Donald Trump will become the 47th president of the United States today - marking an astonishing return to the White House for the businessman and former reality TV star.
Today’s inauguration comes after a tumultuous four years out of office that saw assassination attempts and several serious legal cases against the 78-year-old.
Mr Trump will be sworn in at the US Capitol Rotunda buildings rather than outdoors due to the cold weather in Washington DC - the first time this has happened in 40 years.
The Capital One Arena in Washington will host a live viewing of the ceremony - due to start at 5pm UK time - as well as the Presidential Parade.
Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and past presidents will attend the swearing-in ceremony - but notably Barack Obama’s wife Michelle will be absent with no explanation offered.
Mr Trump has invited several world leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping, Argentina’s Javier Milei, and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, to his inauguration - the first president-elect to do so.
Several high-profile “tech bros” will also be in attendance including Mr Trump’s close confidante Elon Musk, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, and TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew - fresh from the US ban which saw the app shut for several hours before the president-elect said he would stall the ban.
Mr Trump also promised to sign close to 100 executive orders on his first day in office and said he would ensure that “the curtain closes on four long years of American decline”.
He added: “We’re going to give them the best first day, the biggest first week and the most extraordinary first 100 days of any presidency in American history.”
This evening will end with a series of inaugural balls across Washington DC.
Today’s swearing-in ceremony will stand in stark contrast to Mr Biden’s in 2021. Then, security was beefed up after the January 6 unrest around two weeks earlier, and the COVID-19 pandemic drastically limited crowd sizes.
US officials have said they are not anticipating any major disruptions or protests on inauguration day.
But they are operating in a “heightened threat environment” due to the New Year’s terror attack in New Orleans.
The District of Columbia National Guard will deploy roughly 7,800 soldiers for security, which includes traffic control and patrolling underground stations.
Thousands of federal agents, police and other law enforcement officials will also be on hand.
Source: Sky News
--Agencies
