On January 16, 2025, NBC News reported that the three living former presidents turned down, or were not planning on receiving, invitations to the inaugural luncheon that follows President-elect Donald Trump's inaugural address on Jan. 20:
Former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will not attend President-elect Donald Trump's traditional inaugural lunch.
Obama received an invitation but declined to attend, according to a source familiar with the matter. Clinton also was invited but does not plan to attend, according to a second source familiar with the matter, while Bush's office said it was not tracking an invitation to the luncheon.
Former Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Clinton also received an invitation to the inaugural luncheon but will not attend, according to a third source familiar with the matter.
Several widely shared posts on X repeated this information, generating reactions that implied such a snub was abnormal:
It would not be entirely unusual for living former presidents to miss the inaugural luncheon. Held in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol building, the lunch is organized by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and allows Senate leaders to greet the incoming administration, as described on the committee's website:
After the newly elected President has taken the oath of office and delivered his Inaugural address, he will be escorted to Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol for the traditional Inaugural Luncheon hosted by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC). While this tradition dates as far back as 1897, when the Senate Committee on Arrangements gave a luncheon for President McKinley and several other guests at the U.S. Capitol, it did not begin in its current form until 1953.
In 2021, there was no inaugural luncheon for President Joe Biden because of the coronavirus pandemic. The event is designed "for the President, Vice President and their spouses, Senate leaders, the JCCIC members, and other invited guests." It is an exclusive invite even by D.C. standards, and former presidents are not guaranteed a spot.
Bill Clinton and recently deceased former President Jimmy Carter have regularly attended these events. Both attended George W. Bush's 2005 lunch, Obama's 2013 lunch, and Trump's 2017 lunch. On the other hand, Bush's absence from these events is just as regular. He does not appear to have attended such a luncheon since the one held in his honor in 2005.
Bill and Hillary Clinton make multiple appearances at these events in part because both have attended as the spouse of the other. Bill Clinton's presence at Obama's 2009 luncheon was due to Hillary's position as the incoming secretary of state. Carter and George H.W. Bush did not attend Obama's 2009 lunch.
Along with the Carters, the Clintons attended Trump's 2017 luncheon, where Trump praised them specifically, as reported by NBC News:
The Clintons attended the luncheon in 2017 after Trump defeated Hillary Clinton. During the luncheon, he encouraged a standing ovation for her.
"I was very honored, very, very honored when I heard that President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Clinton was coming today," Trump said at the time.
While Trump did not attend Biden's inauguration ceremony in 2021, all the living ex-presidents — Obama, Clinton and Bush — will attend Trump's inauguration in 2025, as will Biden.
While the presence of former living presidents at the ceremony is common, their presence at the inaugural luncheon is not by any means tradition. As a result, their absence from them is not necessarily unusual.