?:reviewBody
|
-
On 23 December 2016, the Federalist Papers Project published an article reporting that former United States presidents would be boycotting Donald Trump's 20 January 2017 inauguration ceremonies: While it is true that Jimmy Carter was the only president scheduled to attend Trump's inauguration at the time the referenced report was published (he reportedly confirmed his attendance while teaching a Sunday school class in Georgia), the potential absence of the other former presidents would not be a snub of presidential proportions, or even a highly unusual occurrence. Former presidents are typically invited to attend their successors' inaugurations, but it is not uncommon for them to skip such events. For example, according to CBS News, Gerald Ford did not attend George W. Bush's second inauguration in 2005. And while all four living presidents were present at Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009, George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush did not attend similar ceremonies in 2013 after Obama's successful re-election bid. Furthermore, while the elder Bush said that health reasons would keep him from attending Trump's inauguration, the inauguration plans for George W. Bush were still unknown. A spokesperson for the younger Bush said we simply don’t discuss his schedule this far in advance, making claims that the former president had snubbed Trump premature, at best. Bill Clinton also did not announce whether or not he would attend the event. He attended the inauguration ceremonies for both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, but his invitation to Trump's inauguration brought extra scrutiny: However, on 3 January 2017 a Hillary Clinton aide told USA Today that she would be attending Donald Trump's inauguration along with her husband, former President Bill Clinton. The same article that carried that news also noted that former President George W. Bush was scheduled to be present for the inaugural ceremony as well:
(en)
|