Second Mass. Congressional Representative Will Skip Donald Trump Inauguration

Call it a soft boycott, perhaps.

U.S. Rep. Mike Capuano is joining fellow Massachusetts Congressional rep Katherine Clark in declining to attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. But where Clark is deliberately joining other Democrats' planned boycott, Capuano's decision comes off a touch less strident.

"While I have great respect for the Office of the President and I accept the results of the election, I will not attend the Inaugural," he tweeted Wednesday. "So many of you have contacted my office to raise concerns about the future of our great country I wanted the opportunity to hear from you."

Capuano will instead hold an open house at his Cambridge District Office, 110 First St., from 8-10 a.m. on Friday. Those office hours end at roughly the time President-elect Trump's inauguration is set to begin.

Contrast his approach with Melrose Democrat Clark's, who has said attending the inaugural ceremonies is a way to "normalize" Trump's promotion of "bigoted, misogynistic, anti-Semitic and racist claims."

Capuano, previously Mayor of Somerville, represents Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Milton, Randolph and Somerville.

Image via U.S. House of Representatives