Trump To Skip Biden's Inauguration; Biden Says It’s a ‘Good Thing’
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden delivers remarks after he announced cabinet nominees that will round out his economic team, including secretaries of commerce and labor, at The Queen theater on January 08, 2021 in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden announced he is nominating Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo as his commerce secretary, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh his labor secretary and Isabel Guzman, a former Obama administration official, as head of the Small Business Administration. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Donald Trump said he would not attend the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, putting an end to the questions of whether he would be present at the event or not.

Trump tweeted Friday that he will not be going to the inauguration on Jan. 20, according to an NBC News report. Biden replied to Trump's statement and said that Trump skipping his oathtaking was one of the few things that they agreed on.

"One of the few things he and I have ever agreed on... It's a good thing, him not showing up," Biden said in a report.

Instead, Biden invited Vice President Mike Pence to the inauguration. However, the vice president's press secretary, Devin O'Malley, said that Pence and the second lady had not yet made a decision.

"If the - the vice president is welcome to come, would be happy to have him come and to move forward in the transition," Biden said in a Washington Examiner report.

Trump Skipping Biden's Inauguration

Trump announced hours before Biden's address on Friday that will not be attending the inauguration of the president-elect. Reports said that the president is planning to fly in Scotland days before and that he would hold a competing rally in Florida.

Reports further noted that Trump will announce a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential primary campaign in Florida. However, the White House denied both affairs.

Trump will be part of the presidents who skipped the inauguration of their successors, such as John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Johnson. Richard Nixon also departed the White House after his resignation and did not attend Gerald Ford's swearing-in.

Trump will be the first outgoing president since 1869 to be absent in his successor's inauguration, according to a Business Insider report.

Top Republican official, Sen. Rick Scott, publicly urged Trump to attend the inauguration, saying that doing so is a critical part of the tradition of peaceful transfer of power in the United States.

Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, along with their spouses have all said that they will be attending Biden's inauguration. But former President Jimmy Carter, who is 96, and his wife said that they would not be traveling for the inauguration event.

Biden Inauguration Plans

The recent U.S. Capitol breach and riot intensified scrutiny over security at the upcoming inauguration ceremony for Biden.

Plans for the Jan. 20 event were already minimized due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol raises new questions about the preparedness to welcome the new president, according to an ABC News report.

The congressional leaders responsible for the organization of the event have insisted that the events will push through. Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn, jointly stated that the attack on the Capitol will not stop them from affirming to Americans and the world that the country's democracy endures.

Security forces have already been enhanced because of the riot that took place on Wednesday, in which five people died, including a Capitol police officer.

For the next 30 days, around 6,200 members of the National Guard from Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, and Maryland will be supporting the Capitol Police and other law enforcement in Washington D.C.