WASHINGTON — Just one day after President Donald Trump acknowledged he lost the election to President-elect Joe Biden, he declared Friday that he won't be going to the inauguration.
"To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th," Trump tweeted.
He will be the first incumbent president since Andrew Johnson to skip his successor's inauguration. Trump offered no clues for how he would spend his final hours in office. Biden will become president at noon regardless of Trump’s plans.
Biden said Friday afternoon that given what happened this week with a mob of pro-Trump supporters rioting at the U.S. Capitol, Trump not attending the inauguration is "one of the few things he and I ever agreed on."
"It's a good thing him not showing up," Biden said. "He has exceeded even my worst notions about him. He's been an embarrassment to the country, embarrassed us around the world."
Vice President Mike Pence is expected to attend the inauguration. Former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama will be on hand.
Former President Jimmy Carter recently announced he wouldn’t be there, the first inauguration the 96-year-old will miss since he himself was sworn into office in 1977.
About an hour before announcing his plans to skip the inauguration, Trump tweeted that those who voted for him "will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way."
"The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future," the president tweeted Friday morning.
On Wednesday, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and clashed with law enforcement, forcing lawmakers to evacuate the building. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick was the fifth person to die from the attack.
In a video message posted Thursday evening, the president condemned those involved.
Outside of that video, Friday's tweet was Trump's first since he was suspended from Twitter after the riot. In his tweet, he addressed the 75 million Americans who voted for him, however, the Associated Press vote tally claims he only received 74.2 million compared to Biden's 81.2 million votes.
“A new administration will be inaugurated on Jan. 20,” Trump said in the Thursday night video. “My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation.”
In his most extensive comments since the violent riot, the president said "those who engaged in the acts of violence and destruction, you do not represent our country. And to those who broke the law, you will pay."
The video was a sharp reversal of his comments Wednesday when he addressed thousands of supporters before the riot.
House Democrats are set to discuss Friday whether to impeach the president again if Pence and Trump's Cabinet don't invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared that “the president of the United States incited an armed insurrection against America.” She called him “a very dangerous person who should not continue in office. This is urgent, an emergency of the highest magnitude.”
According to the White House Historical Association, President Andrew Johnson in 1869 didn't attend President-elect Ulysses S. Grant's inauguration because Grant refused to ride in a carriage with Johnson. So Johnson instead remained at the White House with friends and colleagues during the inauguration.
In 1801, President John Adams did not attend Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration. The White House Historical Association notes Adams left the White House at 4 a.m. the morning of the inauguration, but Adams never recorded why he left. In 1829, President John Quincy Adams, like his father, did not attend the inauguration of his successor. He officially departed the White House the day before President Jackson's inauguration, according to the White House Historical Association.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.