Former presidents Obama, Clinton and Bush will not attend Trump’s inaugural luncheon

Former presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will not attend President-elect Donald Trump’s traditional inauguration 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 another source familiar with the matter, while Bush’s office said it did not track 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 spokesman for Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the absence.

However, all three former presidents 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 Michelle Obama, according to Obama’s office. No reason was given. Michelle Obama also did not attend the funeral last week for former President Jimmy Carter, making hers the only absence among all living current and former presidents and first ladies.

Inauguration Day is one of the only occasions when all former living presidents usually gather to usher in the next administration. However, Trump declined to attend President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021.

None of the living former presidents endorsed Trump’s candidacy. Bush did not give an 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 lunch, he encouraged a standing ovation for her.

“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 dates back to a luncheon hosted by the Senate Committee on Arrangements in 1897 for President William McKinley and guests at the Capitol, according to The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC), which is hosting the luncheon.

In 1953, the JCCIC began hosting the luncheon for the incoming president and vice president and their guests. Politicians typically give speeches and toasts to the new administration.