Trump's exit: President leaves office with legacy of chaos

Donald Trump will walk out of the White House and board Marine One for the last time as president Wednesday morning, leaving behind a legacy of chaos and tumult and a nation bitterly divided.

Four years after standing on stage at his own inauguration and painting a dire picture of “American carnage," Trump departs the office twice impeached, with millions more out of work and 400,000 dead from the coronavirus. Republicans under his watch lost the presidency and both chambers of Congress. He will be forever remembered for the final major act of his presidency: inciting an insurrection at the Capitol that left five dead, including a Capitol Police officer, and horrified the nation.

Trump will be the first president in modern history to boycott his successor’s inauguration as he continues to stew about his loss and privately maintains the election that President-elect Joe Biden fairly won was stolen from him. Republican officials in several critical states, members of his own administration and a wide swath of judges, including those appointed by Trump, have rejected those arguments.

Still, Trump has refused to participate in any of the symbolic passing-of-the-torch traditions surrounding the peaceful transition of power, including inviting the Bidens over for a get-to-know-you visit.

By the time Biden is sworn in, Trump will already have landed at his private Mar-a-Lago club in West Palm Beach, Florida, to face an uncertain future — but not before giving himself a grand military sendoff, complete with a red carpet, military band and 21-gun salute.

Guests have been invited, but it is unclear how many will attend. Even Vice President Mike Pence plans to skip the event, citing the logistical challenges of getting from the air base to the inauguration ceremonies. Washington has been transformed into a security fortress, with thousands of National Guard troops, fencing and checkpoints to try to stave off further violence.

Aides had urged Trump to spend his final days in office trying to salvage his legacy by highlighting his administration’s achievements — passing tax cuts, scaling back federal regulations, normalizing relations in the Middle East. But Trump largely refused, taking a single trip to the Texas border and releasing a video in which he pledged to his supporters that “the movement we started is only just beginning.”

Trump will retire to Florida with a small group of former White House aides as he charts a political future that looks very different now than just two weeks ago.

Before the Capitol riot, Trump had been expected to remain his party’s de facto leader, wielding enormous power as he served as a kingmaker and mulled a 2024 presidential run. But now he appears more powerless than ever — shunned by so many in his party, impeached twice, denied the Twitter bullhorn he had intended to use as his weapon and even facing the prospect that, if he is convicted in his Senate trial, he could be barred from seeking a second term.

For now, Trump remains angry and embarrassed, consumed with rage and grievance. He spent the week after the election sinking deeper and deeper into a world of conspiracy, and those who have spoken with him say he continues to believe he won in November. He continues to lash out at Republicans for perceived disloyalty and has threatened, both publicly and privately, to spend the coming years backing primary challenges against those he feel betrayed him.

Some expect him to eventually turn completely on the Republican Party, perhaps by flirting with a run as a third-party candidate as an act of revenge.

For all the chaos and drama and bending the world to his will, Trump ended his term as he began it: largely alone. The Republican Party he co-opted finally appeared to have had enough after Trump’s supporters violently stormed the Capitol, hunting for lawmakers who refused to go along with Trump’s unconstitutional efforts to overturn the results of a democratic election.

But although Washington may have had enough, Trump retains his grip on the Republican base, with the support of millions of loyal voters, along with allies still helming the Republican National Committee and many state party organizations.

The city he leaves will not miss him. Trump rarely left the confines of the White House, except to visit his own hotel. He and his wife never once ate dinner at any other local restaurant; never ventured out to shop in its stores or see the sites. When he did leave, it was almost always to one of his properties: his golf course in Virginia, his golf course in New Jersey, his private club and nearby golf course in Palm Beach, Florida.

The city overwhelmingly supported Biden, with 93% of the vote. Trump received just 5.4% of the vote — or fewer than 18,600 ballots — not enough to fill the Washington Capitals hockey arena.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The vast coin collection of a Danish butter magnate is set to finally go on sale a century after his death, and could fetch up to $72 million.

Lars Emil Bruun, also known as L.E. Bruun, stipulated in his will that his 20,000-piece collection be safeguarded for 100 years before being sold. Deeply moved by the devastation of World War I, he wanted the collection to be a reserve for Denmark, fearing another war.

Now, over a century since Bruun’s death at the age of 71 in 1923, New York-based Stack’s Bowers, a rare coin auction house, will begin auctioning the collection this fall, with several sales planned over the coming years.

On its website the auction house calls it the “most valuable collection of world coins to ever come to market.” The collection's existence has been known of in Denmark but not widely, and it has has never been seen by the public before.

“When I first heard about the collection, I was in disbelief,” said Vicken Yegparian, vice president of numismatics at Stack’s Bowers Galleries.

“We’ve had collections that have been off the market for 100 years plus,” he said. “But they’re extremely well known internationally. This one has been the best open secret ever.”

Born in 1852, Bruun began to collect coins as a boy in the 1850s and '60s, years before he began to amass vast riches in the packing and wholesaling of butter.

His wealth allowed him to pursue his hobby, attending auctions and building a large collection that came to include 20,000 coins, medals, tokens and banknotes from Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Following the devastation of World War I and fearing another war, Bruun left strict instructions in his will for the collection.

“For a period of 100 years after my death, the collection shall serve as a reserve for the Royal Coin and Medal Collection," it stipulated.

“However, should the next century pass with the national collection intact, it shall be sold at public auction and the proceeds shall accrue to the persons who are my direct descendants.”

That stipulation didn’t stop some descendants from trying to break the will and cash in, but they were not successful. “I think the will and testament were pretty ironclad. There was no loophole,” Yegparian said.

Yegparian estimates some pieces may sell for just $50, but others could go for over $1 million. He said potential buyers were already requesting a catalogue before the auction was announced.

The collection first found refuge at former Danish royal residence Frederiksborg Castle, then later made its way to Denmark’s National Bank.

Denmark’s National Museum had the right of first refusal on part of the collection and purchased seven rare coins from Bruun’s vast hoard before they went to auction.

The seven coins — six gold, one silver — were all minted between the 15th and 17th centuries by Danish or Norwegian monarchs. The cost of over $1.1 million was covered by a supporting association.

“We chose coins that were unique. They are described in literature as the only existing specimen of this kind,” said senior researcher Helle Horsnaes, a coin expert at the national museum.

“The pure fact that this collection has been closed for a hundred years makes it a legend,” Horsnaes said. “It’s like a fairytale.”

Vicken Yegparian, vice president of numismatics, Stack's Bowers Galleries, holds a silver Norwegian coin from 1628, part of L. E. Bruun's collection, in Zealand, Denmark, May 7, 2024. The vast coin collection of a Danish butter magnate is set to finally go to on sale a century after his death, and could fetch up to $72 million. Lars Emil Bruun, also known as L.E. Bruun, stipulated in his will that his 20,000-piece collection be safeguarded for 100 years before being sold. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Coins from L. E. Bruun's collection on display on wooden tray, in Zealand, Denmark, May 7, 2024. The vast coin collection of a Danish butter magnate is set to finally go to on sale a century after his death, and could fetch up to $72 million. Lars Emil Bruun, also known as L.E. Bruun, stipulated in his will that his 20,000-piece collection be safeguarded for 100 years before being sold. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Vicken Yegparian, vice president of numismatics, Stack's Bowers Galleries, holds a golden coin once belonging to the collection of Danish king, Frederik VII, now part of L. E. Bruun's collection, in Zealand, Denmark, May 7, 2024. The vast coin collection of a Danish butter magnate is set to finally go to on sale a century after his death, and could fetch up to $72 million. Lars Emil Bruun, also known as L.E. Bruun, stipulated in his will that his 20,000-piece collection be safeguarded for 100 years before being sold. (AP Photo/James Brooks)