Donald Trump reportedly furious as celebrities flock to Biden's inauguration after boycotting his 2017 ceremony
All of Donald Trump's efforts to contest the results of the 2020 presidential election proved to be a failure as Joe Biden was confirmed as the 46th president of the US and is set to take oath on Wednesday, January 20. Trump, who has not conceded defeat, will not attend the event, thereby becoming only the fourth president in history to boycott his successor’s inauguration and the first one to do so in more than 150 years.
However, Trump, who has been claiming that the November election was stolen from him and found himself impeached by the Democratic-controlled House last week on charges of instigating his supporters to invade the Capitol when the Congress met to affirm the victory of Biden, is also upset for other reasons.
On Monday, January 18, The Washington Post came up with a report saying the temperamental leader expressed disappointment in private over the fact that more celebrities were eager to attend Biden’s swearing-in ceremony compared to his own four years ago.
Mary Jordan reported: “Since January 6, every day has dumped more bad news on the president, including his historic second impeachment. But one person close to the president said it can be hard to predict what will bother him most and that even with all that was going on, he was particularly upset that Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Tom Hanks and other stars agreed to perform as part of Biden’s inaugural celebrations.”
Trump often associated with stars before he became president
The report said Trump often attended star-studded events during his days as the star of ‘The Apprentice’ reality TV show. As a person who likes to be associated with marquee names, the tycoon-politician roped in the likes of Elton John and Billy Joel to perform at his wedding with Melania Trump in 2005.
However, the man’s experience in politics has not been to his liking and ever since he promoted hardline stances during the campaign ahead of the 2016 presidential election and after taking over the office, a number of Hollywood stars have distanced themselves from Trump, including his inauguration.
“But his harsh rhetoric, hard-line immigration policy and other stances during the 2016 campaign led Hollywood to largely boycott his inauguration. Now as Trump rages about what he describes as unfair treatment from all sides — from people he hired, from businesses he helped with his policies, from members of his own party and even from celebrities — his wife just shrugs and moves on,” the report added.
Trump and his allies had disputed media reports claiming the attendance at his own inauguration in 2017 was thin. His first press secretary Sean Spicer claimed that the Republican’s swearing-in saw a record attendance, contrary to what his critics in the media said.
Biden’s inauguration, which will remain a limited affair because of the Covid-19 pandemic, will see a 90-minute prime-time program hosted by Tom Hanks. The event will see remarks from Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Ant Clemons, Jon Bon Jovi, the Foo Fighters, Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Demi Lovato, Bruce Springsteen, Kerry Washington and Eva Longoria will be among the other star performers at the event.