President Joe Biden won’t be attending an inauguration of his own in January, but it’s likely that he’ll be present regardless of who wins the election.
In 2021, former President Donald Trump broke tradition by not attending Biden’s inauguration. It marked the first time in over 150 years that an outgoing president skipped his successor’s swearing in and came after a contentious election that Trump has maintained was stolen from him. This year’s election is shaping up to be an even closer race than in 2020 and has been filled with tension between the two campaigns.
When asked on Air Force One on Tuesday if he planned to attend a Trump inauguration, Biden insinuated that he would.
“I have good manners,” he told reporters, according to a pool report sent to Newsweek. “Not like him.”
Reporters reminded Biden that he called Trump a danger to American security and said, “That’s a statement of fact.”
Biden dropped out of the race in July and endorsed Harris as his successor for the Democratic nomination. The president had tried to shake off the criticism of his June debate performance but admitted in a recent interview that the pressure within his own party to step down prompted him to turn the reins over to Harris.
L-R: President Joe Biden at the White House on July 24. Former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in St Cloud, Minnesota, on July 27. Biden indicated that he’ll attend Trump’s inauguration if he’s elected president.
Evan Vucci-Pool/Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Harris now has enough delegates to be the party’s nominee and will officially accept the nomination at the Democratic National Convention next week. While it’s still too early to tell the impact Harris will have on the race, initial polling indicates that Democrats are getting a much-needed boost from the switch.
Polling before and after Biden dropped out of the race showed a nearly 20-point swing in Democrats’ belief that the Democratic nominee could win the election. The number of Democrats thinking Trump would win fell from 24 percent to 6 percent after Harris became the nominee.
Trump hasn’t been happy about the switch in nominees, calling it a coup and floated the idea that Biden would crash the DNC to retake the nomination. The former president and other Republicans have considered the possibility that it’s “unconstitutional” and even said he should be reimbursed for campaign funds used to run against Biden.
Trump’s frustration likely stems from polling showing Harris eroding his lead. For much of the campaign, Trump and Biden were neck and neck, with Trump leading in several key states. However, Harris’ “honeymoon” with voters has seen her take the lead in national polling averages and in swing states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
With Biden as the nominee, Democrats worried about the impact not only on the presidential election but also in congressional races. Two weeks into Harris’ campaign, it’s possible she’s helping Democrats get a boost in some races. Polling that has come out since Harris became the nominee showed Democrats gaining in Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona.
The Trump campaign has pushed back on polling that shows the race shifting toward Harris, telling Fox News that their internal polling doesn’t show her winning in battleground states. However, they’ve conceded that the race is close and said they’ll “expose” her over the next three months.
