Biden says it's important for the country for Trump to attend inauguration

President-elect Joe Biden, speaking on Thursday to CNN’s Jake Tapper and alongside Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, said it’s important for the country that President Trump attends the inauguration. Biden said it’s important to show “there is peaceful transfer of power, with the competing parties standing there, shaking hands and moving on.”

Video Transcript

JAKE TAPPER: President Trump has not said if he's going to attend your inauguration yet. Do you think it's important that he's there? You're laughing.

JOE BIDEN: I think it would-- important only in one sense. Not in a personal sense. 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 think that's an important-- 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.

You know, the rest of the world's looked at us-- and you've heard me say this a number of times, and I apologize for repeating it. They followed us not just because the power-- an example of our power. 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. So in that sense, the protocol of the transfer of power, I think, is important. But it is totally his decision, and it's of no personal consequence to me. But I do think it is for the country.