US President-elect Donald Trump arrives to speak at a MAGA victory rally at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC on January 19, 2025, one day ahead of his inauguration ceremony.
Image: Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP
By Becca MILFELD
Every four years America's president is sworn in on Inauguration Day, whether newly elected or returning to office, in a long-established ceremony held amid pageantry shaped by the incoming leader's personal flourishes.
What does that mean for the inauguration of Donald Trump? Cue the Village People and social media titans -- and leave the mittens and scarves behind, following a last-minute decision to move the inauguration indoors.
Here is a preview of the pomp and circumstance that will unfold Monday when Trump is sworn in as the 47th president.
The US Constitution mandates that each new president's term begin at noon on January 20 (or the day after if it falls on a Sunday), and that the president take the oath of office.
In recent years, presidents have been sworn in from an enormous temporary platform on the Capitol's scenic West Lawn. This year, owing to a frigid forecast, it will take place inside in the Capitol Rotunda.
The oath is most often administered by the Supreme Court chief justice, and Monday would mark John Roberts's second time officiating for Trump.
The new president also delivers an inaugural address, laying out his plans for the next four years. The Republican rang in his first term in 2017 with a particularly dark speech evoking "American carnage."
Incoming vice president J.D. Vance will also be sworn in.
In a particularly Trumpian twist, the Republican has invited a number of tech titans to attend the inauguration, joining more traditional guests such as his cabinet nominees.
Billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg will attend as will Shou Chew, the head of Chinese social media giant TikTok, according to US media.
Trump has courted closer ties with the tech moguls, and his campaign benefited from disinformation spread on social media platforms such as TikTok, Musk's X and Zuckerberg's Facebook and Instagram.
Outgoing president Joe Biden will attend the ceremony -- despite Trump's refusal to appear at Biden's swearing-in when he beat Trump in 2020.
All living former presidents -- Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama -- will attend, as will their wives, except for Michelle Obama.
That means Hillary Clinton, whom Trump beat in the 2016 presidential election, in addition to Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he beat in November, will be there.
Heads of state are not traditionally invited, but Trump has sent invitations to a handful of foreign leaders, including some who share his right-wing politics.
Far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will attend, her office confirmed Saturday.
Hungary's Viktor Orban, Argentine President Javier Milei and China's Xi Jinping have also been invited, but not all will attend.
Xi sent Vice President Han Zheng in his place, who met Sunday with J.D. Vance, the transition office said.
Crowd size is a preoccupation of Trump's, but the last-minute switch to an indoor event may dent his bragging rights.
More than 220,000 tickets were being distributed to the public before Trump announced Friday that frigid temperatures meant the inauguration would shift to the Capitol Rotunda, which can accommodate only about 600 people.
Trump said supporters could watch a live feed from Washington's Capital One sports arena, which holds up to 20,000 -- and he promised to drop in later.
Trump has said he is preparing to sign around 100 executive orders on his first day in office, many of them aimed at undoing Biden administration policies.
"Within hours of taking office I will sign dozens of executive orders, close to 100 to be exact, many of which I will be describing in my address tomorrow," Trump told supporters at an inauguration-eve candlelight dinner on Sunday.
Among his many promises, he has pledged to launch a mass deportation program and increase oil drilling. He has also said he might swiftly begin pardoning January 6 rioters -- his followers who ransacked the Capitol in 2021.
Immediately after the inauguration, a meeting is planned between US officials and foreign ministers from Japan, India and Australia, the so-called "Quad" seen as a counterweight to China.
Trump's first inauguration in 2017 was marked by a lack of celebrity power, with few A-list musicians willing to be associated with him.
Trump inauguration 2.0 is in better shape.
Country star Carrie Underwood will sing "America the Beautiful" during the swearing-in ceremony.
Also performing will be country singer Lee Greenwood, whose patriotic anthem "God Bless the USA" is standard at Trump rallies.
A pre-inauguration rally Sunday included performances by Kid Rock as well as the Village People, with whom Trump danced on stage as they performed their 1970s-era hit "Y.M.C.A."
Country musicians including Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts and Gavin DeGraw plus the Village People will perform across Trump's three official inaugural balls Monday night.
Trump is expected to attend all three invite-only affairs. Multiple other unofficial galas are also planned.
AFP