U.S. President Donald Trump will not attend the inauguration of his successor, Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, later this month, he said in a tweet on Friday, hours after promising a peaceful transition of power.
There have been discussions at the White House about Trump leaving Washington on Jan. 19, a source familiar with the matter said. He is expected to travel to his Florida resourt, the source said.
“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
He’ll be the first outgoing president to skip his replacement’s inauguration in more than 150 years.
Traditionally, the outgoing president welcomes the incoming one to the White House in the morning before riding together in the same vehicle to the Capitol building for the swearing in. Trump himself rode with then-President Barack Obama to his own inauguration four year ago.
In 1869, the last time a still-living president failed to appear at his successor’s swearing-in, incoming President Ulysses S. Grant refused to share a carriage with his predecessor Andrew Johnson. Johnson said he would remain behind at the White House.
Three former American presidents do plan to be in attendance for the inauguration, officials say: Bill Clinton, Obama and George W. Bush have all made plans to be in Washington for the official transfer of power.