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Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20 is marked by a few firsts and several departures from tradition. While Trump returning to office as the 47th US president is "historic" in itself, his inauguration event is witnessing some notable changes in break with the past.
How Donald Trump's inauguration is breaking records and tradition:
At 78, Donald Trump became the oldest person to win the US presidency. On the inauguration day in 2020, outgoing President Joe Biden was also 78 years old. But Biden was then 78 years and 61 days old. In 2025, Trump is 78 years and 220 days old. This makes Trump the oldest president-elect to take oath on the inauguration day and the oldest person to start a presidential term.
Donald Trump now equals the record of former US President Grover Cleveland by taking oath again for a second non-consecutive term. After Cleveland, Donald Trump is the second leader to return to power after a four-year gap. Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, while Trump is the 45th and 47th US president.
For the first time in 40 years, the inauguration of a US president will be held indoors. Forced by freezing weather, the 78-year-old's inauguration will take place inside the domed Rotunda of the Capitol. The last time an inauguration was indoors was in 1985 when Ronald Reagan took over as the 40th president.
The presidential inauguration of January 2025 is likely to be one of the coldest on record.
Donald Trump held a pre-inauguration rally in Washington on Sunday. The existence of the rally itself was unusual.
According to the New York Times, the campaign-style rally was a break with tradition for presidents who have sought to reserve their comments for the official inauguration speech on January 20. The president delivers the inauguration speech soon after he/she takes the oath of office.
Trump's gala event on Sunday was a nostalgic thank you of sorts to his supporters.
In interviews, Trump has said that he intends his inaugural address to be uplifting and unifying. That would mark a departure from his first Inauguration Day speech in 2017, which detailed a broken country he described as “American Carnage", Reuters reported.
Trump has broken with precedent and invited several foreign leaders to the ceremony. Historically, they have not attended the inauguration due to security concerns and have sent diplomats in their stead, Reuters reported.
Trump invited Chinese President Xi Jinping, among other world leaders — a break with tradition, given foreign leaders traditionally do not attend US presidential inaugurations.
Besides, China is sending Vice-President Han Zheng to Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday. This is the first time a senior Chinese leader will witness a US president being sworn in, BBC reported.
Donald Trump's swearing-in ceremony is expected to begin at 12 pm ET or 10:30 pm IST on Monday. The inauguration ceremony may begin around 8 pm IST. It will kick-start with music performances. This will be followed by the oath-taking ceremony of US President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance. Know more about oath ceremony date and time, who’s attending and who’s not; full schedule of events
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