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Trump first outgoing US Prez to miss inauguration in 150 years

11 Jan 2021

US President Donald Trump has announced that he would not attend President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on 20 January, which would make him only the fourth US President to boycott his successor's inauguration, and the first in more than 150 years to do so, according to CNN.  The last instance of a similar boycott was when Andrew Johnson did not attend Ulysses S. Grant's inauguration in 1869.  “To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th,” Trump wrote on Twitter on Friday (8). The announcement came two days after a violent mob of the President’s loyalists stormed the Capitol in an effort to overturn the result of the November Election, in an attack that left five people dead. His decision was welcomed by the President-elect, who termed it a positive development.  "It's a good thing, him not showing up," Biden told reporters Friday in Wilmington, Delaware, at a news conference after he introduced his Cabinet nominees. "He exceeded even my worst notions about him. He's been an embarrassment to the country, embarrassed us around the world. He's not worthy to hold that office." Biden will be sworn in on 20 January as the 46th President of the US, and the oldest at the time of inauguration, at 78 years of age. After a months-long campaign to cling to power, Trump on Thursday recognised his defeat for the first time in a two-and-a-half-minute video posted on Twitter. While accepting that a “new administration will be inaugurated on 20 January”, he also refused to give up his claims that the election was stolen from him. Citing the importance of keeping with “historical precedents”, Biden said he would be “honoured” to have Mike Pence attend his inauguration, though the vice-president’s plans remain unclear. Biden will be sworn in on the steps of the Capitol, amid heightened security after the building was breached and vandalised on Wednesday. The Mayor of Washington DC, Muriel Bowser, extended a state of emergency order through inauguration day, saying of the mob that led the siege: “their motivation is ongoing”. Biden said he had full confidence in the Secret Service, the agency in charge of security at his inauguration, and predicted the event would take place “without a hitch”. The ceremony, which typically draws thousands of spectators and concludes with a parade along Pennsylvania Avenue, has already been greatly downsized as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The inaugural committee has urged supporters not to travel to Washington to attend the event, and is instead planning a “virtual parade” across the country. The circumstances around Trump’s departure from the White House on 20 January have not yet been made public, though he is widely expected to return to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Before the Christmas holiday, Trump had reportedly discussed plans for holding an event to announce his plans to run for presidency in 2024 instead of attending Biden’s inauguration. Before his election in 2016, and again in 2020, Trump refused to explicitly commit to a peaceful transfer of power. After his loss to Biden, Trump insisted, without any evidence, that the election had been stolen, and refused to accept his defeat. Instead, he whipped up his supporters with wild claims of a vast conspiracy to rig the election against him, culminating in a rally in Washington on Wednesday when he urged them to “walk down to the Capitol” and register their discontent over the election. He added that “you will never take back our country with weakness”. Shortly thereafter, rioters loyal to the President overwhelmed police and stormed the Capitol, where they shattered windows, vandalised congressional offices, and stole property. The mob, who Trump later told “I love you” as he appealed for calm, disrupted the process of certifying the electoral college, the last step in affirming Biden’s victory. Members of Congress returned late in the evening on Wednesday to complete the process. Biden will be the next President of the United States, in a vote of 306 to 232.


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