President-elect Donald Trump headed to Washington on Saturday to kick off days of pageantry announcing his second inauguration as president, four years after he left the city in the shadow of an attack by his supporters on the Capitol.
Trump, Melania and their son Barron boarded the plane at 5:13 p.m. Eastern Time and departed Palm Beach, Florida, from Mar-a-Lago. where his team spent its transition since he won the election. At the top of the stairs, all three turned and Trump waved before boarding the plane.
The ritual change of power will get underway when the solemn splendor of Washington is combined with Trump’s kind of party: a fireworks show at one of his luxury golf courses, guests including tech industry titans, business friends and conservative media stars, and thousands of his supporters poured in from all over the country.
With a blast of Arctic air expected to leave the country’s capital ffrigid temperatures on Inauguration Day Organizers also tried to move most of Monday’s outdoor events, including the swearing-in ceremony.
“There is an Arctic blast engulfing the country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I don’t want people to be hurt or injured in any way… That’s why I have ordered the inauguration speech, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda, as used by Ronald Reagan in 1985, also because of the very cold weather.”
Country music stars Carrie UnderwoodBilly Ray Cyrus and Jason Aldean, disco band The Village People, rapper Nelly and musician Kid Rock will all perform at inauguration-related ceremonies and events. Actor Jon Voight and wrestler Hulk Hogan are also expected to appear, as well as a team of Trump-embracing business leaders: Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
The only public event on Trump’s schedule is an evening reception and fireworks show at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, outside the city.
While Trump is in court at his club, Vice President-elect JD Vance will attend a reception for Cabinet members and host a dinner in Washington.
On Sunday, the eve of his inauguration, Trump will take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery before heading to a rally at the Capital One Arena in Washington. The rally will be followed by a private dinner.
On Inauguration Day, Trump will begin the traditional prayer service at St. John’s Episcopal Church before heading to the White House for a customary tea with the outgoing president and first lady.
Trump will then head to the Capitol, where his ceremony has been moved indoors because temperatures will drop and it will be the coldest Inauguration Day in four decades. It’s not entirely clear how the ceremony will be adapted to the Capitol Rotunda, which seats only 600 people. More than 250,000 guests received tickets to watch the inauguration from the Capitol grounds.
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which is responsible for planning the event, said in a statement that “the vast majority of ticketed guests will not be able to attend the ceremonies in person.”
Eight years ago, Trump’s critics wrestled with whether to attend his inauguration. They considered whether to break long-standing practice and send a message to the divisive new president. This year, the much-outspoken opposition to Trump has faded, although there will be two notable absences: former first lady Michelle Obama And former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Neither gave an explanation as to why she skipped the ceremony.
After Trump takes the oath of office and delivers his inaugural address, there will be a ceremonial farewell to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. As the new Republican administration takes power, Trump will attend a signing ceremony at the Capitol to approve some of his first official acts, followed by a congressional lunch and a review of U.S. troops.
The planned traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue has been turned into an indoor event due to the cold, with Trump again planning to speak to his gathered supporters before heading to the White House for a signing ceremony in the Oval Office. In the evening a trio of glitzy balls follows, interrupted by musical performances.
Trump’s arrival in Washington will once again be accompanied by protests and vigils over issues like abortion, immigration rights and, this time, the war between Israel and Hamas, but the feel and power of those demonstrations were different than at the start of his first term. .
The Women’s March, spurred by women outraged by Trump’s 2017 victory, drew more than 500,000 people to Washington and millions more to cities across the country, marking one of the largest single-day demonstrations in American history.
The march returned Saturday, renamed the People’s March, with organizers saying their focus will be less on Trump and more on broader causes around women’s and reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, immigration, climate and democracy. It attracted much less than eight years ago.
Kathryn Watson and
contributed to this report.