Trump Says He Won’t Attend Biden Inauguration 2
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he will not attend President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration later this month.
“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
With his decision, Trump is poised to become the first American president in recent political memory to not appear for their successor’s swearing-in ceremony, one of the nation’s most prominent public displays of its commitment to a peaceful transfer of power between presidential administrations.
Vice President Mike Pence is expected to attend the inauguration, POLITICO reported Thursday.
Trump’s tweet arrived hours after he released a video message acknowledging, on camera, that he would not serve a second term.
That recognition came only after a deadly siege of the Capitol building on Wednesday perpetrated by his supporters. The resulting violence left five people dead, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer.
“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2021