--- title: Jimmy Carter Will Go to Inauguration: Bush, Clinton Not Sure description: Both the Bushes and the Clintons have been procrastinating about whether to attend the inauguration of a man who has insulted both families canonical: https://time.com/4617405/jimmy-carter-donald-trump-inauguration/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-23T15:55:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:49.091Z article:section: Politics og:title: Jimmy Carter Will Go to Inauguration: Bush, Clinton Not Sure og:description: Both the Bushes and the Clintons have been procrastinating about whether to attend the inauguration of a man who has insulted both families og:url: https://time.com/4617405/jimmy-carter-donald-trump-inauguration/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba39c50b17a37a43/6988b3eda988caaef06ba84a/jimmy-carter-inaguration-president.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-MUSEUM-HISTORY og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jimmy Carter Will Go to Inauguration: Bush, Clinton Not Sure twitter:description: Both the Bushes and the Clintons have been procrastinating about whether to attend the inauguration of a man who has insulted both families twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba39c50b17a37a43/6988b3eda988caaef06ba84a/jimmy-carter-inaguration-president.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jimmy Carter Is the Only Former President Coming to Trump's Inauguration So Far > Sponsored content. 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The 2016 Person of the Year is Donald Trump, the President of the divided states of America._  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Dec 23, 2016 3:55 PM UTC  Michelle Obama, Barack Obama former First Lady Barbara Bush, former US President George W. Bush and former US First Lady Laura Bush listen as former President George H.W. Bush speaks during the George W. Bush Presidential Center dedication ceremony in Dallas, Texas, on April 25, 2013. Michelle Obama, Barack Obama former First Lady Barbara Bush, former US President George W. Bush and former US First Lady Laura Bush listen as former President George H.W. Bush speaks during the George W. Bush Presidential Center dedication ceremony in Dallas, Texas, on April 25, 2013. Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Dec 23, 2016 3:55 PM UTC Former [President Jimmy Carter ](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/trump-inauguration-presidents-232937)is currently the only former president who has agreed to attend Trump’s inauguration, an event which is typically attended by all living former presidents. President Obama will almost certainly be there. It would be a huge break from precedent for the most recent President to skip the inauguration (although [it’s happened before](https://books.google.com/books?id=mMsuZWkuTNMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inaugurations&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj2xcbF1oPRAhVLLSYKHdjeC8oQ6AEIGjAA#v=snippet&q=washington&f=false),) and would be at odds with the Obamas’ stated intention to help the incoming administration. [Since 1889,](http://www.inaugural.senate.gov/about/past-inaugural-ceremonies/34th-inaugural-ceremonies) the outgoing President has hosted the incoming President on inauguration day. But the Bushes and the Clintons have been putting off a decision on whether to attend the inauguration of a man who has publicly mocked Jeb Bush and ran a highly personal campaign against opponent Hillary Clinton. Trump [mocked](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/donald-trump-mocks-jeb-bush-barbara-ad-218136) primary opponent Jeb Bush for running an ad featuring his mother, Barbara Bush, saying Jeb “needed mommy to help him.” He[ flatly accused ](http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/20/politics/donald-trump-south-carolina-military/)former president George W. Bush of lying about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He repeatedly bullied Jeb Bush as “low energy” during the primary campaign, and [suggested that Bush](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/donald-trump-bush-wife) had a soft spot for Mexican immigrants because his wife Columba is Mexican. Jeb Bush’s father, former President George H.W. Bush, has said he will not attend Trump’s inauguration, citing his health and his age (he is 92.) Former President George W. Bush has [not said whether he will go. ](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/trump-inauguration-presidents-232937) The Clintons have also not decided whether they will attend the inauguration of a President who repeatedly belittled Hillary Clinton and dredged up scandals from Bill Clinton’s past on the trail. While the inaugural invitation is typically only extended to the former President, former First Ladies often attend with their husbands. Bill Clinton choosing not to accept the invitation could be a way to spare Hillary the indignity of having to sit and watch Donald Trump take the Oath of Office after an election where she won nearly 3 million more votes. ## Transcript MUSIC ] Every year we choose the Person of the Year who is the individual who has had the most influence on events for better or worse. The Tod argue that anyone had no influence that Donald Trump over the events of this year. [ MUSIC ] I didn't get Beyonce and Jay Z and Goose Bernstein to get crowds, I had just me. And ideas that people wanted to hear. But there is a profound argument about whether his influence was for the better or for the worse. And that really is the challenge that faces the country came through this election season more divided conspicuously publicly than at any time through any election cycle that most of us Can remember. [ MUSIC ] We're gonna have a lot of jobs put back. I think we're gonna have a lot of fuel companies leaving our country. I believed we will be successful with defeating ISIS or bringing them down to a level where it's almost the same thing. And I hope I'm judged from the time of the election as opposed to from January 20th because the stock market has had a tremendous bounce and people are seeing very good things for business in this country. [ MUSIC ] One of the things that was remarkable in going to see him, to interview him, is to be in that Penthouse which is the most austiontacious, imaginable marble and mirrors, and gold. And see him in the suit and the diamond cuff links. There is a kind of distance that repressed him about, of how is it that the billionaire is the tribune of the working man? He said, he thought that it had to do With that he wasn't a phony, that there have certainly been wealthy politicians before. Doing some cases would bend over backwards to make themselves appear like the common man, or do anything that they could, eating the corn dog at the Iowa State Fair, wearing a flannel shirt in New Hampshire. I think he had a very strong instinct that his wealth and that flamboyant display of his wealth Was not a liability that it was actually an asset. [ MUSIC ] Donal Trump is very comfortable sitting down and answering questions, although he very frequently does not remotely answer the question that you asked. In one sense it feels very undisciplined and in another sense maybe it's very disciplined in that He knows what he will and will not talk about and is unabashed in completely changing the subject. Do you feel changed by your election, and how you do think, if I play this tape back in four or eight years, the office will have changed here? Well, it's a It's a very humbling experience, I can tell you, as somebody that loves this country, it's a very large country, but it's also an even more powerful country than the numbers, because, if you look at China, and India, and you have others with more people, but, when you look at what we do in this country, it's The most incredible place on earth. [ MUSIC ] A lot of people think that Person of the Year just because the nature of the name is an honor. And certainly there have been years where we have recognized people's whose influence has been altogether, unassailably worthy. Normally, that's not the case. I know there are a lot of people who disagree with so much of what Donald Trump said and are very apprehensive about what his presidency means for them and for the country. I think I would challenge them to suggest that someone else this year had more influence than a way greater Surprise than what he did in 2016. 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