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The inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will be moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda on Monday because frigid temperatures are expected in the nation’s capital.
It’s set to be the coldest inauguration day in four decades.
“I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda, as was used by Ronald Reagan in 1985, also because of very cold weather,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who has overseen a number of January 6 cases, said during a sentencing hearing Friday that her recent visit to the Capitol served as a reminder that “people came in and desecrated that beautiful space,” Politico reported.
The number of Democrats who have reportedly said they will skip the inauguration continues to grow.
Washington, D.C. is playing host not just to celebrations to mark Trump’s return to the White House but also to a large protest in the heart of the city. Thousands are marching, echoing the demonstrations of eight years ago when Trump first assumed office.
While the numbers are smaller, protesters are keen to show they have not gone away.
EDITORIAL: Global politics will become noisier on Monday when Donald Trump takes office
The mood surrounding Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday is very different from the first time round. In 2017 there were liberals in the United States and around the world who behaved as if we were in the end times. They braced themselves for all manner of wickedness – and then the world continued to turn on its axis; nothing much changed.
Mr Trump did not impose tariffs on imports from other countries. He did not build very much of the wall on the southern border of the US. Mexico did not pay for the 47 miles that he did build. He did not shut the US’s borders to Muslims. He did not withdraw from Nato.
As a result, the anticipation of Mr Trump’s presidency is calmer this time – as the president-elect himself has noticed: “In the first term everybody was fighting me. In this term everybody wants to be my friend.”
The danger is that the world is making the opposite mistake of underestimating the risks of the great disruptor.
Oliver O’Connell18 January 2025 22:15
In pictures: Trump family depart Palm Beach for Washington
Oliver O’Connell18 January 2025 22:05
Nigel Farage proclaimed ‘Britain’s future PM’ at Trump celebration party
David Maddox and Andrew Feinberg report from Washington, DC:
Nigel Farage was proclaimed as “the next prime minister of Great Britain” at a huge party overlooking the White House to celebrate the upcoming inauguration of his friend and ally Donald Trump.
The Stars and Stripes Union Jack reception on the rooftop of the Hay Adams hotel on Friday night became a gathering of the glitterati of the US and UK political right, with Maga Republicans rubbing shoulders with Reform UK, senior Conservatives, and Brexiteers.
Oliver O’Connell18 January 2025 21:59
Watch: Donald, Melania and Barron Trump board Air Force 2 en route to Washington, D.C.
Oliver O’Connell18 January 2025 21:47
Kristi Noem wants to shrink cyber agency that pushed back on Trump 2020 election conspiracies
During a confirmation hearing on Friday, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem told the Senate the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) had “gotten far off mission” and “needs to be much more effective, smaller, more nimble to really fulfill their mission.”
CISA has long been a target of conservatives, who criticized the agency’s past work liaising with social media companies about hoaxes and disinformation.
Oliver O’Connell18 January 2025 21:45
Watch: Trump motorcade departs Mar-a-Lago for Palm Beach International Airport
Oliver O’Connell18 January 2025 21:42
Watch: Bannon says Zuckerberg, Bezos and Musk attending Trump’s inauguration as ‘supplicants’
Oliver O’Connell18 January 2025 21:35
Snoop Dogg fans appalled by his performance at Trump inauguration party
Snoop (real name Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr.) was filmed performing his classic track, “Nuthin’ but a G Thang” at the party hosted by David Sacks, former PayPal COO and the incoming White House AI and Crypto Czar.
Oliver O’Connell18 January 2025 21:30
Read More: Trump departs Florida for DC as cold weather moves inauguration inside: Live updates
