By : Lloyd Mahachi
President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony has been relocated indoors due to the extremely cold weather forecasted for Washington D.C. on January 20. The event will now take place inside the US Capitol’s rotunda, instead of outside the building.
This decision was made to ensure the safety of attendees, including tens of thousands of law enforcement officers, first responders, and supporters. Trump announced the change of venue on his Truth Social platform, stating that he doesn’t want anyone to get hurt or injured due to the freezing temperatures.
He advised those attending to dress warmly, despite the event being moved indoors. The Capital One Arena will also be open for a live viewing of the inaugural address. This will provide an alternative for those who cannot attend the ceremony in person.
The inaugural parade, which was initially planned to take place outside, will now be held indoors at the Capital One Arena. The arena is located in downtown Washington, about one mile away from the US Capitol. All three inaugural balls will also take place indoors.
This isn’t the first time a presidential inauguration has been moved indoors due to cold weather. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan’s inauguration ceremony was also held inside the Capitol rotunda due to extremely cold temperatures.
Other presidents, such as William Henry Harrison and Franklin Pierce, have also dealt with cold weather during their inaugurations. Harrison, in particular, gave the longest inauguration speech in US history in cold, wet conditions.
He caught a cold and subsequently pneumonia, which led to his death exactly one month later, making his presidency the shortest in US history. This serves as a reminder of the importance of prioritizing safety and health during outdoor events in extreme weather conditions.
The extreme cold weather forecasted for Washington D.C. on January 20 is part of a larger polar vortex that will send temperatures plummeting across the US. The National Weather Service has predicted temperatures to hit a low of -11C (12F) and a high of -5C (23F), with wind chill factored in, making it feel even colder.
These temperatures are expected to be some of the coldest on record for an inauguration ceremony. The cold weather has already started to affect the city, with schools and businesses closing early in preparation for the extreme conditions.
Despite the cold weather, Trump’s supporters remain enthusiastic about attending the inauguration. One supporter stated that they would stand in the cold weather to support Trump, while another believed that the event should take place outside, despite the freezing temperatures.
The move indoors means a more limited capacity for Trump’s swearing-in ceremony. After his first inauguration, Trump claimed that a “million and a half people” had attended, but crowd-size experts disputed this number, estimating that around 800,000 to one million people attended Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009.
Only about 1,000 people attended Joe Biden’s inauguration on the Capitol grounds because of Covid-19 restrictions. The limited capacity for Trump’s inauguration may lead to a more intimate and exclusive event, but it may also disappoint some supporters who were looking forward to attending the ceremony in person.
Editor : Josephine Mahachi