Former presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will not attend President-elect Donald Trump’s traditional inaugural luncheon.
Obama received an invitation but declined to attend, according to a source familiar with the matter. Clinton was also invited but does not plan to attend, according to a second source familiar with the matter, while Bush’s office said she was not following up on an invitation to the luncheon.
Former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton also received an invitation to the inaugural luncheon, but will not attend, according to a third source familiar with the matter.
A spokesperson for Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the luncheon absences.
The three former presidents, however, will attend Trump’s swearing-in ceremony earlier in the day, according to their teams. The former first ladies will also attend the swearing-in ceremony, except for former first lady Michelle Obama, according to the Obamas’ office. No reason was provided. Michelle Obama also did not attend former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral last week, making her the only absence among all living current and former presidents and first ladies.
Inauguration Day marks one of the only times when all living former presidents typically gather to kick off the next administration. Trump, however, refused to attend President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021.
None of the living former presidents supported Trump’s candidacy. Bush made no endorsement, and Obama and Clinton actively campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Clintons attended the luncheon in 2017 after Trump defeated Hillary Clinton. During the lunch, Trump encouraged a standing ovation for Hillary Clinton, who ran against him in the 2016 election.
“I was very honored, very, very honored when I heard that President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Clinton were coming today,” Trump said at the time.
The inaugural luncheon tradition stems from a luncheon hosted by the Senate Arrangements Committee in 1897 for then-President William McKinley and his guests at the Capitol, according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC), which organizes the luncheon.
In 1953, the JCCIC began hosting the luncheon for the incoming president, vice president, and their guests. During lunch, politicians often give speeches and toast the new administration.
