Today, January 20, Donald Trump is sworn in as the country’s 47th president – and nearly a quarter of a million tickets have been distributed to Americans who want to witness the inauguration ceremony.
Trump has promised to immediately end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, close the borders with Mexico and deport millions of illegal migrants as soon as he takes office, and many voters are now expecting these campaign promises to be quickly fulfilled.
Due to bad weather, the ceremony will take place indoors in the rotunda instead of outdoors on the Capitol steps as usual, with security checks opening just before 12 noon. Music, poetry, dancing, speeches and prayers will follow before Vice President J.D. Vance is first sworn in and repeats the same oath used since 1884.
Around 6 p.m. CET, Donald Trump will lay his hand on the Bible and take the oath of office, followed by his inaugural address – a ritual led by Chief Justice John Roberts of the US Supreme Court.
Tickets are required to attend the swearing-in ceremony and although they are free, there has been a huge demand for them, and you have to apply for them through your local politician or senator. According to the congressional committee organizing the ceremony, nearly 250,000 tickets have been distributed to the public.
Because so many people want to see the installation, giant video screens and sound systems have also been placed in the area to ensure that all those gathered can follow the ceremony smoothly.
In the afternoon, there will also be an inauguration parade with around 7,500 participants along Pennsylvania Avenue towards the White House, including veterans, emergency services personnel and school bands. After this, Trump will officially enter the White House – his new place of work and residence, and later in the evening there will be several balls where the President is expected to attend.
“Have to get the criminals out”
And Trump’s first week as president is expected to be a busy one. He has declared that he intends to sign a “record-setting” number of executive orders as soon as he takes office and that mass deportations of illegal migrants and a trip to Los Angeles to survey the damage caused by the wildfires are at the top of his agenda.
– It’ll begin very early, very quickly. I can’t say which cities because things are evolving. And I don’t think we want to say what city. You’ll see it firsthand, the President-elect recently declared.
– We have to get the criminals out of our country. And I think you would agree with that. I don’t know how anyone could not agree.
“The US must be respected”
The situation in Gaza is also high on Trump’s list of priorities, with the Israeli government recently approving a proposal for a temporary ceasefire and a prisoner swap that will see 33 Israeli hostages released in exchange for more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.
Trump is a strong supporter of Israel and will soon also visit Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu. Although he will not give further details about this meeting, he stresses that it is important to ensure that the ceasefire is maintained.
– The United States has to get respected again, and it has to get respected fast. If they respect us, it will hold. If they don’t respect us, all hell will break out.
Earlier in his campaign, Trump also promised to close the border with Mexico, fire all transgender people in the military, remove left-wing activism from the education system and end the war in Ukraine immediately after taking office, among other things.
He tells NBC News that there are about 100 measures to be implemented as quickly as possible. Another example of this is that the Biden administration’s investment in electric cars is expected to be scrapped and replaced by increased investment in oil and other fossil fuels.
