On January 20, President-elect Donald Trump will officially be inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States. It will be the 60th official presidential inauguration day in American history.
According to NBC Chicago, the inauguration ceremony will begin at 12:00 on January 20, Eastern US time, or 0:00 on January 21, Vietnam time.
Preparations around the Capitol before the inauguration of the president and vice president on January 20
Series of events
The schedule released by the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee shows that President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will have parties on January 18. On January 19, Mr. Trump laid a wreath at the Unknown Soldier Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, then gave a victory speech at Capital One Arena in the capital.
January 20 will include many events such as prayer services at St. John’s House is across the street from the White House as per tradition. Next, Mr. Trump and his wife attended a tea party at the White House with President Joe Biden and his wife.
They will then go to the Capitol together for the oath-taking ceremony. Due to weather reasons, the oath-taking ceremony will not take place on the steps of the building but will be moved inside. This is the first time since President Ronald Reagan’s inauguration in 1985 that the swearing-in ceremony took place under the dome of the congressional building.
After some ceremonies, opera singer Christopher Macchio will sing the national anthem. Next, Vice President JD Vance will be sworn in with Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh presiding.
After a performance by singer Carrie Underwood, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will preside over the swearing-in ceremony of President Trump.
Rehearsal for Mr. Trump’s inauguration in front of the Capitol before the event was moved inside
After taking the oath, Mr. Trump will deliver his inauguration speech and be blessed by pastors. Next will be the official farewell ceremony of the outgoing president and vice president and Mr. Biden and Ms. Kamala Harris will leave the Capitol.
Next, Mr. Trump held a signing ceremony, signing official nomination documents, memoranda of understanding or executive orders in the presence of congressional members. Afterwards, the new president and vice president had lunch inside a Capitol hall with the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
Next, Mr. Trump was supposed to have a traditional parade along Pennsylvania Avenue, but due to bad weather, the event was moved to the Capital One arena with a capacity of 20,000 people, where the event watched the inauguration ceremony. of those who have tickets to the event.
Next, the president returned to the White House to attend the official signing ceremony in the Oval Office and spoke at parties at the White House.
Traditionally, the inauguration ceremony is held on January 20
According to the 20th Amendment of the US Constitution, the president will take office on January 20 after the election. If January 20 falls on a Sunday, the inauguration will take place on January 21. Before this amendment was ratified in 1933, the president took office on March 4.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will officially leave office at 12 o’clock on January 20, meaning that Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance will officially assume office regardless of whether they have taken the oath or not.
Rehearsal for the oath taking
The President will recite the oath: “I solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and will do my best to preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States.”
Many VIP guests were present
Costs for the events will be raised. The remaining money will be used to build Mr. Trump’s future presidential library, according to AP. Mr. Trump raised more than $200 million for his inauguration, a record number.
The stage at the Capitol was set up, but the outdoor event was ultimately canceled
Mr. Trump’s family, allies, many “VIP” guests and technology billionaires (Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg) will attend the ceremony. All living former presidents will be present, including Mr. Bill Clinton, Mr. George W. Bush and Mr. Barack Obama. According to AFP, new US leaders usually do not invite leaders of other countries to the inauguration ceremony, but Mr. Trump broke the rule by inviting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Argentine President Javier Milei and Chinese President Xi Jinping. China announced that Vice President Han Chinh will attend the ceremony.
In particular, this will be the first presidential inauguration where the American flag is flown at half-mast. The reason is that President Biden on December 29, 2024 issued a regulation to fly flags nationwide to commemorate the late President Jimmy Carter. The regulation lasts 30 days from the date of Mr. Carter’s death and Mr. Trump can only reverse the decision after taking office.
Mr. Trump’s 2017 inauguration
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies released a limited number of tickets (more than 220,000) to the public through members of Congress. Tickets are free and ticket holders can go to Capitol Hill to watch the president and vice president take the oath of office in person.
Those without tickets can still go to the National Mall to watch on large screens. The public can see the president’s silhouette as he marches down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House.
However, the above outdoor events were all canceled due to weather reasons. On January 21, President Trump will attend a traditional prayer service at Washington National Cathedral.
