President-elect Ronald Reagan applauds as outgoing President Jimmy Carter waves to the crowd at Reagan's inaugural ceremony, in Washington, Jan. 20, 1981. (AP Photo, File)2025-01-14T05:09:34Z In January 1981, Jimmy Carter nodded politely toward Ronald Reagan as the new Republican president thanked the Democrat for his administrations help after Reagan resoundingly defeated Carter the previous November. Twenty years earlier, after a much closer race, Republican Richard Nixon clasped John F. Kennedys hand and offered the new Democratic president a word of encouragement. The U.S. has a long tradition of defeated presidential candidates sharing the inauguration stage with the people who defeated them, projecting to the world the orderly transfer of power. Its a practice that Vice President Kamala Harris will resume on Jan. 20 after an eight-year hiatus. Only once in the television era with its magnifying effect on a losing candidates expression has a defeated candidate skipped the exercise. That candidate, former President Donald Trump, left for Florida after a failed effort to overturn his loss based on false or unfounded theories of voter fraud. Deciding to skip President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, outgoing President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump depart Washington en route to his Mar-a-Lago Florida Resort, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Jan. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) Deciding to skip President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, outgoing President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump depart Washington en route to his Mar-a-Lago Florida Resort, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Jan. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Vice President Kamala Harris talks to reporters after overseeing the ceremonial certification of her defeat to incoming President-elect Donald Trump, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Vice President Kamala Harris talks to reporters after overseeing the ceremonial certification of her defeat to incoming President-elect Donald Trump, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More With Harris watching, Trump is scheduled to stand on the Capitols west steps and be sworn in for a second term. Below are examples of episodes that have featured a losing candidate in a rite that Reagan called nothing short of a miracle. 2001: Al Gore and George W. BushDemocrat Al Gore conceded to Republican George W. Bush after 36 days of legal battling over Floridas ballots ended with a divided Supreme Court ruling to end the recount. Vice President Al Gore, far right, who conceded to Republican George W. Bush after 36 days of legal battling over Floridas ballots, looks on as Bush is sworn in as the 43rd president of the United States, outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20, 2001. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File) Vice President Al Gore, far right, who conceded to Republican George W. Bush after 36 days of legal battling over Floridas ballots, looks on as Bush is sworn in as the 43rd president of the United States, outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20, 2001. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More But Gore, the sitting vice president, would join Bush on the west steps of the Capitol a month later as the Texas governor was sworn in. After Bush took the oath, he and Gore shook hands, spoke briefly and smiled before Gore returned to his seat clapping along to the presidential anthem, Hail to the Chief. A disappointed Gore accepted the outcome and his role in demonstrating continuity of governance, former Gore campaign spokeswoman Kiki McLean said. He may have wished, I wish that was me standing there, McLean said. But I dont think Gore for one minute ever doubted he should be there in his capacity as vice president. 2017: Hillary Clinton and Donald TrumpDemocrat Hillary Clinton was candid about her disappointment in losing to Trump in 2016, when like Gore against Bush she received more votes but failed to win an Electoral College majority. Obviously, I was crushed, she told Howard Stern on his radio show in 2019. Former Sen. Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton arrive on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, Jan. 20, 2017, for the inauguration ceremony of Donald J. Trump as the 45th president of the United States. (Win McNamee/AP Photo File) Former Sen. Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton arrive on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, Jan. 20, 2017, for the inauguration ceremony of Donald J. Trump as the 45th president of the United States. (Win McNamee/AP Photo File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Calling Inauguration Day one of the hardest days of my life, Clinton said she planned to attend Trumps swearing-in out of a sense of duty, having been first lady during her husbands presidency from 1993 to 2001. You put on the best face possible, Clinton said on Sterns show. 2021: Mike Pence (with Trump absent) and Joe BidenTrump four years ago claimed without evidence that his loss to President Joe Biden was marred by widespread fraud. Two weeks earlier, Trump supporters had stormed the Capitol in a violent siege aimed at halting the electoral vote certification. Outgoing Vice President Mike Pence looks on as incoming President Joe Biden embraces first lady Jill Biden, his son Hunter Biden and daughter Ashley Biden after he was sworn-in as the 46th president of the United Staes, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. Incoming Vice President Kamala Harris applauds at left. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) Outgoing Vice President Mike Pence looks on as incoming President Joe Biden embraces first lady Jill Biden, his son Hunter Biden and daughter Ashley Biden after he was sworn-in as the 46th president of the United Staes, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. Incoming Vice President Kamala Harris applauds at left. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Instead, then-Vice President Mike Pence was the face of the outgoing administration. Sure, it was awkward, Pences former chief of staff Marc Short said. Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff, wave from the Capitol steps as former Vice President Mike Pence gets into a vehicle following the inauguration of President Joe Biden at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. (Melina Mara/AP File) Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff, wave from the Capitol steps as former Vice President Mike Pence gets into a vehicle following the inauguration of President Joe Biden at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. (Melina Mara/AP File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Still, Pence and his wife met privately with Biden and his wife to congratulate them in the Capitol before the ceremony, and escorted newly sworn-in Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband out of the Capitol afterward, as tradition had prescribed, Short said. There was an appreciation expressed for him by members of both chambers in both parties, he said. 1993: George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton Outgoing President George Bush, far right, accompanied by President-elect Bill Clinton, depart the White House for Capitol Hill to attend the swearing in ceremony of Clinton as the nations 42nd president, in Washington, Jan 20, 1993. (AP Photo/Doug Mills, File) Outgoing President George Bush, far right, accompanied by President-elect Bill Clinton, depart the White House for Capitol Hill to attend the swearing in ceremony of Clinton as the nations 42nd president, in Washington, Jan 20, 1993. (AP Photo/Doug Mills, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Bush stood on the Capitols west steps three times for his swearing-in as vice president twice and in 1989 to be inaugurated as president. He would attend again in 1993 in defeat. He joined Bill Clinton, the Democrat who beat him, on the traditional walk out onto the east steps. Bush would return triumphantly to the inaugural ceremony eight years later as the father of Clintons successor, George W. Bush. 1961: Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy Former Vice President Richard Nixon shakes hands with President John F. Kennedy at the end of Kennedys inauguration, in Washington, June 20, 1961. (AP Photo, File) Former Vice President Richard Nixon shakes hands with President John F. Kennedy at the end of Kennedys inauguration, in Washington, June 20, 1961. (AP Photo, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Nixon had just lost the 1960 election by fewer than 120,000 votes in what was the closest presidential contest in 44 years. But the departing vice president approached Kennedy with a wide grin, a handshake and an audible good luck just seconds after the winning Democrats swearing-in. Outgoing Vice President Hubert Humphrey, right, watches Chief Justice Earl Warren administers the oath to President-elect Richard Nixon on the U.S. Capitol steps in Washington, Jan. 20, 1969. (AP Photo, File) Outgoing Vice President Hubert Humphrey, right, watches Chief Justice Earl Warren administers the oath to President-elect Richard Nixon on the U.S. Capitol steps in Washington, Jan. 20, 1969. (AP Photo, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Nixon would have to wait eight years to be sworn in as president, while his losing Democratic opponent outgoing Vice President Hubert Humphrey looked on. He was inaugurated a second time after winning reelection in 1972, only to resign after the Watergate scandal. 1933: Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt Outgoing President Herbert Hoover, right, gazes downward as President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, accompanied by his eldest son James, takes the oath of office from Chief Justice Charles E. Hughes, in Washington, March 4, 1933. (AP Photo, File) Outgoing President Herbert Hoover, right, gazes downward as President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, accompanied by his eldest son James, takes the oath of office from Chief Justice Charles E. Hughes, in Washington, March 4, 1933. (AP Photo, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Like Bush, Hoover would attend just one inauguration as a new president before losing to a Democrat four years later. But Democrat Franklin Roosevelts 1933 swearing-in would not be Hoovers last. Hoover would live for another 31 years, see four more presidents sworn in, and sit in places of honor at the two inaugurations of Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower. 1897: Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison Chief Justice Melville Weston Fuller administers the oath of office to President-elect William McKinley during his inauguration in Washington, March 4, 1897, as outgoing President Grover Cleveland stands behind McKinley. (Library of Congress via AP File) Chief Justice Melville Weston Fuller administers the oath of office to President-elect William McKinley during his inauguration in Washington, March 4, 1897, as outgoing President Grover Cleveland stands behind McKinley. (Library of Congress via AP File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Cleveland, the sitting Democratic president, lost reelection in 1888 while winning more popular votes than former Indiana Sen. Benjamin Harrison. But Cleveland still managed to hold Harrisons umbrella while the Republican was sworn in during a rainy 1889 inauguration. Elected to a second, non-consecutive term in 1892, Cleveland, however, would stand solemnly behind William McKinley four years later at the Republicans 1897 inauguration, leaving the presidency that day after losing the 1896 nomination of his own party. Cleveland was the only president to win two non-consecutive terms until Trumps victory in November. ___Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. THOMAS BEAUMONT Beaumont covers national politics for The Associated Press. He is based in Des Moines, Iowa. twitter mailto