Hollywood celebrity gossip website TMZ says that immediately after Donald Trump’s inauguration, Barack and Michelle Obama will fly to Palm Springs, California by way of one last flight on Air Force One at the cost of the American people.
The website claims that upon the completion of Trump’s oath of office ceremony, the plane designated as Air Force One will wing its way westward with the Obamas aboard.
Of course, despite that it is the plane designated as Air Force One, it won’t be called Air Force One during this flight because Obama will no longer be president.
That same day, the Obamas will also take their last Marine One helicopter ride to Andrews Air Force Base to board the plane. Of course, Marine One also won’t officially carry the president’s designation for that last trip, but it is the same publicly-owned conveyance regardless.
TMZ asked local officials in California and the White House if the rumors are correct but was not able to confirm the details.
Three other presidents headed to California after their days in Washington. Presidents Reagan and Nixon had homes in the Golden State. And as he left office, Gerald Ford also flew across country to California, stopping at Pebble Beach, where the following day he played in the Bing Crosby Pro-Am Golf Tournament.
Not all modern presidents flew home after leaving the White House. For his last trip, as thousands gathered to wish him a safe trip, Harry S. Truman boarded a train at Union Station and rode the rails back to his home in Independence, Missouri.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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