Cold presidential inauguration? Trump is moving the ceremony indoors News about Donald Trump
Faced with an icy polar vortex, the president-elect of the United States Donald Trump has announced plans to move its upcoming inauguration ceremony inside.
Traditionally, the ceremony took place outdoors, most often on the marble steps of the Capitol in Washington, DC.
But with meteorologists predicting one of the coldest inauguration days in recent history, Trump decided Friday that safety required a slight change of venue.
“Arctic explosion sweeps the earth. I don’t want to see people hurt or hurt in any way,” Trump wrote on its Truth Social platform.
“These are dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of police officers, emergency responders, police K9s and even horses, and the hundreds of thousands of fans who will be outside for hours.”
Trump’s ceremony, scheduled for Monday, will now take place under the Capitol Rotunda, whose rounded sandstone walls are covered with images from American history.
Only one other president has been sworn in under the Capitol dome inside the rotunda: Trump’s fellow Republican, Ronald Reagan.
Reagan’s second inauguration, in 1985, was also one of the coldest, even exceeding the low temperature predicted for Monday. The weather hovered around -14 degrees Celsius, or just 7 degrees Fahrenheit, and the cold wind made the air even colder.
The National Weather Service predicts that Monday’s temperature will be -6 degrees Celsius, or 22 degrees Fahrenheit.
Trump compared his situation to Reagan’s in a Friday social media post. He also addressed the issue of capacity in such a confined space as the rotunda.
About 250,000 guests had tickets to watch the inauguration near and around the Capitol steps, according to the original plan.
Trump confirmed that “various dignitaries and guests” will still join him in the rotunda to witness the ceremony in person.
“This will be a very nice experience for everyone, especially for the large TV audience!” Trump wrote.
But other attendees were encouraged to go to Capitol One Arena, where the inauguration will be broadcast live.
“I’ll be joining the crowd at Capital One after I’m sworn in,” Trump added. On Sunday, he plans to hold a “victory rally” there.
The US Capitol has hosted inaugurations on 55 separate occasions, with 34 ceremonies taking place on the East Portico, the colonnade on the outside of the building.
Relatively few of these took place indoors, but when the ceremony moved inside, the Senate chamber and the House of Representatives were used as a backdrop.
Cold weather has ruined past outdoor ceremonies. In 1873, for example, soldiers collapsed around him and freezing winds made it difficult for him to speak for President Ulysses Grant.
And historians speculate how wet conditions on Inauguration Day contributed to the death of William Henry Harrison, who contracted pneumonia and died just a month after becoming president.
His inaugural speech was the longest in US history – and his time in office the shortest.
