George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama will not be present at President-elect Donald Trump’s customary inaugural lunch.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Obama was invited but chose not to go. Bush’s office stated it was not tracking an invitation to the luncheon, while a second person with knowledge of the situation said Clinton was also invited but did not intend to go.
According to a third person with knowledge of the situation, former Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Clinton was also invited to the inauguration luncheon but will not be going.
A request for comment on the absences was not immediately answered by a representative of Trump’s transition team.
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However, according to their teams, all three past presidents will be present for Trump’s swearing-in event earlier in the day. According to the Obama administration, all of the former first ladies—aside from Michelle Obama—will be present at the swearing-in event. There was no explanation given. Michelle Obama was the only live current and former presidents and first ladies to miss the memorial service for former President Jimmy Carter last week.
One of the few times that all of the previous presidents who are still alive gather to welcome the new administration is on Inauguration Day. However, Trump chose not to go to the 2021 inauguration of President Joe Biden.
Not a single surviving past president endorsed Trump’s campaign. Obama and Clinton vigorously campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris, whereas Bush did not endorse her.
Following Trump’s victory against Hillary Clinton in 2017, the Clintons went to the luncheon. He urged a standing ovation for her during the luncheon.
“When I learned that President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Clinton were coming today, I felt incredibly honored,” Trump remarked at the time.
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC), which organizes the luncheon, claims that the first luncheon tradition originated from a lunch that the Senate Committee on Arrangements threw for President William McKinley and visitors in the Capitol in 1897.
The luncheon for the incoming president and vice president and their guests was first held by the JCCIC in 1953. Politicians usually toast the new government during their speeches.