Trumps to spend Thanksgiving at White House instead of traveling to Florida

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump will not travel to Florida to spend Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago this year, marking a break with tradition for the first family as the president refuses to accept defeat in the 2020 election.

Stephanie Grisham, the chief of staff for the first lady, tweeted that Melania Trump and the president will celebrate Thanksgiving at the White House. 

Holiday Scheduling Update: The @POTUS & @flotus will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday at the @WhiteHouse this year.

— Stephanie Grisham (@StephGrisham45) November 17, 2020

While the White House had not formally announced travel plans, the first family was expected to spend the holiday at the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. The Trumps had spent each of the past three Thanksgiving holidays there.

But Trump has receded from public view in the two weeks since Election Day and after Joe Biden was projected as president-elect. Trump has made only a few public appearances in the time since, communicating largely through Twitter to spread false claims about the integrity of the vote.

Trump held a press conference two days after Election Day to make baseless claims of widespread fraud, and he delivered remarks last Friday about progress on vaccine development for the coronavirus pandemic. But he has otherwise made himself scarce, leaving the White House only for a brief stop at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day and for trips to his Virginia golf club on the weekends.

The switch also comes as coronavirus cases are exploding around the country, with the U.S. reporting increases in infections and hospitalizations on a near daily basis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have urged Americans to avoid holding holiday gatherings with individuals outside their household if possible.