WASHINGTON: President Donald Trumps decision to skip President-elect Joe Bidens inauguration is not without precedent, though one must go back to Andrew Johnson in 1869 to find the most recent example.
John Adams and John Quincy Adams also opted not to participate in a tradition that began with George Washington.
The White House Historical Association points out that John Adams was never formally invited by his successor, Thomas Jefferson, to the event and perhaps didnt want to impose. The association also noted it was the first time the presidency was transferred to an opposing party and he may have wanted to avoid provoking violence between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans.
Following in his fathers footsteps, John Quincy Adams officially departed the White House on the evening of March 3, the day before the inauguration of President Andrew Jackson. Jackson has been in Washington for about three weeks. He did not call on Adams, nor did Adams invite Jackson to the White House.
