Fact Check: Did Kamala Harris say she won't attend Trump's 2025 inauguration ceremony?

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Kamala Harris is still coming to terms with the defeat handed to her by Donald Trump on November 6. While everyone was questioning when she would make her concession speech, rumors started swirling on X (formerly Twitter) about how Harris may not even attend Trump’s inauguration ceremony in 2025.

Trump, the 45th president of the United States, will now also be the 47th president in the country's history. Talk about his inauguration ceremony has already begun and given the current atmosphere after the election results, more rumors than facts are floating around online.

Let’s take a look at the claim about Harris not attending Trump’s inauguration in 2025.

Claim:  Kamala Harris says she won't attend Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony in January 2025

One X post (archived) that reached over reaching over 3.9 million views—stated, "Kamala Harris has announced she won't be showing up for the presidential induction ceremony."

Some users appeared to take the rumor seriously. One commented, "Well she's a woman we know they can be bitter and it's so hard to take."

Another said, "She even tried that purple suit thing they talked about in the Simpsons and still failed. Damn."

One more tweet read, "Well she didn't show up for her own supporters, what do u expect."

"Learning in his footsteps," another said referring to the fact that even Trump refused to attend Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony in 2021 after he lost the elections. 

However, here's proof that Kamala Harris never made such a statement.

Proof Kamala Harris never said she won't attend Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony

The initial X post, which was the first instance of the rumor, was shared shortly after 3 am (ET) on November 6.

According to the fact-checking website Snopes, Harris had not released any public statements regarding the election results or her potential response to Trump’s inauguration.

Harris' concession speech was made later during the day at Howard University in Washington, DC.

In her address, she did not mention any plans to skip Trump’s inauguration ceremony.

Instead, she congratulated Trump on his victory and stated that "we will help him and his team with their transition" and "we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power."

“The outcome of this election was not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for, but hear me when I say: the light of America’s promise will always burn bright, and as long as we never give up, and as long as we keep fighting,” Harris had said. 

Kamala Harris only made a concession speech and no further statements

As of now, Kamala Harris' social media profiles on X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok show no statements indicating any intention to skip Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025. 

In conclusion, there is no evidence or credible news coverage supporting the claim that Harris made such an announcement.

So far, the only outlet to address the rumor was another fact-checking organization, which also debunked it.

If true, a statement of this nature would likely receive extensive media coverage given its political importance.

For these reasons, we rate this claim as false.

Donald Trump refused to attend Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021

However, if Harris chooses to skip Trump's inauguration in the coming days, it won't be the first of its kind.

It’s not uncommon for presidential candidates who lose to skip their opponents’ inaugurations.

The White House Historical Association notes that several presidents, including John Adams in 1801, John Quincy Adams in 1829, Martin Van Buren in 1841, Andrew Johnson in 1869, and Donald Trump in 2021, did not attend the ceremonies for their successors.

Trump, in particular, posted on X about President Joe Biden’s inauguration, saying, "To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th."

At that time Vice President Mike Pence did attend President Biden’s inauguration on January 20, 2021.