President-elect Joe Biden is weighing in on if he thinks it is important for President Donald Trump to attend his inauguration, set for Jan. 20, 2021.
When asked during an interview on Thursday if he believes it is important for Trump to attend, Biden laughed. CNN’s Jake Tapper responded, “You’re laughing.”
Trump has yet to say that he will attend Biden’s inauguration. Though all the major news outlets projected Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election nearly a month ago, Trump has refused to concede so far.
“I think it would — important only in one sense,” Biden then said.
He continued, “Not in a personal sense. Important in the sense that we are able to demonstrate at the end of this chaos that he’s created that there is peaceful transfer of power with the competing parties standing there shaking hands and moving on.”
The former vice president noted that he worries about “the image we’re presenting to the rest of the world” more than “the impact on the domestic politics.”
Watch the video below:
“I really worry about the image we're presenting to the rest of the world … they’re wondering, ‘my Lord, these things happen in tinhorn dictatorships. This is not the United States’” — Biden on why it’s important for Trump to attend the inauguration pic.twitter.com/flkuwoR7Sl
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 4, 2020
Biden said that the world follows the U.S. because of “the power of our example,” adding, “And look where we are now in the world. Look how we’re viewed. They’re wondering, ‘My lord, these things happen in tinhorn dictatorships.’ This is not the United States.”
“In that sense the protocol of the transfer of power I think is important, but it is totally his decision and it’s of no personal consequence to me. But I do think it is for the country,” he said.
Previously, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany suggested that Trump would not be attending Biden’s inauguration because he will be attending his own, as IJR previously reported on.
“That’s many steps away here. We’re talking January and President Trump believes he will be President Trump, have a second term, and litigation is the first step, many steps away from that” she said during a Fox News interview.
She added, “I think the president will attend his own inauguration. He would have to be there, in fact.”
People familiar with discussions told NBC News that Trump is weighing the possibility of not attending Biden’s inauguration nor invite him to the White House. Trump is also reportedly considering possibly launching a 2024 campaign on Inauguration Day, however, no plans are concrete yet.