Democrats are divided about attending the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
About 60 members of Congress in 2017 reportedly did not attend Trump’s inauguration, but that was before he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in a landslide, shifted 48 states to the right, and earned a mandate to govern.
“I’m not quite sure what I would be celebrating with his inauguration,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) told USA Today. “I had not gotten to that point yet. Blocked that out.”
“That’s a good question,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said about attending the historic event. “I haven’t thought about it.”
Additional noncommittal Democrats reportedly include Reps. Maxwell Frost (R-FL), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), along with Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).
Many Democrats are solid no-shows, citing the pretext of celebrating Martin Luther King Day, the same day as the inauguration. Those include Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-OH), Judy Chu (D-CA), and Jasmine Crockett (D-TX).
“I’ll be in town with my constituents honoring Dr. King’s legacy,” Pressley said. “I don’t think being there does that.”
“I won’t pretend to normalize who or what he stands for,” Crockett asserted.
USA Today reported on former presidents attending the inauguration:
At the moment, it is unclear if Trump’s predecessors, all of whom showed up in 2017, will be there next month.
The offices for former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama said there were no scheduling announcements for either at the moment. Former President Bill Clinton’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for the Carter Center said the 100-year-old 39th president, who has been in hospice care for the past two years, will not be attending due to health reasons, but otherwise would go.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
