Donald Trump returns to White House with a rare indoor inauguration

Trump's guest list is a mix of billionaires, businessmen, tech executives, foreign heads, and former presidents

Donald Trump, the president-elect, has officially returned to Washington D.C. for his second swearing-in ceremony as the 47th President of the United States. Along with Trump, incoming Vice President JD Vance will also be sworn in.

  Unlike his first inauguration in 2017, after defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in the elections, this ceremony will feature several changes from previous ones. One of the major changes is the indoor arrangement of the ceremony, “due to dangerously cold temperatures projected in the nation’s capital,” Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social.

 

As a result, a vast majority of the ticketed guests will not be able to attend the ceremony in person, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies said in a statement. Spectators will instead watch from other indoor venues of their choice. However, those with tickets for the Presidential Platform and members of Congress will be able to attend in person.

 

 

Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, along with other events following it, will be conducted indoors in the Capitol Rotunda, which seats about 600 people. According to the BBC, the inaugural parade will also be held indoors at Washington's Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, about one mile (1.6 km) away, along with all three inaugural balls.

 

This inauguration could be the coldest in a decade, according to CNN. The most recent indoor inauguration was Ronald Reagan's 1985 ceremony, which was delayed by a day and moved to the Capitol Rotunda due to freezing temperatures. Monday's forecast predicts a wind chill of 12 degrees Fahrenheit. The inaugural parade is one of the most important parts of the ceremony and was cancelled during Reagan’s time.  Presidential inaugurations are said to attract  a huge crowd to watch the ceremony live. The case with TV viewerships is no different. Reagan's first inauguration had the highest viewership of 41.8 million viewers in 1985, as per the data from Statista. This was followed by Barack Obama's first presidential inauguration in 2009 with 37.93 million viewers. Trump's 2017 inauguration saw 30.64 million viewers followed by Biden's inauguration with 33.8 million viewers in 2021. 

 

Among the many traditions involved in this elaborate ceremony is the relatively new practice of transition letters—handwritten letters from former presidents to their successors. This tradition began with President Ronald Reagan writing to his successor and former Vice President George H. W. Bush. This year, former President Joe Biden will write a letter to incoming President Trump. Biden had earlier received a transition letter from Trump, which has not been made public.

 

Three of the world’s wealthiest men are reported to be among the major tech executives attending Trump’s inauguration. These include Elon Musk, chief executive officer (CEO) of Tesla Motors, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, and Jeff Bezos, executive chairman of Amazon. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, and Shou Chew, CEO of TikTok, had also been invited, according to The New York Times. 

From India, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries and his wife, Nita Ambani, are expected to attend Trump's swearing-in ceremony.

 

Seating for other high-dollar donors from the business world is reportedly highly competitive, especially after the last-minute move to an indoor ceremony. Some donors offered as much as $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee without receiving access to the inauguration or accompanying receptions, The New York Times reported.

 

This presidential inauguration will differ from those of former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, as several world leaders are expected to attend, according to US media reports. Many of these leaders share Trump’s right-wing ideology. Traditionally, heads of state were not invited to this event.

 

All living former presidents—Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama—will attend along with their wives, except Michelle Obama. This contrasts with Trump, who refused to attend Biden’s inauguration ceremony in 2021.

 

China’s Vice President Han Zheng will attend the inauguration on behalf of Xi Jinping.

 

S. Jaishankar, India’s External Affairs Minister; Penny Wong, Australia’s Foreign Minister; and Takeshi Iwaya, Japan’s Foreign Minister, will also be attending, representing three key US allies in the Asia-Pacific region.