Outgoing President Joe Biden attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration today, marking a significant moment in American history. This act of attending his successor's inauguration is a tradition that symbolizes the peaceful transfer of power in the United States.
However, it is worth noting that four years ago, then-President Trump broke from this tradition by becoming only the 4th president to boycott his successor’s regularly scheduled inauguration. The last time such an event occurred was over 150 years ago.
Two other presidents who missed their successors’ scheduled swearing-ins were Martin Van Buren and Woodrow Wilson. The reason for Van Buren’s absence remains unknown, but historians do not view it as malicious. On the other hand, Wilson's absence was due to health reasons. Additionally, Richard Nixon did not attend Gerald Ford’s inauguration at the White House after resigning in the middle of his second term in August 1974.
The four presidents known to have boycotted their successors’ regularly scheduled inaugurations are:
- Donald Trump, who didn’t attend Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021
- John Adams, who didn’t attend Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration in 1801
- John Quincy Adams, who didn’t attend Andrew Jackson’s inauguration in 1829
- Andrew Johnson, who didn’t attend Ulysses S. Grant’s inauguration in 1869
Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, highlighted that the refusal to attend a successor’s inauguration set an unfortunate precedent, with Adams being the first to do so. This action was not repeated until his son, John Quincy Adams, followed suit in 1829. Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, noted that both John Quincy Adams and Andrew Johnson boycotted their successors' inaugurations during times of heightened political animosity.
