Here's What To Expect From Ivanka Trump On Inauguration Day
As President Donald Trump heads toward the final hours of his presidency, it's unclear how he and his staff will handle Inauguration Day 2021. The president has said he won't be attending the inauguration of his successor, President-elect Joe Biden, but what about those closest to him, like his daughter-slash-staffer? Will Ivanka Trump be at Joe Biden's inauguration to welcome America's 46th president into office? It looks like she's got other matters to attend to.
On Jan. 13, NBC News chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander confirmed Trump is planning on following in her father's footsteps by not attending Biden's inauguration ceremony on Jan. 20. "According to a WH official," Alexander wrote, "Ivanka Trump is not expected to attend Biden’s inauguration next week." He also wrote that, according to this official, "while [Trump] respects [Biden's] transition to power ... children of outgoing presidents do not traditionally attend." The White House did not immediately respond to Elite Daily's request for comment on what Trump might be doing instead of attending inauguration ceremonies.
Twitter users were quick to point out how many children of outgoing presidents have, in fact, attended the inauguration ceremonies of incoming presidents. In 2009, both Jenna and Barbara Bush attended President Barack Obama's ceremony, and in 2001, Chelsea Clinton attended President George W. Bush's inauguration.
It's still unclear whether Trump decided against attending Biden's inauguration on her own, or if she was never invited in the first place. The soon-to-be-former White House staffer has had a turbulent few weeks: During the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, she garnered criticism online for calling the flood of Trump-supporting insurrectionists "American Patriots" in a tweet, which she quickly deleted after being called out by other Twitter users. "American Patriots - any security breach or disrespect to our law enforcement is unacceptable," she wrote, urging the violence to stop. She then backtracked on calling the rioters "patriots" in another post, stating only "peaceful protest is patriotic."
On Jan. 8 via Twitter, after months of media speculation, the president finally released a definitive announcement saying he would not be attending Biden's inauguration ceremony. "To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th," he wrote on his now permanently suspended Twitter account. With Ivanka Trump planning on being absent as well, it seems like the entire first family is taking extra precautions to socially distance.
