President Donald Trump said Friday he won’t attend President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Following his concession late Thursday, Trump offered no clues for how he would spend his final hours in office. He will be the first incumbent president since Andrew Johnson to skip his successor’s swearing-in. Traditionally, the incoming and outgoing presidents ride to the U.S. Capitol together for the ceremony, as a symbol of the nation’s peaceful transition.
Trump’s comments come two days after a violent mob occupied the Capitol for several hours as lawmakers were tallying the electoral votes that certified Biden’s victory. Biden will become president at noon on Jan. 20 regardless of Trump’s plans.
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
Vice President Mike Pence was expected to attend the inauguration, according to one person close to him and one familiar with the inauguration planning. But Pence spokesman Devin Malley said in a statement Friday that he and the second lady “have yet to make a decision regarding their attendance.”
Biden’s transition team had no immediate comment on Trump’s announcement. But Jen Psaki, the president-elect’s incoming White House press secretary, said last month that whether Trump attended the inauguration was not top of mind for Biden.
On Thursday, with 12 days left in his term, Trump acknowledged he’ll leave after Congress affirmed his defeat.
Trump led off a video from the White House Thursday by condemning the violence carried out in his name a day earlier at the Capitol. Then, for the first time on camera, he admitted his presidency would soon end — though he declined to mention Biden by name or explicitly state he had lost.
“A new administration will be inaugurated on Jan. 20,” Trump said in the video. “My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2021
Thursday evening’s address came at the end of a day when the president stayed largely out of sight in the White House. Silenced on some of his favorite internet lines of communication, he watched the resignations of several top aides, including two Cabinet secretaries.
And as officials sifted through the aftermath of the pro-Trump mob’s siege of the U.S. Capitol, there was growing discussion of impeaching him a second time as talk of invoking the 25th Amendment to oust him from the Oval Office continued.
The Associated Press contributed to this article