Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will skip Donald Trump's inauguration

The 39th President of the United States Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), who turned 100 years old this year, will miss the inauguration of the head of state-elect Donald Trump for health reasons. This was reported by The New York Post on Sunday, December 15.

"President Carter has been in hospice care for nearly two years. As you can guess, he no longer appears in public," Carter's spokesman said.

He added, however, that if his health allowed, Carter would have attended. This is the second ceremony Carter has missed. He and former first lady Rosalynn Carter also did not attend the swearing-in ceremonies for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The Carters, who had been married since 1946, moved into hospice care together in 2023. In November of that year, Rosalynn Carter passed away at the age of 96.

According to the newspaper, the health of the 100-year-old former president is too weak to risk sending him to a large-scale ceremony, which is traditionally held outdoors at low temperatures.

Earlier, on December 12, Donald Trump invited Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration, which will be held in Washington on January 25. But the latter declined. The Chinese ambassador to the US and his wife are expected to attend the event. According to the interlocutors, officials from Beijing may join representatives of the Chinese diplomatic mission in the United States.