For the second time in U.S. history a U.S. President will re-swear the oath of office after a term of absence from the White House, and the event is already shaping up to be historic in numerous ways.
Former President Donald Trump will become the 45th and 47th President of the United States at noon on Monday, after an unprecedented political comeback that propelled him through the 2024 election and back into the presidency after a narrow loss to President Joe Biden in 2020.
Unlike Trump’s first inauguration in 2016, or his successor-slash-predecessor’s swearing in, Monday’s ceremony will be held inside the U.S. Capitol instead of on its steps. Trump made the move, he said, “because of very cold weather.”
After Trump takes the oath of office and gives his Inaugural Address, “in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda, as was used by Ronald Reagan in 1985,” he said he’ll move on to the Capital One Arena in D.C. for an indoor parade and rally-style event with supporters.
“There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way,” Trump wrote of his decision to move the day’s events indoors.
According to the National Weather Service the U.S. is facing a dramatic drop in temperatures in the coming days, and the thermometers in D.C. could drop as low as 22 degrees at noon on Monday with steady winds expected to make it feel much colder. When Reagan held his second inauguration indoors in 1985, it was seven degrees in Washington. Biden’s inaugural address saw temperatures in the lower 40s, while former President Barack Obama’s saw temperatures just below freezing.
While the occasion itself is somewhat unprecedented, the crowd inside the Capitol will itself be historic and the event expected to gather together some of the richest men in U.S. history. Tesla and SpaceX owner Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, are all set to take center stage alongside Trump’s cabinet nominees
Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, is also expected to be there, as well as Apple CEO Tim Cook, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of Uber.
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are expected to attend, as well as Obama, and former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Former First Lady Michelle Obama will not be in attendance, while former First Ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush are scheduled to appear.
The small audience — the Rotunda apparently only seats about 600 people — will also apparently include official visits from foreign heads of state for the first time in history, with Argentine President Javier Milei and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni scheduled to attend. Chinese President Xi Jinping was invited, but sent Vice President Han Zheng in his place.
Trump spent Saturday night at the Blair House located across from the White House, after a fireworks display was held at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia. On Sunday the soon-to-be commander-in-chief was back in Washington for his first full day since leaving office and started the day by meeting with Republican U.S. Senators. He then attended a wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
The about 250,000 Trump supporters who had tickets to the cancelled out-door inaugural event will not be allowed to gather in the U.S. Capitol, according to the Capitol Police. Many made their way to the Capital One Arena for a Sunday afternoon rally with the 47th President, where local TV affiliates showed crowds gathering early in the morning.
Ahead of his noon inauguration on Monday, Trump is scheduled to attend a church service at St. John’s in D.C. and hold a traditional tea ceremony with the outgoing president and first lady.
Trump’s schedule shows he’ll attend a Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies Luncheon after he swears the oath of office, and hold a review of the troops and several signing ceremonies.
There are three balls scheduled for Monday evening, dubbed the Commander in Chief Ball, Liberty Inaugural Ball, and the Starlight Ball, all of which Trump’s team has indicated he will attend and address.
Trump is also, according to his transition team, scheduled to attend the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning.
Herald wire service contributed.
This post was originally published on here
