Trump Tweets That He 'Will Not Be Going' To Biden's Inauguration

Updated September 6, 2021

While American history has certainly seen some colorful elections, few, if any, can hold a candle to the contentiousness of the 2020 presidential race, a contest marked by misinformation and bitterness — during which the nation seemed at various points ready to tear itself apart over racial injustice — and conducted in the middle of a global pandemic.

Finally, it's over, but not without one (hopefully) last, horrible gasp as a pro-Trump mob swarmed and ransacked the Capitol, causing chaos, forcing a joint session of Congress to evacuate, and leaving five dead.

It's the kind of history nobody wanted made, and there will be one more footnote to add.

Only three outgoing presidents have not attended the inauguration of their successor, but President Trump is about to make it four.

Facebook | The White House

Inauguration Day traditionally marks the ceremonial transfer of power from one presidential administration to the next.

According to historian Thomas Balcerski, the last time a president skipped their successor's inauguration was 1869, when Andrew Johnson refused to attend Ulysses S. Grant's inauguration. The other two presidents to take a pass on their successors' inaugurations were John Adams in 1801 and John Quincy Adams in 1829.

Trump made the announcement via Twitter.

Wikipedia | Shealagh Craighead

The day after finally publicly recognizing President-Elect Biden's election victory in a video, released on his just-unlocked Twitter account, Trump made clear that his plans for January 20 did not involve attending Biden's inauguration.

As many noted on Twitter, the Inauguration Day tradition has seen some uncomfortable moments in the past, some quite recent.

Just four years ago, Hillary Clinton turned out to President Trump's inauguration despite having won the popular vote in the election by nearly three million votes. The last incumbent president to lose an election, George H.W. Bush, attended Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1992.

However, in 2013, Mitt Romney chose not to attend Barack Obama's second inauguration following his election defeat.

It's also unclear if Vice-President Mike Pence will be on hand when Biden takes the oath of office.

Facebook | Joe Biden

While Pence had indicated a likelihood of attending, his press secretary later told NPR's Tamara Keith that he and Second Lady Karen Pence "have yet to make a decision regarding their attendance."