Trump will not attend Biden inauguration after U.S. Capitol riots

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said on Friday he would not attend the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, who will take the helm in less than two weeks.

Trump is not the first incumbent president to skip his successor’s nomination. Presidents John Adams, John Quincy Adams and Andrew Johnson did not attend the inauguration of the new president, according to the White House Historical Association.

“To all who have asked the question, I will not be going to the inauguration on January 20,” Trump wrote in a tweet, the third post from his account since being blocked on Twitter for 12 hours on Wednesday.

Biden’s victory was projected by all major news organizations in mid-November and confirmed by electoral college votes in mid-December. The Republican president falsely insisted he won in a “landslide,” claiming his re-election was stolen through massive electoral fraud.

His refusal to accept the election results culminated in a deadly riot on Wednesday, when swarms of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and derailed the work of Congress to count the voters’ votes and confirm the victory of Biden in the November 3 election.

Vice President Mike Pence is expected to attend Biden’s inauguration if invited, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News.

Trump’s decision not to attend Biden’s inauguration comes a day after he conceded the presidential election.

In a nearly three-minute video released Thursday, Trump, without mentioning Biden by name, acknowledged that “a new administration will be inaugurated on January 20.”

“My goal now is to ensure a smooth, orderly and transparent transition of power,” the president said in his first address to the nation after the riot that left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer.

“Now spirits must be cooled and calm restored. We must get on with America’s business,” Trump said of the pandemonium that occurred on Capitol Hill.

“To those who have engaged in acts of violence and destruction, you do not represent our country. And to those who have broken the law, you will pay,” Trump said.

Trump, at a rally outside the White House on Wednesday, had encouraged thousands of supporters to march to Capitol Hill to protest what were historically ceremonies.

As protesters besieged Capitol Hill, Trump, who had returned to the White House after his speech, told his supporters in a video tweeted “you must go home now”. The president stopped before condemning the violence.

In the wake of violence in Washington, the Pentagon and Washington, DC, officials played several blame tricks on why National Guard troops were not immediately available to support police in the US Capitol.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said Thursday that before the riot law enforcement and defense officials had received conflicting information.

“There were estimates of 80,000, there were estimates around 20 to 25. So, coming back to pure intelligence, it was ‘everywhere,’ McCarthy said when asked about preparations for crowd control .

“It has been very difficult to determine what you are dealing with,” he told reporters, adding that the Defense Department relied on threat assessments by law enforcement.