Biden: It's 'Important' for Trump to Attend Inauguration

When President-elect Joe Biden was asked during a CNN interview Thursday whether President Trump should attend his inauguration, he laughed and said it was of "no personal consequence to me"—but added that it was important for the country. It's "important in the sense that we are able to demonstrate the end of this chaos that he's created, that there is peaceful transfer of power with the competing parties standing there, shaking hands, and moving on," Biden told Jake Tapper. "What I worry about, Jake, more than the impact on the domestic politics, I really worry about the image we're presenting to the rest of the world," he said.

When Trump, who claims the election was "rigged" and has refused to concede, was asked last week whether he would attend Biden's inauguration, he said he knew the answer but didn't "want to say it yet." Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, said this week it would be good for the country if Trump attended, the Hill reports. "If Biden winds up winning, yeah, I think so," Graham said. “I just think it’s good for the country. It’d be good for him." Biden told CNN that while Trump's position has left GOP lawmakers in a difficult situation, "several sitting Republican senators" have privately called him to congratulate him on his election victory. (More Joe Biden stories.)