"Vice President Pence to Attend President-Elect Biden's Inauguration Ceremony"

Fences Vice President's Close Aide "Plans to Show Peaceful Transfer of Power"
High Possibility of President Trump Not Attending

U.S. President Donald Trump (left) and Vice President Mike Pence [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is reported to attend the inauguration ceremony of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden. Despite the attendance of President Donald Trump remaining uncertain, Vice President Pence has firmly decided to attend.

According to the U.S. political media outlet Politico on the 7th (local time), close aides of Vice President Pence said he would attend Biden's inauguration to show support for a peaceful transfer of power. One aide said, "Vice President Pence made the decision to attend after President Donald Trump's criticism that he did not block the certification of the election results," adding, "It has become much easier to decide to attend than before."

Earlier, Vice President Pence refused President Trump's request to overturn the election results declaring Biden the winner and stated his intention to follow the Constitution. On the 6th, despite the violent riot by Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC, Vice President Pence upheld the certification process of the Electoral College vote and officially confirmed Biden's victory in the presidential election.

This led to analyses that the relationship between President Trump and Vice President Pence has completely broken down. Vice President Pence strongly condemned the Trump supporters who carried out the violent protest, saying, "Those who threw the Capitol into chaos, you did not win," and "Violence can never win." According to Politico, a source said, "After the chaos at the Capitol that day, the President and Vice President did not communicate with each other."

On the other hand, there are expectations that President Trump will not attend Biden's inauguration. A White House aide said, "Although President Trump has not announced whether he will attend, he will probably not attend," adding, "The President wants to take Air Force One to Florida before Biden's swearing-in." This is because after the inauguration, he would have to ask President Biden for permission to use the presidential plane.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.