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For weeks it’s been clear that Donald Trump — a man who loves pomp and famously obsessed over the crowd size at his first swearing in — wouldn’t get the inauguration he wanted. Flags were set to be a half-staff to honor the late Jimmy Carter, the Senate won’t have his Cabinet picks confirmed on Day One, and Congress hasn’t even settled on a plan for enacting his second term agenda.
While Trump managed to get flags back to full-staff at the Capitol, the weather is still conspiring against him. On Friday, Trump announced that his inauguration will be moved indoors due to dangerously cold temperatures projected for Washington, D.C. Here’s what we know about what Trump’s sad indoors festivities will look like.
What did Trump say about his indoors inauguration?
Trump confirmed reports that his inauguration was being moved indoors in a Truth Social message posted at 11:55 a.m. on Friday.
“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.
Trump added that other festivities will take place in the Capitol One Arena.
“We will open Capital One Arena on Monday for LIVE viewing of this Historic event, and to host the Presidential Parade. I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing In,” he said.
Has the inauguration ever been held indoors before?
Yes. As Trump noted, Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration was held inside. Per CNN:
The last president to be sworn in indoors was Reagan in 1985, when daytime temperatures dipped to 7 degrees with a windchill of -25. Reagan took the oath of office inside the Capitol rotunda. His inaugural parade was canceled.
What did Reagan’s indoor inauguration look like?
Here’s video of the 1985 swearing in ceremony and Reagan’s speech:
This is a developing story.
