All of the living former presidents gathered for the second time this month at President Donald Trump‘s second inauguration — with just one notable absence from the proceedings.
Former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton all attended the ceremonies, which were held indoors due to extremely cold weather in Washington. All of the former first ladies attended as well, with the exception of Michelle Obama, who announced days ago that she would not be there and also skipped the recent funeral of former President Jimmy Carter.
The Office of Barack and Michelle Obama did not say why Michelle Obama skipped the inauguration.
Barack Obama not only showed up but appeared to be in a festive mood. When a staffer asked Bush if he was going to “behave” at the inauguration, Obama, who was standing nearby, answered, “Nope.”
Presidents Obama and Bush on their way to the Capitol Rotunda:
— Emily Davies (@ELaserDavies) January 20, 2025
Staffer to Bush: “Are you going to behave?”
Obama chimes in from behind: “Nope.” pic.twitter.com/xGNTTo6r2t
Included in the ceremonies were all three of Trump’s general election opponents, former first lady Hillary Clinton, now-former President Biden, and former Vice President Kamala Harris, who attended along with her husband, Doug Emhoff, as part of the outgoing administration.
Monday marked the second time in just a few weeks that the current and former presidents all gathered together. At Carter’s funeral earlier this month, they all sat near each other, with Trump and Obama seated together and even enjoying some friendly banter that went viral.
SEE IT: Trump starts speaking into Barack Obama's ear. Obama starts cracking up.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 9, 2025
Kamala Harris turns around and looks at them in disgust. pic.twitter.com/vtxyMfAZkd
There were more viral moments on Monday. Bush’s trademark goofiness was on display as he enjoyed himself throughout the proceedings.
Biden fought back a smile at points throughout Trump’s remarks.
Reports circulated that Hillary Clinton began laughing when Trump proposed renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
Hillary Clinton seen laughing when Trump announces 'Gulf of America' rename pic.twitter.com/OS93IQi7uj
— New York Post (@nypost) January 20, 2025
After the ceremony, Trump delivered remarks to supporters in an overflow area at the Capitol and took shots at some of his past rivals.
“Hillary didn’t look too happy today,” Trump told the crowd.
For Biden, the inauguration came after he spent the morning issuing a new slew of pardons, including for several of his family members. Biden, who became a former president at noon, heads to California this evening.
At a farewell speech, Biden took one parting shot at his successor.
“We heard the inaugural address today, we have a lot more to do,” Biden told the crowd Monday as he pledged to stay in the fight.
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While all of the former presidents attended the inauguration, Bush, Clinton, and Obama did not take part in the inaugural luncheon later in the day.
Trump skipped Biden’s inauguration in 2021 and did not extend a preinauguration invitation to the White House after refusing to concede the 2020 election.