Is Trump right not to attend Biden's inauguration?

Noah (No)

It's no secret the press has loved to hate Trump throughout his tenure as President. This has been an insurmountable roadblock for Trump, as roughly 90% of media coverage has been anti-Trump. He has been treated so poorly by professionals in both the media and Congress, including Speaker Pelosi, who has threatened to impeach him two weeks before he leaves office, which follows a previous impeachment and resulting acquittal based on hearsay and circumstantial evidence, that lead to nothing substantial. Regardless of these attacks President Trump has faced, he should still attend Joe Biden's inauguration for the health of the country. 

If he does not attend, he will be joining a list of only four previous presidents, President Nixon being the only one in the modern era to do so. With this being so uncommon, it will undoubtedly give a horrible look to the Republican party, which is already being disgraced by radicals who have stormed the Capitol. While he has officially conceded and committed to a peaceful and seamless transition of power, this country needs a lot of healing, and for this healing to begin, President Trump needs to attend the inauguration and demonstrate a peaceful, seamless transition of power. It is time for Americans to come together after all of the divisions experienced in recent years. In the immortal words of Benjamin Franklin, 'We must all hang together, or most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.'

Ellery (Yes)

In his last ever Tweet, Donald Trump confirmed what many people suspected, that he would not be attending Biden's inauguration. But times have changed, and in light of recent events, Trump's decision to break historical precedent may prove a surprisingly wise one. Although the event is something President-Elect Biden previously stated he wanted Trump to attend, in light of the Trump-incited riot at the US Capitol Wednesday, Biden has since said, 'It's a good thing, him not showing up.' He went on to declare, 'what matters now is getting Trump out of office as quickly and seamlessly as possible.' It would be blatantly disrespectful for Trump to change his mind and attend now.

Much of Trump's potential gain attending the inauguration was in attempting to salvage the United States' international image, something that took numerous hits throughout his presidency. However, in the wake of Wednesday's shocking event, a wide array of world leaders have issued statements blaming Trump for the Capitol storming, with many saying that they have lost respect for the county. There is little good Trump's attendance would do at this late hour. Bodily harm isn't out of the question either. The reality of life in a pandemic means that any large gathering, like the one expected for the inauguration, guarantees some danger of Covid exposure. But the biggest concern is Trump’s presence. There’s no telling if it could stir up more upset indirectly by his appearance after such a contested election season. Additionally, Trump's riot ransacked DC and left many of the city's residents angry. Although unlikely, it's not unrealistic that some people could mean him ill will.