Trump announces he will not attend Biden inauguration
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he will not be attending 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 wrote on Twitter.
The announcement comes as some lawmakers in Congress debate whether to bring articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives for a vote after proTrump rioters stormed the US Capitol Building on Wednesday.
Trump will become the sixth president in American history to skip the inauguration of his successor. Richard Nixon was the last president to do so after resigning in disgrace in 1974 amid the Watergate scandal.
Trump’s inauguration pullout came less than 24 hours after he posted a video on Twitter condemning Wednesday’s Capitol attack and vowing to provide a “seamless” handoff to Biden’s administration.
“This moment calls for healing and reconciliation,” Trump said in the video.
Biden appeared unperturbed by the news.
“One of the few things he and I have ever agreed on,” he told reporters at his transition team headquarters in Delaware. “It’s a good thing — him not showing up.”
Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who was among a small group of GOP senators who voted in favor of invalidating Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, pleaded with the outgoing president to reconsider his inaugural cancellation.
“He is, of course, not constitutionally required
to attend and I can imagine losing an election is very hard, but I believe he should attend,” Scott said in a statement. “I plan to attend and believe it is an important tradition that demonstrates the peaceful transfer of power to our people and to the world.”
Vice President Mike Pence is expected to attend Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration, as are former Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and George W. Bush.
Biden’s inauguration is expected to be a pareddown affair because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 365,000 Americans on Trump’s watch.