Donald Trump was apparently not in a very festive mood on Friday.
Just hours after the Supreme Court squashed a case seeking to overturn the results of the election and open the door for Trump to potentially take another term in office after he lost to Joe Biden, the president reportedly skipped out on a planned appearance at his own Christmas party. New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman tweeted that guests were already at the gathering before they were told that Trump would not be showing up to speak to them.
“At the White House Christmas Party, guests were informed about 10 minutes ago that the president won’t be joining them to make remarks,” she tweeted .
Trump had not issued a statement on the ruling, which came late in the afternoon on Friday and appeared to shut the door on the legal attempts to overturn the results of the race. Filed by Texas, the lawsuit sought to invalidate results in a number of key states won by Biden, which would have allowed these states to select their own electors who could then pick Trump. As Haberman reported, the president appeared to believe that the expedited appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the open Supreme Court seat would help them rule in his favor.
Trump alluded to idea he needed Barrett in place to settle the election outcome well before Election Day and as he was nominating her. She did not rule in his favor in this suit.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) December 11, 2020
Many took to Twitter to mock Trump for the apparent snub, especially after he had claimed that many on the left were trying to destroy the holiday with political correctness.
“Something poetic about Trump rising to power on culture war bullsh*t like the War on Christmas… and then ending his failed presidency refusing to show up to his own Christmas party,” tweeted political host Brian Tyler Cohen.
As ABC News reported, the holiday festivities at the White House have already drawn some controversy. The report noted that even though top public health experts warned against holding indoor, in-person gatherings around the holiday season, Trump had brushed aside the concerns and continued to hold the events. Friday’s gathering was held despite the United States reaching record numbers of daily cases and deaths from COVID-19 over the course of the last few weeks, and after his own administration warned against people meeting for Thanksgiving.
A number of other White House events have already been connected to large outbreaks, including a reception for Barrett after her Supreme Court nomination where a number of those present — including Trump and his wife and son — would go on to test positive.
