President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday will be held inside the U.S. Capitol rather than outdoors due to extreme cold, marking the first indoor presidential inaugural ceremony in 40 years.
“There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Friday.
“Therefore, I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda,” Trump added.
The last time an inauguration was held indoors due to extreme cold was in 1985, when former Republican President Ronald Reagan was sworn in for his second term. The wind chill that afternoon dropped to between minus 10 and minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 to minus 29 degrees Celsius).
For President Trump’s inauguration on Monday, the temperature is expected to be around 19°F (minus 7°C), but the wind chill will make it feel even colder.
Trump announced that supporters can watch the ceremony on screens inside the Capital One Arena, a sports venue in downtown Washington with a 20,000-person capacity.
He also stated that the planned presidential parade, which was to feature marching bands and other groups along Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, would be moved to the arena. Details on how the parade would be organized inside the venue have not yet been clarified.
Trump said he would join the crowd at the arena after being sworn in.
No crowd-size comparisons this time
The decision to move the inauguration indoors eliminates any comparisons of Trump’s crowd size to previous ceremonies. After his first swearing-in in 2017, Trump was upset by media reports that suggested the crowd on the National Mall was significantly smaller than the one that attended Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009.
This change will significantly limit the number of people who can attend the ceremony in person. Many of the over 220,000 ticketed guests who were supposed to watch from the U.S. Capitol grounds will no longer be able to see the swearing-in inside the building.
Additionally, a permit issued to Trump’s inaugural committee by the National Park Service had predicted that 250,000 unticketed members of the public would gather on the National Mall for the outdoor ceremony. Only a small fraction of that number will be able to fit inside the Capital One Arena.
Tammy Matte, a school secretary from Laurel, Mississippi, and her family, who had tickets from their local congressman, decided to cancel their trip after learning they would not be able to see Trump in person.
Matte, 58, said they were no longer prepared to do the nearly 1,000-mile car ride to Washington. “We don’t feel it’s worth it not to see the ceremony in person,” Matte said.
The National Park Service, which oversees the National Mall, did not immediately say whether crowds will still be allowed on the Mall to watch the indoor ceremony on giant video screens already in place.
Trump is due to hold a rally with supporters inside the Capital One Arena on Sunday, the eve of his inauguration.
Alexi Worley, a spokesperson for the law enforcement agencies tasked with inauguration security, said the U.S. Secret Service was working closely with Trump’s inauguration committee and the congressional committee in charge of the swearing-in ceremony “to adapt our security plans as needed due to the expected inclement weather.”
Winter inauguration tradition
Frigid temperatures have been a common feature at many past inaugurations. For example, Obama’s first inauguration in 2009 saw temperatures around 29°F (minus 1.5°C), which were also quite cold.
William Henry Harrison, the ninth U.S. president, delivered the longest inaugural address on March 4, 1841, in wet and cold weather without wearing a hat or overcoat. His speech is believed to have contributed to his later death from pneumonia, just a month after taking office, making his presidency the shortest in U.S. history.
During President Ulysses S. Grant’s second swearing-in on March 4, 1873, the cold caused several cadets and midshipmen to collapse from standing outside without coats. Strong winds made Grant’s speech inaudible to those near him on the platform, according to a historical account by the National Weather Service.
The low temperature of 4°F (-15°C) that morning remains the coldest March day on record in Washington.
