warned commanders to be on the lookout for any problems within their ranks as the inauguration approaches. 

So far, however, he and other leaders say they have seen no evidence of any threats, and officials said the vetting hadn’t flagged any issues that they were aware of. 

‘We’re continually going through the process, and taking second, third looks at every one of the individuals assigned to this operation,’ McCarthy said. 

He said Guard members are also getting training on how to identify potential insider threats. 

About 25,000 members of the National Guard are streaming into Washington from across the country – at least two and a half times the number for previous inaugurals. 

While the military routinely reviews service members for extremist connections, the FBI screening is in addition to any previous monitoring. 

As security continues to intensify in DC ahead of the inauguration, defense officials told Politico that 750 active-duty troops had been deployed this week to the capital. 

Those personnel are experts in handling chemical and nuclear weapons, as well as experience disposing of explosives. 

Among the active-duty personnel are medical teams trained in responding to trauma. 

It comes as the Capitol complex temporarily locked down on Monday during an inauguration rehearsal after a fire in a homeless encampment roughly a mile away sent a plume of smoke into the air and caused security concerns in the already on-edge city. 

Military personnel and staffers could be seen running from the temporary seating on the Capitol Building’s West Front as an evacuation warning played in the background.

Law enforcement officials later confirmed there was no threat to the public and the fire was not believed to be a threat to the inauguration. 

The evacuation of some participants and the lockdown were ordered by the acting chief of Capitol Police in an abundance of caution. 

But the fast decision to lock down underscores the fear that has gripped Washington since the deadly January 6 insurrection at the Capitol by pro-Trump rioters.

Attempts to fortify Washington have been ongoing ever since with the city now an armed fortress fenced off with razor wire.  

Armed protests planned for this past weekend around the country were mostly a bust, but anxiety is still skyrocketing.

The major security concern for the inauguration is an attack by armed groups of individuals, as well as planted explosives and other devices. 

McCarthy said intelligence reports suggest that groups are organizing armed rallies leading up to Inauguration Day and possibly after that.