On January 20, newly elected US President Donald Trump will return to the White House. After that, he will officially assume the powers of the 47th President of the United States.
In addition to the formal inauguration, Inauguration Day includes an official oath ceremony, as well as musical performances, a celebratory parade, and a number of other events.
In addition to Donald Trump, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance will also take the oath of office to officially begin his term.
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What is an inauguration
An inauguration is a formal ceremony that marks the end of one president's tenure and the beginning of the administration of his successor. This procedure is in place in most countries, including Ukraine.
For the United States, this event has a special tradition, and all US media, as well as a significant part of the world media, are glued to it.
Traditionally, the ceremony of transfer of power from one president to another takes place in Washington, D.C.
The key part of the ceremony is the oath of office taken by the newly elected president: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”.
Although Trump won the election in November, he will officially become 47th President of the United States only when he says these words on Inauguration Day.
Vance will also take the oath of office before officially taking office as vice president.
It is also noteworthy that before taking office, an official inauguration photo is taken for the US president, which will symbolically accompany the entire term of the next head of the White House. And this time, Trump also decided to approach this issue in an original way.
Thus, the network began to discuss Trump's new inauguration photo, comparing it with the one before the inauguration in 2017. In the new photo, Trump looks gloomy, or even angry, and photographers point out that the lighting that was set for the photo illuminates Trump from below, which is incorrect because it unnaturally emphasizes the features of a human face.
What will happen on US Presidential Inauguration Day 2025: schedule
Trump's inauguration will begin with a service at St. John's Church, Lafayette Square, a historic Washington church, followed by a tea party at the White House.
The US capital will be freezing on January 20, with forecasters saying temperatures could reach as low as -21°C. Forecasters say it will be the coldest US inauguration since Ronald Reagan's ceremonial swearing-in in 1985. That year, Republican Reagan decided to hold the ceremony indoors, although the event traditionally takes place in front of the Capitol.
Despite the weather conditions, about 200 thousand people will attend the inauguration. At least, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies indicated that on January 13, it distributed 220 thousand inauguration tickets to congressmen, which allow access to the territory adjacent to the Capitol.
However, in 2017, when Trump read his first presidential oath, about half a million people attended the event.
On Inauguration Day, musical performances and opening speeches will begin on the main stage of the event, located on the West Lawn of the US Capitol. This event is scheduled for 09:30 Eastern Time (16:30 Kyiv time).
Trump himself and his vice president are expected to arrive at the ceremony site at 10:30 local time (17:30 Kyiv time). The arrival of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance is expected to be officially announced in Congress after the arrival of the next president's motorcade.
It is expected that it will be around 11 o'clock local time (18 o'clock Kyiv time) Trump and Vance will be sworn in as president and vice president inside the Capitol's central rotunda, and the future president of the United States will deliver an inaugural address in which he will outline his goals for the next four years.
The next step will be the swearing in of Trump and Vance, as well as the inaugural address in which the president will outline his goals for the next four years.
This time, Trump's speech will take place indoors, just like Reagan's swearing in in 1985. The same freezing weather is the reason.
— These weather conditions pose a danger to tens of thousands of law enforcement officers, first responders, police dogs and even horses, as well as hundreds of thousands of my supporters who will be outside for many hours on the 20th, the 47th President of the United States wrote on social media.
Trump will then head to the Presidential Room, located next to the Senate Chamber, where he will sign key documents.
He will then attend a luncheon hosted by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
A parade will then take place from the Capitol building down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. Trump has already announced that he will be joining the crowd in watching the parade.
Later in the evening, Trump will appear at three inaugural balls around the city — The Commander-in-Chief's Ball, the Inaugural Liberty Ball, and the Starlight Ball. He is expected to perform at all three.
Where to Watch Trump's 2025 Inauguration
Donald Trump's inauguration will be broadcast by almost all American national television channels, as well as a number of media outlets outside the United States.
For example, the inauguration will be broadcast with translation into Ukrainian by the Voice of America and the Suspilne broadcaster.
In the United States, the broadcast will be carried out by the White House channel, as well as national television channels Fox News, CNN, CSPAN, CNBC, ABC and others.
Who will attend the inauguration
In addition to spectators, who will be given more than 200 thousand tickets to the inauguration, the event will also be attended by many senators and members of the US House of Representatives.
At the same time, protests are expected near the venue of the celebrations, which has also become a traditional part of Trump's inauguration.
After Trump, Vance, and their families, the next most important attendees will be the outgoing US president and vice president. Accordingly, along with Trump, the world will see President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the election to the Republican in November, with their partners Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff.
Former presidents and first ladies often make the guest list, but former first lady Michelle Obama will skip this year's inauguration.
Also in attendance will be former US presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and wife Laura Bush.
Billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg are expected to attend. At least, that's what US media reported.
TikTok CEO Shaw Zi Chu will also reportedly be there, just a day after a potential ban on the social media platform could go into effect in the US.
It is noteworthy that traditionally the next head of the White House does not invite foreign leaders to attend the inauguration. However, this time, as Politico writes, Trump decided to ignore tradition and invite a number of world leaders, mainly from the political right.
Thus, according to the publication, Trump invited the President of Argentina Javier Miley, the Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban and the leader of China Xi Jinping to his own inauguration.
It is known that the leader of the PRC refused to participate in the event, so it is likely that the Vice President of China Han Zheng will attend the ceremony instead of him.
The list of potential guests also includes Western right-wing politicians who do not even hold government or leadership positions in their countries. Among those invited are British Eurosceptic and populist Niguel Farage, French politician Eric Zemmour, Belgian Tom van Grieken, former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, and leaders of ultra-nationalist parties in Spain and Portugal.
At the same time, centrist politicians such as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were not invited to the inauguration ceremony for Trump. Instead, EU Ambassador to Washington Jovita Neliupšienė will attend the event.
According to Politico, candidate for German Chancellor Alice Weidel, who leads the far-right Alternative for Germany party, was also invited to the ceremony. However, it is already known that the politician declined the visit due to her busy schedule in connection with the approaching elections in the country. Instead, party leader Tino Chrupalla will attend Trump's inauguration.
Among those invited will also be ministers, diplomats, and foreign politicians who want to make closer ties with Trump. For example, the heads of the Foreign Ministries of India and Japan, as well as the presidents of El Salvador and Ecuador, will attend the ceremony.
As for the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, his presence remains uncertain. In the past, Zelensky said that he plans to attend the inauguration of the new American president.
At the same time, Donald Trump later said in a conversation with the press that he had not officially invited the Ukrainian president to the ceremony, “but if he wants to come, I would like him to come,”, Trump said.
Subsequently, Zelensky again commented on the issue of the US presidential ceremony, during which he said that there are leaders who will come to Washington for the inauguration “on their own” without an invitation. The Ukrainian president himself said that he would not come because he had not been invited to the inauguration, and certain security issues were important to him.
— I don't want to cause trouble for anyone and I don't want to create problems for anyone. And that's why, that's why, if he invites me, I'll come, Zelensky said in a podcast with Lex Fridman.
The head of the Ukrainian state had previously said that he expected closer cooperation with the Donald Trump administration after the inauguration. In addition, Zelensky pointed out that the Ukrainian and American teams had agreements on a meeting of the two leaders in the United States after the official ceremony on January 20.
