Trump Skips Biden Inauguration, Breaking 152-Year Tradition

A Break from Tradition

On the morning of January 20, 2021, Donald Trump departed the White House for the final time as president, boarding Marine One en route to Joint Base Andrews where he held a small farewell ceremony. He then flew to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, making him the first outgoing president in 152 years to boycott his successor’s inauguration. The last president to do so was Andrew Johnson in 1869, who refused to attend Ulysses S. Grant’s swearing-in.

The Farewell

Trump’s departure was a subdued affair compared to the bombast of his presidency. At Joint Base Andrews, he addressed a small crowd of supporters and staff, touting what he considered his administration’s accomplishments. “We will be back in some form,” he told the audience, hinting at a political future without committing to specifics. The event featured a red carpet, a 21-gun salute, and the playing of “YMCA,” a song that had become a staple of his rallies.

The Inauguration He Missed

While Trump flew south, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president on the steps of a Capitol that had been attacked by a pro-Trump mob just 14 days earlier. The ceremony was conducted behind unprecedented security barriers, with 25,000 National Guard troops deployed across Washington. Vice President Mike Pence, breaking with Trump, attended the inauguration and was seen warmly greeting Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Historical Significance

Trump’s decision not to attend was widely viewed as a refusal to participate in the peaceful transfer of power, a tradition that had been upheld even during the most contentious transitions in American history. Outgoing presidents attending their successor’s inauguration had become a powerful symbol of democratic continuity. Trump never formally conceded the 2020 election and continued to promote false claims that it had been “stolen,” making his absence a final punctuation mark on a presidency that ended in crisis.