Donald Trump will be sworn in as President of the United States on Monday, beginning his second term and marking one of the most stunning political comebacks in American history.
As per tradition, Inauguration Day is largely devoted to pomp and circumstance. One president leaves the White House, and another comes in. But Trump, a Republican, has also promised to sign a number of executive orders on topics ranging from border security to oil and gas production on his first day in office.
Here’s what we know so far about Inauguration Day:
When is the inauguration?
Trump will take the oath of office at 12 noon EST (1700 GMT), administered by Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts. It was originally scheduled to take place in front of the US Capitol, but will now take place inside the Congress complex due to the extreme cold.
After this Trump will give his inaugural speech. In interviews, he has said that he intended for it to be uplifting and unifying. It would be a departure from his first Inauguration Day speech in 2017, in which he described a broken country that he described as “American carnage.”
The outgoing president, Democrat Joe Biden, has said he plans to attend the ceremony and witness the transfer of power, a courtesy Trump denied him four years ago.
Country music star Carrie Underwood is scheduled to perform at the swearing-in ceremony, according to a copy of the official program seen by Reuters.
Who has been invited?
Breaking tradition, Trump has invited many foreign leaders to the ceremony. Historically, they have not attended inaugurations due to security concerns and have sent diplomats in their place.
Argentinian President Javier Mellí, a strong supporter of Trump, has reportedly said he will attend.
Another Trump supporter, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, will not attend, his spokesman said this week. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said she hopes to attend. Chinese President Xi Jinping is not attending despite the invitation, but is sending an envoy.
Trump adviser Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX CEOs, Amazon Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos and Meta Platform CEO Mark Zuckerberg are also attending.
Parade to the White House
The temperatures forced organizers to cancel a planned parade of military regiments, school marching bands, floats and civic groups down Pennsylvania Avenue. The parade will now take place at the 20,000-seat Capital One Arena in downtown Washington.
getting to work
Two sources familiar with the planning said Trump is preparing a flood of executive orders and directives that could total more than 100 starting on day one.
He is expected to sign orders that give immigration officials more authority to arrest immigrants with no criminal records, send more troops to the US-Mexico border and restart border wall construction.
The orders would include a campaign to increase energy production and follow Trump’s frequently touted “drill, baby, drill” campaign.
Trump is also likely to issue the first wave of pardons for defendants convicted of participating in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
parties and a rally
At least 18 inauguration ceremonies will be held across Washington over the weekend and Monday, three of which are considered official and Trump is expected to attend.
On Sunday, the eve of the inauguration, Trump is set to hold a campaign-style “Make America Great Again Victory Rally” at Capital One Arena.
Such an event would likely help thousands of Trump supporters pack the city for inauguration festivities. This will be Trump’s first rally in the District of Columbia since the January 6, 2021 event.
On Monday, Zuckerberg will co-host a reception for billionaire Republican donors with casino magnate Miriam Adelson and Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, Trump’s pick for ambassador to Italy.
Trump’s top donor, oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm, will host an inauguration watch party Monday on the rooftop of the historic Hay-Adams Hotel near the White House.
Who bears the cost?
Official events are financed by the Trump Inaugural Committee, chaired by longtime Trump aide Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer who has been selected as Trump’s Middle East envoy, and Kelly Loeffler. , a former US senator and Trump’s choice to head the Senate. business Administration.
The committee will be responsible for covering the cost of everything except the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol, which will be borne by taxpayers.
Bezos and Zuckerberg have pledged to donate $1 million each to the committee, with Apple CEO Tim Cook and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also pledging $1 million each to the committee. Uber and its CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, have each donated $1 million to the fund.
Trump raised a record $106.7 million for his 2017 inauguration celebration. According to media reports, his committee has raised more than $170 million this time.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
