Trump Won’t Attend Biden Inauguration
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump took to his favorite medium — Twitter — Friday morning to announce he won’t attend President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th,” Trump tweeted.
The announcement means Trump will be the first incumbent president since Andrew Johnson — who was also impeached during his presidency — to skip his successor’s swearing-in.
The brief post also seemed at odds with his statement on video last night, that he would work to ensure a “smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power.”
Trump has said nothing publicly about how he would spend his final hours in office. One thing he won’t do, we now know, is ride with incoming President Joe Biden to the U.S. Capitol, a long-standing symbol of the nation’s peaceful transition of power.
As for his post-presidency, Trump said that “The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!”
Trump’s comments come two days after a violent mob of his supporters occupied the Capitol for several hours as lawmakers were tallying the electoral votes that certified Biden’s victory.
His decision to bypass the inauguration was widely expected. Last month, Jen Psaki, the president-elect’s incoming White House press secretary, said whether Trump attended the inauguration was not top of mind for Biden.
Vice President Mike Pence is still expected to attend the inauguration.
