The tradition, introduced at George Washington’s inauguration as the first U.S. president in 1789, has been followed almost to this day. But Democrats plan to change things up a bit
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After Republican firebrand Donald Trump broke 150 years of tradition by skipping outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden’s inauguration, Democrats are wondering how to avenge the disrespect four years later. I’m looking for something. The tradition, introduced at George Washington’s inauguration as the first U.S. president in 1789, has been followed almost to this day. But Democrats plan to change things up a bit.
In 2021, Trump became the first former president in more than 150 years to skip the oath of office for his successor. Mr. Trump was absent from the ceremony because he could not believe the fact that he lost to Mr. Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Fast forward to 2025, and President Trump will make his ceremonial return to the Oval Office on January 20th.
Ahead of the ceremony, here are three ways Democrats are breaking tradition and giving back to President Trump.
1. Michelle Obama skips inauguration ceremony
Earlier this week, it was announced that former first lady Michelle Obama would not be attending the inauguration of the 47th president of the United States with her husband. On Thursday, former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also confirmed she would be absent from the event. Other Democrats are expected to similarly avoid the ceremony, but the party has so far not organized an all-out boycott like it did for Trump’s first inauguration in 2017.
The Obama administration’s brief statement on the issue did not specify why. Notably, this announcement came just days after the former first lady skipped the funeral of another former US president, Jimmy Carter, where her husband was seen chatting with Trump. It was seen that there was. Former first ladies such as Melania Trump also attended the funeral.
2. Harris won’t host Vance at the vice president’s mansion.
At this time, outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris has not extended the traditional invitation to her successor, J.D. Vance, to meet with her at the Vice President’s residence in Washington, D.C. Sources told CBS News that Harris is preoccupied with other issues, including responding to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. However, there has been no official comment from either side regarding this matter.
Harris lost to Trump in the 2024 presidential election. This is not the first time tradition has been broken. There was no sit-in between former Vice President Mike Pence and Ms. Harris after the close 2020 election. Harris’ team insisted no invitations were sent, but Pence’s campaign said the proposal for a meeting was made in secret.
3. Biden absent from farewell press conference
It seems unlikely that Biden will hold a withdrawal press conference after giving his farewell speech at the White House. A withdrawal press conference was held by former Presidents George W. Bush and Obama, but President Trump did not hold one due to the difficult situation following the 2020 election.
It is important to note that while in the Oval Office, the outgoing president held fewer press conferences than any other president in recent decades.
Meanwhile, former Presidents Obama, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush will also be absent from the presidential inaugural luncheon. So it will be interesting to see if Donald Trump’s inauguration breaks more tradition.
