Nancy Pelosi will skip Trump’s inauguration

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, will not attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, her spokesperson confirmed to Daily Kos. 

Pelosi is the second big-name Democrat to announce that they won’t attend. Earlier this week, former first lady Michelle Obama said she also plans to skip the event, which will take place on Monday. Other Democratic lawmakers who will play hooky that day include Reps. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.

News of Pelosi’s pending absence was first reported by ABC News

Pelosi’s spokesperson didn’t elaborate on why she won’t make the pilgrimage to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., this go-around. Her absence may be because Pelosi is still recovering from hip surgery she underwent in Germany following a fall in December. It’s also possible that, like most Democrats, she just hates Trump

No one would blame her if that were the case. The two have long had a tumultuous professional relationship. Since Trump’s first administration, their disdain for one another has seemingly only increased. Pelosi famously spent the final days of Trump’s first term trying to oust him from the Oval Office after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump, for his part, spent much of his first term avoiding Pelosi, even as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged states and lawmakers attempted to work together to deliver aid.

Since then, Trump has called Pelosi “crazy,” “crooked,” “evil,” and “sick,” among other abhorrent things. In November, he nearly called her a bitch during a campaign rally, though he stopped himself from saying the word outright. 

Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally on July 29, 2023, in Erie, Pennsylvania.

“She’s a bad person, evil. She’s an evil, sick, crazy—” Trump said at a rally in Michigan amid his 2024 campaign, sounding out the letter “B” but stopping just short of uttering the obscenity. “It starts with a ‘B,’ but I won’t say it. I wanna say it.”

Pelosi’s inauguration absence marks a break in tradition for the octogenarian. In addition to attending Trump’s first inauguration, in 2017, ABC News reports that Pelosi has gone to 11 presidential inaugural events.

Senior leaders of both parties typically attend presidential inaugurations, regardless of the incoming president’s party. But Trump has no room to complain about Pelosi’s absence: He famously skipped President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021.

In reality, Trump probably won’t notice that Pelosi’s gone. He’ll be too busy trying to impress his trio of tech-bro sugar daddies—Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg—who have been rewarded with plum seats at the inauguration. (All three men also donated at least $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund.)

Meanwhile, while they will attend Monday’s inauguration, former presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama will skip Trump’s inaugural luncheon. According to NBC News, both Obama and Clinton were invited but declined. Bush’s office told the outlet that he never received an invite.

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Democratic leaders show how to lose with grace—unlike, well, you know

Democratic leaders are taking the high road in the wake of Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat at the polls, but reminding Americans that the fight is far from over. 

President Joe Biden addressed a grieving nation from the White House Rose Garden on Thursday, and stayed true to America’s democratic values. 

“I’ll fulfill my oath. I will honor the Constitution. On Jan. 20th, we’ll have a peaceful transfer of power here in America”, Biden said

This is the first presidential election since the Jan. 6th insurrection that then-President Donald Trump encouraged as he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election while claiming voter fraud. Millions of Americans are once again mourning the possibility of America’s first woman president—along with the daunting reality of Trump’s second term in the White House. 

“You’re hurting. I hear you, and I see you,” Biden said. 

But he had a pep talk for the disillusioned.

“Setbacks are unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable,” he said. “We all get knocked down. But the measure of our character, as my dad would say, is how quickly we get back up. Remember, defeat does not mean we are defeated. We lost this battle. The America of your dreams is calling for you to get back up.”

During her 12-minute concession speech at Howard University on Wednesday, Harris also encouraged a peaceful transfer of power in the wake of her loss to Trump.

“We must accept the results of this election,” she said.

She also had a message of resilience.

“Don’t you ever listen when anyone tells you something is impossible because it has never been done before,” said Harris, the first woman of color to ascend as a nominee for president. “You have the capacity to do extraordinary good in the world. And so to everyone who is watching, do not despair. This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves.”

Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama posted a joint statement on X on Wednesday that exuded grace. 

"This is obviously not the outcome we had hoped for, given our profound disagreements with the Republican ticket on a whole host of issues," they wrote. "But living in a democracy is about recognizing that our point of view won't always win out, and being willing to accept the peaceful transfer of power." 

They praised Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as “two extraordinary public servants who ran a remarkable campaign.”

Here's our statement on the results of the 2024 presidential election: pic.twitter.com/lDkNVQDvMn

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 6, 2024

Former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, also released a joint statement on X Wednesday. 

“We wish them well and hope they will govern for all of us,” they said about Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance. “We must remember that America is bigger than the results of any one election, and what we as citizens do now will make the difference between a nation that moves forward and one that falls back.”

Our statement on the result of the 2024 election. pic.twitter.com/1YYdGElPMP

— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) November 6, 2024

“The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart gave a hopeful, rousing speech to his audience on election night when it became clear that Trump was going to win. 

“We have to continue to fight and continue to work, day in and day out, to create the better society for our children, for this world, for this country, that we know is possible,” Stewart said. “It's possible.”

As painful as this election was for many, this moment calls not for despair, but determination. And while leaders called for strength and patience, some Democratic voters felt compelled to express their understandable anger and frustration.

“Americans chose a known, obvious fascist and now America will get whatever this wannabe dictator wants to enact from here on in,” The White Stripes musician Jack White posted on Instagram. “We all know what he is capable of: Project 2025, deportations, nationwide abortion ban, ending his own 2 term limit, backing Putin and his war, shutting down the Board of Education, adding to climate change, limiting LGBTQ rights, controlling the DOJ, keeping the minimum wage down, etc. etc. etc.”

Singer-songwriter Ethel Cain sounded an equally furious note on her Tumblr page.

“If you voted for Trump, I hope that peace never finds you,” she wrote. “Instead, I hope clarity strikes you someday like a clap of lightning and you have to live the rest of your life with the knowledge and guilt of what you’ve done and who you are as a person.”

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