Washington [US], January 20: President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in today, January 20, with the inauguration taking place inside the Capitol, instead of outdoors as is traditional due to record low temperatures.
According to CBS, Trump 's inauguration is expected to be attended by notable guests including foreign leaders and technology executives.
However, the large crowds that were expected to watch the ceremony from the Capitol grounds will be significantly reduced following the decision to move the ceremony to the Capitol rotunda. According to The Weather Channel, the forecast temperature for January 20 in Washington DC is between minus 3 degrees Celsius and minus 9 degrees Celsius.
Many lawmakers and officials are expected to attend Mr. Trump's inauguration , in addition to outgoing President Joe Biden and the three other living former presidents: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Vice President Kamala Harris, who faces Mr. Trump in the 2024 election, is also expected to attend.
In the business world, there are expected to be the presence of TikTok CEO Chau Thu Tu, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Apple CEO Tim Cook, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Tech moguls, many of whom have grown close to the president-elect in recent months, were scheduled to sit on the inauguration podium alongside cabinet nominees and elected officials, before the ceremony moved indoors.
A handful of foreign leaders are also expected to attend the inauguration, including Argentine President Javier Milei and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Chinese Vice President Han Zheng is also expected to attend, representing President Xi Jinping, who was invited by Trump.
Performing at Mr Trump's inauguration are country star Carrie Underwood and opera singer Christopher Macchio, while singer-songwriter Lee Greenwood, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Choir and the US Marine Corps Band will make musical contributions to the program.
The absentees
Former US First Lady Michelle Obama will not attend Mr. Trump's inauguration, and the reason is unclear. She is the only absentee among the living former first ladies.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will also not attend. Her spokesperson did not provide a reason. Both Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Pelosi attended Mr. Trump's inauguration in 2017.
In 2021, Mr. Trump did not attend Mr. Biden's inauguration. The inauguration took place two weeks after protesters stormed the Capitol to protest the election results, and Mr. Trump continued to claim victory in the 2020 election.
At that time, Mr. Trump became the first president in more than 150 years to skip his successor's inauguration ceremony and only the fifth president in US history to do so .
Mr Biden's inauguration also had a smaller attendance than usual due to restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper