Washington
CNN
—
Donald Trump will be sworn in as president on Monday, returning to power to implement his radical vision for America after shamefully leaving office four years ago.
Trump will become the nation’s 47th president at noon Monday, completing a remarkable four-year journey after leaving Washington as a pariah at the end of his first term. JD Vance will become the 50th vice-president, a meteoric rise for the man who was elected to the Senate in 2022.
Both Trump and Vance have vowed to move to pass a broad agenda that is expected to include immediate executive action on immigration.
The day is already shaping up to be extraordinary. Projected freezing temperatures in Washington, D.C., prompted Trump to announce Friday that he would take the oath of office inside the U.S. Capitol — the first time the ceremony has been held indoors since Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985.
Here’s what you need to know about Inauguration Day:
Temperatures for this year’s ceremony are expected to be in the low 20s, likely the coldest since Reagan’s second inauguration.
Trump called Monday’s conditions “dangerous” and added that he didn’t “want to see people hurt in any way.”
“Therefore, I have ordered that the inaugural address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, be delivered in the rotunda of the United States Capitol, such as that used by Ronald Reagan in 1985, also because of the very cold,” he said on Truth Social. Friday.
Capitol One Arena — not far from the National Mall, where crowds normally gather to watch the ceremony — will be open to watch the inauguration, and Trump said he would stop by the arena after his performance. oath.
The relatively small area inside the U.S. Capitol will deprive Trump of the overflow crowd he would have wanted on the Mall. It will also likely cause agitation among dignitaries and lawmakers to be able to personally attend Trump’s swearing-in.
Concerns about the weather on Inauguration Day can be explained by historical context. President William Henry Harrison is widely believed to have caught a cold during his inaugural ceremony in 1841, during which he gave a two-hour speech and wore neither coat nor hat. He then contracted pneumonia and died a month after his inauguration.
Trump said he would take steps to immediately implement parts of his sweeping agenda, with executive actions related to immigration control expected to be released in the first hours of his second term.
CNN previously reported that Trump’s plans include ordering U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in major cities, sending more Pentagon resources to the U.S. southern border , imposing additional restrictions on those eligible to enter the United States, and reversing Biden-era policies.
Trump will quickly implement executive actions on immigration, energy policy and federal government operations to check off dozens of campaign policy priorities, according to two sources briefed on a Sunday call hosted by Trump’s aide, Stephen Miller, who provided an overview of the actions with senior Republican Congressional officials.
One of the first steps Trump said he would take as president is to sign an order that delays enforcement of the law that banned TikTok and briefly made the app unusable for Americans over the weekend .
The divestment or ban law, which received bipartisan support and was signed by President Joe Biden in April, required TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to sell the app by on January 19 under penalty of blocking it from its 170 million American users. .
Trump said Sunday he would issue an order “to extend the period before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so we can reach an agreement to protect our national security.” He also proposed a 50-50 partnership between ByteDance and an American owner.
Trump proposed a ban on TikTok during his first term, but has since embraced the app because of its influence among young people. “We won on TikTok, and the Republicans have never won the youth vote, the youth vote,” Trump said at a rally on the eve of his inauguration Sunday in Washington. “So I like TikTok,” he added.
Trump also said he plans to quickly pardon those convicted for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. CNN previously reported that the president-elect’s team had drafted a list of Jan. 6-related pardons that Trump planned to grant on his first day.
The extent of Trump’s planned pardons is unclear. About 1,270 people have been convicted of crimes related to the attack.
Throughout the 2024 campaign, Trump has pledged to seek retaliation against his political opponents and enemies. Those who oppose Trump will be closely watching the opening hours of his second administration to see how quickly he makes good on his threats.
He said last summer of his political opponents: “When this election is over…I would have every right to sue it.” ” He said that “sometimes revenge can be justified.”
Trump’s opponents, including prosecutors who investigated him, lawmakers who opposed him, political figures who opposed him, and media outlets that covered him, will be closely watching how Trump handles his first day in office to determine whether these threats carry weight.
Trump’s first inaugural address in 2017 is remembered for its dark images of “American carnage.” But Trump also showed he could be conciliatory, even if contradictory.
A brief call between Biden and Trump after the former president’s victory was described as “very friendly,” with Biden aides expressing surprise at Trump’s approach of deference and flattery. Trump was seen in seemingly friendly conversation with first lady Jill Biden and former President Barack Obama in the months after his victory and praised his meeting with Biden in the Oval Office after his election victory.
But, at the same time, Trump did not hesitate to use his usual bellicose language towards the president, calling him “crooked Joe Biden” on January 14.
Biden’s final official act as president will be to attend the inauguration of his successor, a man he has repeatedly warned poses a fundamental threat to the future of this country.
On Monday, the 82-year-old president leaves public service, retiring to his home state of Delaware after a trip to California following his departure from Washington.
During his farewell address from the Oval Office last week, Biden said his crucial legislative accomplishments will have long-term impacts that will outlast his presidency.
“I am very proud of everything we have accomplished together for the American people,” Biden said, “and I wish the new administration success, because I want America to succeed.”
Yet the image of him ceding that office to the man he worked so hard to stay away from could provide a final defining moment of his presidency.
CNN will provide live coverage of Trump’s second inauguration throughout Monday. Special live coverage begins at 7 a.m. ET and continues through the ceremony, the oath of office and the evening inaugural balls.
CNN’s special coverage will also air live on CNN, on CNN-connected television and mobile apps, and on CNN.com. It will also be streamed live on Max for Max subscribers.
CNN reporters, anchors and contributors will also participate in a live chat during the swearing-in, and the CNN app will feature a personalized live stream including on-the-ground reporting, live updates, in-depth analysis and pictures.
