Pence reportedly expected to attend the inauguration as Trump potentially leaves for Mar-a-Lago
President Trump may not be in attendance for President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, but it appears his vice president will.
Vice President Mike Pence is expected to attend Biden's inauguration, Politico reported on Thursday and CNN confirmed. The decision to do so, Politico reports, became "easier" after Trump publicly lambasted Pence for not overturning the results of the 2020 election, despite his lack of authority to do so.
"It was a much more difficult decision days ago, but less difficult now," a person close to Pence told Politico.
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Trump had been publicly pressuring Pence to somehow prevent Biden's win from being certified by Congress this week, but Pence, who oversaw the counting of electoral votes, said "my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not." Trump reacted by attacking him on Twitter, claiming he "didn't have the courage to do what should have been done."
Trump has not officially confirmed whether he'll attend the inauguration after refusing to concede the election and falsely claiming he won in a landslide, but Politico reports he has told staff he doesn't expect to do so. He may also leave for his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida the day before, according to the report, and potentially have a rally the day of. A spokesperson for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies told CNN on Thursday, "We have not been told by the president or vice president whether they will be there."
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