US President Donald Trump has made his farewell address before leaving office, saying: "We did what we came to do - and so much more."

In a video posted on YouTube, he said he took on "the tough battles, the hardest fights... because that's what you elected me to do".

Mr Trump has still not fully accepted the result of last November's election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Mr Biden will be sworn in as president on Wednesday.

Late on Tuesday, Mr Trump issued pardons for rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black as well as former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

He is expected to issue dozens more pardons and commutations in his final hours in office, including his former adviser Steve Bannon, according to US media.

On the eve of his inauguration, Mr Biden led a national tribute to the 400,000 Americans who have died of Covid-19.

At sundown on Tuesday, 400 lights were illuminated in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC to honour those who have lost their lives to the disease.

The last two weeks of Mr Trump's term have been dominated by the fallout from the deadly riot on Capitol Hill, when a mob of his supporters stormed Congress, seeking to overturn the election result.

"Political violence is an attack on everything we cherish as Americans. It can never be tolerated," Mr Trump said in his video, in which he did not acknowledge his successor by name.

Source: BBC

BDST: 1214 HRS, JAN 20, 2021
SMS