Donald Trump will be inaugurated as President of the United States for the second time on Monday, Jan. 20, capping off one of the most astounding political comebacks in American history. His ceremony and surrounding events are expected to be more modest than his first inauguration in 2017, but should still draw tens of thousands of supporters and some protesters to Washington.
Inauguration Day is traditionally about pomp and circumstance as one president leaves the White House and another takes his seat in the Oval Office. But Mr. Trump, a Republican, is known for shaking up conventions. He is pledging to sign a flurry of executive orders on subjects including border security, tariffs and oil and gas production on his first day in office.
Here’s everything you need to know about Mr. Trump’s inauguration.
Donald Trump was last sworn in as U.S. president in 2017, and is set to do so again this Jan. 20.Andrew Harnik/The Associated Press
When does the inauguration start and how long will it last?
Opening remarks are expected at 11:30 a.m. ET on Jan. 20. Mr. Trump will take the oath of office, likely administered by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, at 12 p.m. ET inside the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, just after incoming vice-president J.D. Vance is sworn in. That is the same building more than two thousand of Trump supporters entered on Jan. 6, 2021 in an attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.
The inauguration will be held inside the Capitol for the first time in 40 years because of cold temperatures sweeping across much of the U.S. The weather forecast for Washington on Monday predicts temperatures at the time of Mr. Trump’s swearing-in to be around -7 C, but will feel even colder with wind chill.
“There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way,” Mr. Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Friday.
After being sworn in, Mr. Trump will deliver his inaugural address. In interviews, he has said he intends it to be uplifting and unifying. That would mark a departure from his 16-minute inaugural speech in 2017, which detailed a broken country he described as “American carnage.” Mr. Trump said Friday that supporters can watch it on screens from inside Capital One Arena, rather than gathering outdoors on the National Mall as planned.
Carrie Underwood, who played on New Year's Eve in Mr. Trump's home city of New York, is also performing at his inauguration.Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
When is Carrie Underwood singing and who else will perform?
Country music star Carrie Underwood will perform America the Beautiful shortly before Trump takes the oath of office at 12 p.m. ET, according to the inaugural program. The former American Idol star said on Monday she was “honoured” to be asked and “humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”
Country music singer Lee Greenwood will sing as Mr. Trump walks out to take the oath, according to the inaugural committee, while classical artist Christopher Macchio has been selected to perform the national anthem at the end of the ceremony. Both are among Mr. Trump’s favourite musicians.
The invocation is scheduled to be delivered by Franklin Graham, son of the late pastor Billy Graham, and New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
American disco group the Village People will also perform at one of Mr. Trump’s three official inaugural balls later Monday evening and at a rally in Washington the day before he’s sworn in. The band’s best-known hit, Y.M.C.A., is widely considered a gay anthem – and became a staple of Trump’s rallies in the last election.
“We know this won’t make some of you happy to hear however we believe that music is to be performed without regard to politics,” the band said in a post on its Facebook page Monday, adding that while their preferred candidate lost in November, “we believe it’s now time to bring the country together with music.”
Who will be attending the inauguration?
Mr. Biden and outgoing first lady Jill Biden plan to attend the ceremony and witness the transfer of power, a courtesy Mr. Trump did not afford him four years earlier. The Bidens will also host Mr. Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, at the White House for tea in the morning before the ceremony. Ex-presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will attend, along with former first ladies Laura Bush and onetime secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Outgoing Vice-President Kamala Harris, who lost to Mr. Trump in November’s election, and her husband, Doug Emhoff, will also be there, along with members of Congress and Supreme Court justices.
Former first lady Michelle Obama, who has been an outspoken critic of Mr. Trump, will skip the inauguration, according to a statement from her office. It is the second gathering of current and former presidents and their spouses that she has not attended in less than two weeks, after missing former president Jimmy Carter’s state funeral in Washington on Jan. 9.
Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg – who have all donated significantly to Mr. Trump’s campaign or inauguration committee – will also attend the ceremony, a source told Reuters on Tuesday.
Mr. Trump has broken with precedent and invited several foreign leaders to the ceremony. Historically, they have not attended the inauguration owing to security concerns and have sent diplomats in their stead. Argentina’s President Javier Milei, a strong supporter of Mr. Trump, has said he will attend. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have both said they hope to attend. Chinese President Xi Jinping was also invited but will send an envoy instead.
There have so far been no reports that Mr. Trump has extended invitations to Canadian officials, though Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said she will be in Washington to attend the Canadian Embassy’s inauguration party. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is holding a two-day cabinet retreat starting on Inauguration Day in Quebec’s Outaouais region, which he said will focus on his government’s response to Mr. Trump’s threatened 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian goods.
Before the inauguration ceremony was moved inside on Friday, tens of thousands of Trump supporters without tickets were expected to gather on the National Mall to watch. However crowds were expected to be smaller than at his first inauguration in 2017, at least partly because of tightened security and the cold. It is unclear where those that cannot fit inside the 20,000-capacity Capital One Arena may gather on Monday to watch.
Canadians who followed the twists and turns of the presidential election on TV have myriad options to do so again on inauguration day.Eric Gay/The Associated Press
How can I watch the inauguration in Canada?
At least two major Canadian news networks will air the inauguration ceremony live on TV and stream their coverage online.
- CBC’s live coverage will start at 10 a.m. ET and will also be available to stream on its website and on CBC Gem. CBC Radio One will air a live special from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET.
- CTV’s special inauguration coverage will begin at 9 a.m. ET and also be streamed on the outlet’s website.
Below are U.S. news networks with inauguration day coverage that also broadcast in Canada. Depending on your cable package, you can check out:
- CNN
- MSNBC
- Fox News
- ABC News
You can also watch the inauguration on the White House’s livestream.
Many major Canadian and U.S. networks will be broadcasting from the roof of Canada’s Embassy to the United States, which has a clear view of the U.S. Capitol building from its location along the iconic Pennsylvania Avenue.
Mr. Trump, who made a big show of many executive orders in his first term, has dozens more planned in his second.Alex Brandon/The Associated Press
What happens after the ceremony?
Mr. Trump will head to the President’s Room inside the Capitol to take his first official actions, which sources say could total more than 100 new nominations and executive orders on Monday alone. He will then have lunch with Congressional leaders.
Around 2:30 p.m., Mr. Trump will kick off the presidential parade by riding in his motorcade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. He said Friday that the parade, which was set to involve marching bands and other groups accompanying him along the drive, will be switched to inside the Capital One Arena and that he would join the crowd at the arena to watch the procession. It was not immediately clear how a parade would be organized inside the sports venue.
After the parade and an Oval Office signing ceremony, Mr. Trump will attend and speak at the three official inaugural balls held around Washington on Monday evening.
What is Trump expected to do on his first day in office?
Republican U.S. Senator John Barrasso, a Trump ally, told CBS on Jan. 12 that on inauguration day there will be a “blizzard of executive orders on the economy, as well as on the border.”
Two sources familiar with the planning told Reuters that Mr. Trump is preparing a flood of executive orders and directives, including ones that send more troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, restart construction of the border wall and give immigration officers more latitude to arrest migrants with no criminal records.
The orders will include a drive to increase energy production and will follow through on Mr. Trump’s oft-stated campaign vow to “drill, baby, drill.” He is also likely to issue the first wave of pardons for supporters convicted in the Capitol riots.
If Mr. Trump uses his first day in office to impose his threatened tariffs on Canadian goods, Ottawa will unveil its initial plan to retaliate the same day, The Globe reported on Thursday. The first round of countertariffs would cover $37-billion of U.S. imports that would be least painful to the Canadian economy, according to a source.
More security barriers have come up around Washington as the city prepares for Mr. Trump's big day.Marko Djurica/Reuters
What is security like for the inauguration?
After a campaign marked by two attempts on Mr. Trump’s life and a pair of New Year’s Day attacks on ordinary Americans, the inauguration is taking place in a “higher-threat environment,” according to the Secret Service.
Washington is bracing for the events with 48 kilometres of two-metre tall “unclimbable” black fencing and 25,000 law enforcement officers including National Guard troops and police officers from other areas. A three-kilometre-long chunk of downtown will be closed to vehicle traffic between the White House and the Capitol.
While there are no known or co-ordinated threats, the potential “threat of the lone actor remains the biggest justification for us being at this heightened state of alert throughout the next week,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger said Monday.
Authorities are bracing for more protests around Washington during the inauguration.ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images
Will there be protests?
Mr. Trump’s 2017 inauguration was marked by massive protests and counterprotests, including the Jan. 21 Women’s March, which drew hundreds of thousands of people to Washington. Other pop-up solidarity events took place around the world.
Thousands of people rallied in the nation’s capital Saturday for women’s reproductive rights and other causes they believe are under threat from the incoming Trump administration.
Officials permitted nearly a dozen protests or rallies between Saturday and Monday, including a Trump rally at the Capital One Arena on Sunday.
Mr. Trump, who has his admirers at the New York Stock Exchange, will pay for his inauguration with help from some of the biggest U.S. tech companies.Andrew Kelly/Reuters
Who pays for the inauguration?
Mr. Trump’s inauguration committee is responsible for covering the costs of all the official events taking place between Saturday and Tuesday, except for the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol, which is borne by U.S. taxpayers.
Amazon.com, led by founder Jeff Bezos, and Meta Platforms, helmed by Mark Zuckerberg, have said they will donate US$1-million each to the committee, as have Apple CEO Tim Cook and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Uber and its CEO Dara Khosrowshahi have also each donated US$1-million to the fund.
As of last week, Mr. Trump had raised more than US$170-million for his coming inauguration festivities, a new record. The previous record of US$106.7-million was raised for his first swearing-in.
– With reports from the Associated Press and Reuters