Trump arrives in Washington as inauguration celebrations begin
President-elect Donald Trump arrived in the Washington area on Saturday evening for a celebration of his return to power ahead of an inauguration ceremony that has been upended by record cold temperatures.
Trump flew aboard an Air Force plane sent by outgoing President Joe Biden to the Republican’s base in Palm Beach, Florida, where Trump prepared his transition after winning the Nov. 5 election over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
The 78-year-old Trump is due to hold a rally with supporters inside the Capital One Arena in downtown Washington on Sunday, the eve of his inauguration, as well as a post-inauguration event Monday afternoon.
Frigid weather forecast for Monday prompted Trump to move the inauguration ceremonies from the iconic west front of the U.S. Capitol building indoors to the Capitol Rotunda, and the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capital One Arena.
In the Capitol Rotunda, Trump will be sworn in at 12 p.m. ET (1700 GMT) then deliver an inaugural address, a speech that typically sets the tone for the president’s four-year term. He told NBC News the theme would be “unity and strength, and also the word “fairness.”
It will be the first time since Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in January 1985 that the big event has been moved indoors.
Most of the more than 220,000 ticketed guests who had been due to watch from the U.S. Capitol grounds will be unable to view the swearing-in inside the building. Just a fraction will be able to fit inside the 20,000-seat Capital One Arena, where the inauguration will be broadcast and parade entertainers and participants are expected to perform.
Ultimately, once he returns to the White House on Monday afternoon, Trump is expected to begin signing dozens of executive orders and directives on migration, U.S. energy production, and other priorities.
