From pardoning Lil Wayne to promising he'll be back: What Trump did in his last hours as president

Donald Trump left the White House for the last time on Wednesday after his term as US president came to an end.

His four-year presidency has been filled with controversy that saw him make headlines across the world.

After losing the presidential election to Joe Biden in November, a result he has contested, Trump has spent the last months of his presidency denying the loss, watching loyalists storm the US Capitol, facing a second impeachment and dealing with a social media ban.

His last few hours were no less turbulent.

Here are five things he did in his last few hours at the helm of the nation:

Gave Lil Wayne, Kodak Black and others a pardon.

Trump's last day started really early with the release, at just after midnight, of a list of 73 individuals who had been pardoned and 70 who had their sentences commuted.

Popular hip-hop musicians Lil Wayne and Kodak Black were among those on the list. Lil Wayne faced up to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty late last year to illegally possessing a loaded handgun, while Kodak Black was serving a three years and 10 month prison sentence for making a false statement to buy a firearm.

The list also included former aide Steve Bannon and major Republican Party fundraiser Elliott Broidy. However, it did not include Tiger King star Joe Exotic, who is serving a 22-year prison sentence for plotting to kill a rival and animal cruelty.

Revoked an ethics ban on aides

It was also announced that he had revoked his executive order barring aides and other administration officials from lobbying. He had imposed the ban soon after he took office in 2017.

The ethics order said his appointees could not lobby their own agency for five years, and any government appointee for two years after leaving their post.

It also required them to agree to a lifetime ban on working on behalf of foreign governments or political parties.

Left a letter for Biden

Trump may have skipped Joe Biden's inauguration and not been at the White House to welcome the new president and First Lady, but he still kept the tradition of leaving a letter to his successor in the Oval Office.

Biden would later tell reporters that the note was “very generous”.

“Because it was private I will not talk about it until I talk to him, but it was generous.”

A senior Trump aide told CNN it was a “personal note” that prayed for the country's success.

Promises to be back

At about 8am (13:00 GMT) Trump and his wife Melania boarded a helicopter to Maryland, where he was set to give his final speech before Biden's inauguration.

Trump ended his time in the presidential limelight by promising his supporters that “we will be back in some form”.

At a send-off event at Joint Air Force Base Andrews, Trump praised his administration's success and said he wished the Biden administration well.

“Have a good life, we will see you soon,” he ended his speech by saying.

One last flight on Air Force One

After his speech the pair boarded the official aircraft modified and used to transport the President, Air Force One.

They travelled south to Florida, where Trump will now live at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.

The aircraft was return to Maryland, where it will be used by Biden.