Donald Trump spent his last moments as President sad and alone, according to Jim Acosta, who led CNN's coverage of Trump during his presidency.
In his farewell to Washington on Wednesday morning, Trump greeted a small crowd of about 200 at Joint Base Andrews before he boarded Air Force One with family and the press, including Acosta.
"It was sort of a sad and pathetic sight," Acosta told CNN's Chief Media Correspondent Brian Stelter on "Reliable Sources" on Sunday. "I've never seen him this alone the entire time he was at the level of presidential politics".
"Essentially what we saw was the undoing of the Trump presidency," Acosta said of Trump's final days. "What we saw the President build over the course of four or five years out on the campaign trail and over at the White House just sort of of unraveled at the end."
After the Capitol riot, Trump was banned from Twitter, and he has largely remained out of public view save for a few short video messages and his last address to supporters at Joint Base Andrews. It's an unusual quiet period for Trump, who has relished the spotlight for decades.
Acosta expects Trump won't be able to remain silent for long.
But with record-low popularity in the last days of office, Trump probably doesn't have the ability to lead a major political party and win back the presidency, Acosta noted — and that's if the Senate in its upcoming impeachment trial fails to convict Trump and prevent him from running for office again.
"Trump isn't going to be able to do that right now," he predicted.
Acosta had a combative relationship with the Trump White House that at one point took away his credentials — a decision that CNN successfully sued to overturn in court.
Although Trump is out of office, Acosta still calls him "lord of the lies" and believes he should not be ignored.
