Nixon had declared his resignation from office in a televised address after it became clear that Congress would impeach him over the Watergate scandal. Richard Nixon was also conspicuous in his absence when his vice president Gerald Ford took the oath of office in the East Room of the White House on August 8, 1974. 'The nightmare is over, our Constitution works' Her husband's blood was still on her pink Chanel outfit. Standing next to Johnson was Kennedy's widow, Jacqueline. Kennedy (1917-1963), a beacon of American hope, had just been assassinated. Johnson swore his oath to the Constitution on board the presidential aircraft Air Force One at the Dallas airfield. This was the case on November 22, 1963, at 2:38 p.m. In other cases, the ceremony was forgone and the outgoing president simply could not be present. The inauguration will mainly take place virtually.ĭonald Trump is not the first US President to be a sore loser and refuse to attend the victor's inauguration Wednesday's ritual also allows for little publicity in the traditional sense, due to the coronavirus pandemic and concerns about violence. Trump, however, has repeatedly announced that he will not attend.
The most visible sign of a peaceful transfer of power, ever since George Washington became the first US president ever to take the oath of office on the Constitution on April 30, 1789, has been the presence of his outgoing predecessor. "The classic significance of the inauguration ceremony," says Jürgen Martschukat, an expert on US history at the University of Erfurt, "is the transfer of power in a peaceful ceremony." But a look at the history books shows how this year’s inauguration is different. Under the new president's leadership, the country, now more divided than it has been in years, may be able to reunite. Lady Gaga's voice will be heard singing the National Anthem at Joe Biden's inauguration this Wednesday, exactly 14 days after Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol.