On Monday, Donald Trump will complete a stunning comeback as he is sworn in for a second term as president of the United States.
Following his loss in the 2020 election, many believed Trump’s political future was over. Critics also questioned whether scandal would overshadow his legacy.
After all, his false allegations of election fraud prompted a mob to violently storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Then, he faced four criminal indictments: one for allegedly withholding classified documents, one for falsifying business records, and two for accusations of election interference.
But in November, Trump scored his biggest election victory yet, carrying both the Electoral College vote and the symbolic popular vote.
His latest inauguration is set to bring together several former critics-turned-allies, among them powerful members of the country’s tech elite.
What happens during a US presidential inauguration, who will be attending, and what can it tell us about Trump’s return to power? We answer those questions and more in this brief explainer.
What is an inauguration?
In the United States, a presidential inauguration is when a president-elect takes the oath of office and formally begins their four-year term.
To swear in, the president-elect usually places their hand on a bible, although some have opted for another book of spiritual or political significance.
After reciting the oath of office, the new president offers inaugural remarks to a gathered crowd of supporters, government officials and foreign dignitaries.
What does the oath of office say?
The oath comes from Article II in Section I of the US Constitution.
It reads: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Which book will Trump be sworn in on?
During his first inauguration in 2017, Trump was sworn in on the same bible used by Abraham Lincoln in 1861. He also used a second bible, gifted by his late mother Mary Anne MacLeod Trump.
Media reports indicate Trump is likely to use a similar combination of books this year: the Lincoln bible, plus one from his mother.
Trump has also used the occasion to promote sales of a special edition “Inauguration Day” bible, currently priced at $69.99.
“The biggest thing we have to bring back to America to make it great again is God,” Trump says in a promotional video on the website.
Donald Trump was sworn in for his first term in office on January 20, 2017, in Washington, DC [File: Jim Bourg/Pool via AP Photo]
When and where will the inauguration take place?
The inauguration will be held at 12pm Eastern Time (17:00 GMT) on January 20, 2025.
The ceremony was originally supposed to take place outdoors, on the west front of the US Capitol, facing a park called the National Mall, in Washington, DC.
But icy temperatures forced Trump to reconsider. On Friday, citing safety concerns, he announced that the ceremony would be moved indoors to the Capitol’s rotunda, under its 88-metre-high (288-foot) dome.
That enclosed space, however, will limit the number of attendees. Nearly 250,000 guests have tickets to the original outdoor event, but Trump has encouraged his supporters to instead watch a live broadcast at the Capitol One Arena, where he will appear later in the day.
How cold will it be?
Early estimates indicated Trump’s second inauguration could be one of the coldest in recent decades, as a polar vortex sweeps across the US.
As of Friday, the National Weather Service projected temperatures on Monday at noon to hover around -6 degrees Celsius, or 22 degrees Fahrenheit.
Just one. In 1985, Ronald Reagan was also taking office for a second time — and he too faced icy weather. The temperature hit -14 degrees Celsius, or just 7 degrees Fahrenheit, even lower than what’s forecast for Monday.
So, like Trump, Reagan made the decision to move his inauguration indoors, to the Capitol Rotunda.
Other presidents, however, have held their ceremonies in other parts of the Capitol, like inside the Senate chamber, though outdoor ceremonies have become increasingly standard.
Who will be attending?
While presidential inaugurations have always drawn influential people, this year’s list of attendees has sparked extra attention.
Three former presidents — Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton — will all be in attendance. So will the leaders of the outgoing administration, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Both Biden and Harris faced Trump on the campaign trail. While Biden won his 2020 match-up with Trump, he dropped out of the 2024 race, and Harris, who took his place, ultimately lost.
Trump’s guest list also includes a who’s who of far-right leaders from around the world. Argentinian President Javier Milei, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French politician Eric Zemmour and British Member of Parliament Nigel Farage are all expected to participate.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro also tried to attend, but his country’s Supreme Court deemed him a flight risk, given the legal proceedings he faces at home.
A number of prominent businessmen will also help ring in Trump’s return to power, among them billionaire Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Critics have taken the presence of the tech billionaires as a sign that the industry has embraced Trump, despite wariness and outright criticism in the past.
Though he previously called the January 6 insurrection a “shameful day”, Apple’s Tim Cook reportedly donated $1m to Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
Cook is not alone. In a sign of the business world’s efforts to win favour with the incoming administration, Trump’s inauguration fund had raised a record $170m as of January 8.
By the time the ceremony unfolds, some insiders expect the total to top $200m.
Those funds help cover the expenses of the inauguration itself, as well as related events like private balls and a parade.
Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta have said they would donate $1m, along with Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, who donated $1m.
Other big donors include the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, the financial services company Intuit, the stock-trading app Robinhood, and automakers like Ford and General Motors.
Trump’s previous inauguration also racked up a record haul of donations, topping $106.7m. By contrast, Biden only received $61.8m in donations for his 2021 ceremony.
Who will perform at the inauguration?
Trump famously struggled to find performers for his 2017 inauguration — but this year, that’s not the case.
Pop star Carrie Underwood is set to perform the song America the Beautiful, while country singer Lee Greenwood will reprise his hit God Bless the USA, a popular entry in Trump’s soundtrack on the campaign trail.
Meanwhile, opera singer Christopher Macchio will offer his rendition of the national anthem.
The group Village People will also make an appearance to perform a Trump favourite, the disco song YMCA.
What was the controversy with the US flag?
On December 29, former President Jimmy Carter passed away at age 100, and as per tradition, US flags were lowered on federal buildings for a 30-day mourning period.
But that 30-day period overlapped with the inauguration, and Trump objected to having half-mast flags waving over his ceremony.
“The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my Inauguration,” Trump wrote on social media this month. “Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it.”
Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, ultimately sided with Trump, requesting the flags be pulled up to full height on Monday. He did, however, specify that they would be lowered again the following day.
This marks a break in presidential tradition. In the past, flags have remained lowered for the full mourning period, as was the case in 1973, when President Richard Nixon took his second oath of office while the country honoured one of his predecessors, Harry Truman.
Will there be protests?
When Trump took office in 2017, he was met with widespread protests across the country, as demonstrators took to the streets in opposition to his far-right politics.
More than 200 protesters were arrested on the day of Trump’s first inauguration — though nearly all saw the charges against them dropped.
Then, on the day after, nearly 500,000 people joined the Women’s March on Washington, marking one of the largest single-day protests the city has ever seen. Nationwide, nearly four million people participated in the local versions of the Women’s March.
This time around, however, the reaction appears more muted. While protests are expected to take place, few anticipate demonstrations on the same scale as 2017.
What about security?
Security is expected to be high, especially after the attempt on Trump’s life last July, when he was shot in the ear while campaigning in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Nearly 48 kilometres, or 30 miles, of fencing have been set up around the Capitol, the most ever installed. At two metres (7ft) high, the fence is designed to deter those who might otherwise scale the barrier.
An estimated 25,000 law enforcement agents are also expected to be patrolling the capital, including 7,800 National Guard members.
City authorities in Washington, DC, have said that there will be road closures near the inauguration, and ticket-holders will have to pass through a security screening before entering any related event.
How large is the crowd size expected to be?
Crowd size is something of an obsession for Donald Trump, and his inauguration day crowd is no exception.
In 2017, Trump spent weeks insisting that he had drawn the largest inauguration crowd ever, although this was not true.
About 220,000 tickets have been released for this year’s inauguration, with space available for about 250,000.
But the venue change might prove to be an obstacle. The original venue, the grassy National Mall, has space for hundreds of thousands of visitors. Capitol One Arena, where a live broadcast will now be held, has space for just over 20,000.
