A viewing party has now been set up inside Capitol One Arena, but the stadium only has capacity for about 20,000.
American carnage or unity?
Since George Washington’s inauguration in 1789, the aim of a new president’s inauguration speech has generally been to unite the country after a rancorous election season.
Former president George W Bush had a vivid description of Trump’s first inauguration speech.Credit: AP
Trump’s first inauguration speech in 2017 didn’t exactly fit the mould.
The former reality TV star, who had just beaten Democrat and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, painted the US as a crime and drug-infested hellscape, with “rusted-out factories, scattered like tombstones”; “mothers and children trapped in poverty”; and “forgotten men and women” across the country.
“This American carnage stops right here and stops right now,” he declared.
Former Republican president George W. Bush, who was one of the guests at the time, spoke for many when he turned to Hillary Clinton after the speech and noted: “That was some weird shit.”
This time, Trump insists his speech will be different.
“We’re going to have a message,” he told Meet The Press’ Kristen Welker last month. “It will make you happy: unity. It’s going to be a message of unity.”
We’ll soon see. After all, he flagged his speeches would be messages of unity before – including before his 2017 inauguration address.
It’s not just about the oath
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Inaugurations generally have several features. There’s the oath of office, in which the president-to-be raises their right hand and declares: “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.”
There’s the inauguration parade, a tradition that began with Thomas Jefferson’s second inauguration in 1805, when he travelled on horseback to the White House along Pennsylvania Avenue.
And there are the inauguration balls, which originated from a party thrown to honour president James Madison after he was inaugurated in 1809.
This year, Trump will have three balls on Monday night: Commander in Chief Inaugural ball, which is geared towards military members; the Liberty Inaugural ball: where Rapper Nelly, country singer Jason Aldean and disco legends the Village People are scheduled to perform; and the Starlight ball, which is geared towards high-dollar donors.
Trump will speak at all three. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who is in Washington to attend the inauguration as a representative for the Albanese government, has been invited to the Starlight ball.
Biden’s last goodbye
Trump’s inauguration will also mark the end of an era for Trump’s predecessor and America’s 46th president, Joe Biden.
Fifty-three years after entering national politics as a 30-year-old senator for Delaware, Biden leaves the White House after only one term, pushed out after his disastrous debate performance last July exposed the extent of his cognitive decline.
Biden and first lady Jill Biden will leave the inauguration after Trump is sworn in and head to Joint Base Andrews where they will have there a sendoff ceremony with White House staff and aides. There, the Democrat stalwart will deliver his first speech as a former president, before heading back to his home state of Delaware.
Goodbye, Joe. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden step off Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews.Credit: AP
In a farewell speech at the Oval Office on Wednesday night, Biden wished the new administration well, but he also warned the country of the challenges ahead: the rise of a “tech industrial complex”; a crumbling free press and “an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation”; and an emerging “oligarchy” in which power is concentrated in the hands of “a very few ultra-wealthy people”.
‘Golden age’ for America
Trump will kickstart his second presidency with a blizzard of executive orders. More than 100 are expected to be signed on day one of entering the White House, allowing the new president to effectively bypass Congress to deliver on some of his priorities.
Among the orders will be measures to tighten border security, ramp up US energy production, ban transgender women in female sports and reel in regulations. He will also order the military to start work on an “iron dome” over the US and get rid of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs.
“Every radical and foolish executive order of the Biden administration will be repealed when I take the oath of office,” he told the crowd at his “victory rally” in Washington on Sunday.
“Oh, you’re gonna have a lot of fun watching television tomorrow. Somebody said yesterday: Sir, don’t sign so many in one day. Let’s do it over weeks. Like hell we’re going to do it over weeks. We’re going to sign them immediately!
“The American people have given us their trust and in return, we are going to give them the best first day, the best first week, and the most extraordinary first 100 days of any presidency in American history.”
