Trump confirms he won't attend Biden's inauguration

President Donald Trump
(Image credit: Getty Images)

President Trump will officially refuse to attend President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.

In a short tweet on Friday, Trump confirmed he won't be in attendance when Biden is sworn in as the next president, writing, "To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th."

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Some subsequent presidents missed a swearing-in under different circumstances, as Woodrow Wilson didn't attend Warren G. Harding's inauguration for health reasons, and Richard Nixon wasn't at Gerald Ford's swearing-in after resigning over Watergate, Bloomberg reports.

Following months of baseless election fraud claims, Trump posted a video on Thursday finally acknowledging a "new administration" will begin later this month and saying his "focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly, and seamless transition of power." The president, CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports, was "still recently asking people if he should attend" the inauguration, and Politico reported this week he may leave for his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida the day before. Still, Politico also reported that Vice President Mike Pence is expected to be in attendance for Biden's inauguration.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.