Outgoing President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to steal successor Joe Biden's thunder by flying to Florida during the official inauguration ceremony and announcing his intention to run for President in 2024.
According to various media reports, Trump - who lost his bid for a second term to the former Vice President in last month's landmark election - will skip Biden's inauguration on January 20, 2021, the date the Democrat is officially sworn in as 46th President of the United States.
Instead, Trump is considering flying to Florida on Air Force One - a US Air Force aircraft used to transport the President - to attend a 'Make America Great Again' (MAGA) rally, a campaign slogan popularised by Trump and used widely by his supporters. There, he will announce his bid to reclaim the White House in the 2024 election, Virginia-based news website Axios claimed in a report on Monday.
The business magnate will be 78 - the same age as Biden - at the time of the next presidential election.
In a statement to Axios, White House spokesman Judd Deere said: "Anonymous sources who claim to know what the President is or is not considering have no idea. When President Trump has an announcement about his plans for January 20 he will let you know."
Reports that Trump is planning to coincide his campaign launch with Biden's inauguration to upstage the President-elect have been circulating since November. Late last month, the Daily Beast claimed that the President has been actively discussing ways to steal the spotlight and disrupt the transition of power.
The President has continued to back his unsubstantiated allegations that widespread voter fraud rigged the election - however, he has failed to provide sufficient evidence to corroborate the claims. Last week, his team filed a new lawsuit in Georgia, historically a Republican stronghold narrowly won by Biden, contesting its results and requesting a do-over. It's the latest in a series of long-shot legal bids, many of which have proved unsuccessful. As reported by ABC, the Trump campaign has filed similar lawsuits more than 46 times across the country, but have yet to gain traction.
It is a longstanding tradition for the outgoing President to attend their successor's official inauguration ceremony in a display of unity, marking a peaceful transfer of power.
However, Trump's presence at the ceremony is not mandatory - five other Presidents have elected not to attend the inauguration of their successors, the last being Richard Nixon following his resignation in 1974.
It comes as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage across the United States, with Trump's personal lawyer and campaign attorney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, testing positive for the virus. The 76-year-old was admitted to hospital, it was revealed on Monday (NZ time), but appears to be recovering well.
