Donald Trump hasn’t said for sure whether he will skip Joe Biden’s inauguration, but the general consensus is that he won’t attend. If he doesn’t make an appearance, Newsweek reports that Trump would be the 4th president in history to refuse to attend his successor’s inauguration. The question is, if he doesn’t attend, what will Trump be doing on election day? Today, CNN writes that there is internal speculation among aides about “whether he’ll leave the White House for the holidays — and never return.”
At this stage, there are plans for Trump to remain at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach over Christmas and New Year’s, but the guidance offered to staffers ends there, people familiar with the plans said.Trump could return to Washington for the final days on his term. But there have also been some discussions about the President and the first lady remaining in Florida and not coming back to the White House, a White House official said.
AXIOS offers up another scenario:
Trump is considering a made-for-TV grand finale: a White House departure on Marine One and final Air Force One flight to Florida for a political rally opposite Joe Biden’s inauguration, sources familiar with the discussions tell Axios.
As for how Biden feels about whether Trump attends his inauguration, the president-elect told CNN’s Jake Tapper, “it is totally his decision and of no personal consequence to me but I do think it is for the country.”