Biden says he personally doesn't care if Trump goes to his inauguration but thinks it'd be important to show 'an end to this chaos'

• In an interview with CNN on Thursday, President-elect Joe Biden was asked whether he thought it's important for President Donald Trump to attend his inauguration.
• Biden said it was "of no personal consequence to me" if Trump attended, but he added that it was important to demonstrate the peaceful transfer of power and an "end of this chaos that he's created."
• Inauguration days traditionally involve the outgoing president hosting the incoming president for tea at the White House, before traveling to the event together.
• Few outgoing presidents have skipped attending their successors' inauguration.
• Trump has hinted that he may run again in 2024, and The Daily Beast reported last month that Trump was considering hosting a campaign event at the same time as Biden's inauguration.

President-elect Joe Biden said in a new interview that he didn't personally care whether President Donald Trump would attend his inauguration but thought such attendance would be important for the country.

Talking to CNN on Thursday, Biden was asked whether he thought it's important for Trump to attend his inauguration on January 20 - a customary gesture by outgoing presidents that Trump has not confirmed he will be doing.

In fact, Trump is still refusing to concede the 2020 election to Biden - despite Biden's victory becoming clear nearly a month ago.

The Daily Beast reported last month that Trump might hold a rally on the day of Biden's inauguration, and the president has continued to hint at a possible 2024 run for the White House.

Biden said Trump's attendance at his inauguration was "important in a sense that we are able to demonstrate at the end of this chaos - that he's created - that there is a peaceful transfer of power with the competing parties standing there, shaking hands, and moving on."

"I really worry about the image that we're presenting to the rest of the world," he continued, adding: They follow us not just because of the example of our power, but the power of our example.

"And look where we are now in the world - look how we're viewed. They're wondering, my lord, these things happen in tinhorn dictatorships. This is not the United States."

He added: "So in that sense, a protocol of the transfer of power I think is important, but it is totally his decision and of no personal consequence to me, but I do think it is for the country."

Inaugurations are steeped in tradition, with the outgoing president customarily inviting the incoming president to the White House for tea and then the two traveling together to the inauguration service.

The outgoing president then leaves Washington, DC, at the end of the service, marking the beginning of the next president's first term.

Members of Congress of both parties attend, as do all living former presidents and their partners. This caused some awkwardness at Trump's inauguration in 2017, since his 2016 Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, followed the tradition and attended as a former first lady.

It's unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect these traditions this year, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advising against mass gatherings.

Only a few presidents have been absent at their successor's inauguration for political reasons.

John Adams wasn't invited to Thomas Jefferson's inauguration, John Quincy Adams moved out of the White House the day before Andrew Jackson's inauguration, and Andrew Johnson continued to work at the White House signing legislation while Ulysses S. Grant was sworn in, according to CNN.

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