The Clintons and Bushes will attend Donald Trump’s inauguration after all, despite their bad blood with the president-elect.
Former President Bill Clinton, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush all plan to attend the inauguration ceremonies Jan. 20, it was announced Tuesday.
There had been widespread speculation that Hillary Clinton and her husband would skip the swearing-in of her former Republican opponent after the particularly nasty presidential race.
Clinton suffered a bruising defeat in the November election that few saw coming and has kept a low profile, with the exception of previously scheduled public speaking engagements, since delivering her concession speech on Nov. 9.
The former secretary of state and her husband maintained a personal relationship with the president-elect and incoming first lady Melania Trump in the years leading up to 2016, though their friendship was quickly dismantled over the course of the election cycle. Trump and Clinton exchanged sharp barbs during their one-on-one debates and sought to paint each other as corrupt and unfit to serve as commander in chief.
In the two months since Trump’s victory, Clinton backed vote recounts in a trio of battleground states she lost and urged intelligence officials to brief electors on Russia’s cyberactivity ahead of the Electoral College vote on Dec. 19.
George and Laura Bush’s announcement that they will attend Trump’s inauguration comes after refusing to support the incoming Republican leader during the general election. Both declined to vote for Trump or Clinton in November: A spokesman for the couple confirmed they each voted “none of the above” for president and for Republicans on the rest of the Texas ballot.
The 43rd president appeared on the campaign trail last February after Trump unleashed a series of attacks against him for invading Iraq in 2003 and against his brother, Jeb, whom Trump famously branded as “low energy” during the Republican primary. Trump spoke briefly with Bush after his surprising election victory in November.
According to a statement, the Bushes look forward to witnessing “the peaceful transfer of power” during the inaugural ceremonies.
Bush’s parents, former President George H.W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush, will not attend the inauguration this month because of their ages, a spokesman also said Tuesday.
“At ages 92 and 91 — and all that entails — President and Mrs. Bush are simply not able to attend the Inauguration this month,” spokesman Jim McGrath said in a statement. “They were also unable to attend in 2013.”
Prior to Tuesday, Jimmy Carter, the 92-year-old Democrat who backed Hillary Clinton’s campaign, was the only former president who agreed to attend the upcoming inauguration.
