President Donald Trump officially announced he will not be attending president-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20.
Trump tweeted the announcement Friday.
The announcement was no surprise. Trump has railed against the results of the election for the last two months, pushing conspiracy theories and misinformation about voter fraud while insisting he’d defeated Biden.
Biden won both the popular vote, with more than 81 million votes cast in his favour, and the electoral college vote. Congress certified the electoral college votes early on Thursday morning, after the process was initially disrupted by a mob of Trump supporters who breached the Capitol building.
In a video shared on social media on Thursday evening, more than 24 hours after the riot at the Capitol occurred, Trump finally acknowledged that Biden would be taking over the presidency.
Presidents typically attend the inauguration ceremonies of their successors in order to help facilitate a peaceful transition of power. Three former presidents are expected to attend Biden’s inauguration: Bill Clinton, George . Bush and Barack Obama. Former president Jimmy Carter, who has attended every inauguration since his own in 1977, has said he will not attend.