Read: Why Trump inaugural is indoor with US flag half-mast?
This is the first time in 40 years when a U.S. President will take oath of office in a ceremony organised indoor with the U.S. flag already flying half-mast
[The Capitol Building in Washington under snow cover (File image/X)]
Washington DC: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has shifted the inauguration ceremony on Monday January 20, 2025 indoor.
This is the first time in 40 years when a U.S. President will take oath of office in a ceremony organised indoor with the U.S. flag already flying half-mast.
Traditionally, the inauguration ceremony of the new U.S. President is organised most commonly on the marble steps of the gigantic Capitol Building in Washington, DC overlooking its massive lawns where guests and the Americans are seated.
However, the team Trump was forced to shift the ceremony inside because of the bad weather.
As on today, heavy snowfall has turned the entire area white and the U.S. Capitol is also under the cover of snow. The meteorologists are predicting one of the coldest inauguration days in recent history.
[Traditionally, the inauguration ceremony of the new U.S. President is organised most commonly on the marble steps of the gigantic Capitol Building in Washington, DC (File image/X)]
The forecast for Washington on Monday is for a temperature at the time of Trump's swearing-in around -7°C but it is expected to feel even colder with wind chill.
“There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way,” Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social.
“It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours", he wrote.
Crew remove fencing as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced to shifted the inauguration ceremony on Monday January 20, 2025 will be held indoor because of bad weather. pic.twitter.com/XHP1uTjWXa
— ummid.com (@ummid) January 18, 2025
Trump’s ceremony, scheduled for Monday, will now take place beneath the Capitol Rotunda, its curved sandstone walls covered with paintings from American history.
Trump said supporters can view the ceremony on screens inside the Capital One Arena, a professional basketball and hockey venue in downtown Washington that holds 20,000 people.
He said his presidential parade, which was set to involve marching bands and other groups proceeding down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, will be switched to Capital One Arena. It was not immediately clear how a parade would be organised inside the sports venue.
Why U.S. Flag flying half-mast?
In another first, the U.S. national flag will fly half-mast on the day of inauguration. This is because the Americans are mourning the demise of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
Carter, the 39th U.S. President and Noble Peace Prize winner - better known for making possible the Camp David Middle East Peace Treaty, had died December 29, 2024.
The outgoing Biden administration announced a month of mourning which is why the American flag is flying half-mast.
The change in plans will greatly reduce the number of people able to watch the ceremony in person. Many of the more than 220,000 ticketed guests who had been due to watch from the US Capitol grounds will be unable to view the swearing-in inside the building.
In addition, 250,000 unticketed members of the public were predicted to stand on the National Mall for the outdoor ceremony, according to a permit issued to Trump's inaugural committee by the National Park Service. Just a fraction of that number will fit into the Capital One Arena.
Trump said he would join the crowd at the arena after being sworn in.
The last time an inauguration was moved indoors because of the bitter cold was in 1985 for former Republican President Ronald Reagan's second swearing-in when the afternoon wind chill fell into the range of -23 to -29 degrees Celsius.
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