Melania Trump swerves Donald Trump's kiss in awkward inauguration moment
The exchange occurred as Donald Trump's inauguration got underway.
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Inauguration Day Latest: Biden pardons Fauci, Milley and Jan. 6 committee before Trump takes office
Donald Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, is set to be sworn in as the 47th U.S. president
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Politics
The Capitol is adorned with flags ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's second inauguration. Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, will be sworn in Monday as the 47th U.S. president taking charge as Republicans claim unified control of Washington and set out to reshape the country’s institutions.
Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, moved indoors due to intense cold, will begin at noon ET. But festivities will start earlier when the incoming president arrives for service at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Here’s the latest:
The “transfer of families” is a frenetic Inauguration Day ritual of approximately five hours where the White House is turned over from the outgoing presidential family to the incoming one.
Advertisement:In that time, while the outgoing and incoming presidents are together for the inaugural ceremony — White House residence staff hustle to inventory belongings, pack and move out one family and prepare the residence for its new occupants.
The process wasn’t always so efficient, though.
After the disputed election of 1876, outgoing President Ulysses S. Grant suggested that his successor, Rutherford B. Hayes, take the oath of office two days early to prevent potential unrest.
Hayes did that but then took a second oath as scheduled. Grant, though, didn’t actually vacate the White House until after Haye’s second swearing-in.
Advertisement:Biden has set the presidential record for most individual pardons and commutations issued; he announced on Friday he would commute the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses.
He previously announced he was commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks before Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office. In his first term, Trump presided over an unprecedented spate of executions, 13, in a protracted timeline during the coronavirus pandemic.
President Joe Biden has pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, using the extraordinary powers of his office in his final hours to guard against potential “revenge” by the incoming Trump administration.
The decision by Biden comes after Donald Trump warned of an enemies list filled with those who have crossed him politically or sought to hold him accountable for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss and his role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump has selected Cabinet nominees who backed his election lies and who have pledged to punish those involved in efforts to investigate him.
Advertisement:“The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense,” Biden said in a statement. “Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country.”
The White House’s official X account, and its 37 million followers, will shift around midday from Joe Biden to Donald Trump.
The process is similar to Inauguration Day 2017 when the @POTUS account — created during Barack Obama’s tenure — was transferred to Trump’s first administration.
The same will be true for @WhiteHouse, the first lady’s @FLOTUS and @VP for the vice president.
Twitter suspended Trump’s personal account, @realDonaldTrump, in 2021, after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
But Trump supporter Elon Musk later bought Twitter, renaming it X, and Trump rejoined the platform last summer — though he uses his Truth Social network more.
Congress directed in September 1788 that the presidential swearing-in ceremony occur on the first Wednesday in March. But George Washington wasn’t actually inaugurated until April 30, 1789, on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City, then the nation’s capital.
The capital was moved to Philadelphia in 1790 before construction was completed on the White House in 1800. There, Washington was sworn in for his second term in,1793, and John Adams was inaugurated in 1797.
Advertisement:Most inaugurations took place on March 4 until the ratification of the Twentieth Amendment in 1933, which set the ceremony for noon on Jan. 20.
Where inaugurations took place also traditionally varied. But they’ve been held on the Capitol’s western front, facing the National Mall, since Ronald Reagan took office in January 1981.
“The people who are coming out and participating directly are still a small subset of the entire universe of what we call celebrity,” said Robert Thompson, a professor of pop culture at Syracuse University. “But we’re seeing a lot more celebrities who are coming out and supporting Trump. There may not be that distinct division that we saw before.”
There may still be a tinge of stigma, however. Thompson pointed to the statement from The Village People, in which they offered a justification their involvement, which he likened to an apologia.
Also, Thompson said, “The idea of being featured in a big national civic ritual perhaps can transcend political identity.”
The participation of people like Underwood is not going to change anyone’s mind about Trump, Thompson said. It could, however, change minds about the artist. On social media, some declared they were going to delete Underwood’s songs from their playlists.
Addressing a packed crowd at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., Trump stayed consistent with the framing he often used in his campaign.
He criticized Biden’s term as a “failed administration” and promised to “end the reign of a failed and corrupt political establishment.”
Advertisement:“Tomorrow, at noon, the curtain closes on four long years of American decline and we begin a brand-new day of American strength and prosperity, dignity and pride,” he told supporters.
Carrie Underwood might not be Beyoncé or Garth Brooks in the celebrity superstar ecosystem. But the singer’s participation in President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is nevertheless a sign of the changing tides, where mainstream entertainers, from Nelly to The Village People are more publicly, more enthusiastically associating with the new administration.
Eight years ago, Trump reportedly struggled to enlist stars to be part of the swearing-in and the various glitzy balls that follow. The concurrent protest marches around the nation had more famous entertainers than the swearing-in.
There were always some celebrity Trump supporters, like Kid Rock, Hulk Hogan, Jon Voight, Rosanne Barr, Mike Tyson, Sylvester Stallone and Dennis Rodman, to name a few. But Trump’s victory this time around was decisive and while Hollywood may always skew largely liberal, the slate of names participating in his inauguration weekend events has improved.
Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus, The Village People, Lee Greenwood all performed at a MAGA style rally Sunday. Those performing at inaugural balls include the rapper Nelly, country music band Rascal Flatts, country singer Jason Aldean and singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw.
Trump forecast signing as many as 100 executive orders on his first day, possibly covering deportations, the U.S.-Mexico border, domestic energy, Schedule F rules for federal workers, school gender policies and vaccine mandates, among other Day 1 promises made during his campaign. He’s also promised an executive order to give more time for the sale of TikTok.
Advertisement:Trump has asked Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., to write an order stopping the development of offshore windmills for generating electricity.
Many of the Republican’s measures are likely to draw Democratic opposition.
And in several major cases, the orders will largely be statements of intent based off campaign promises made by Trump.
The U.S. flag over the Capitol will be flying at full-staff for Donald Trump’s swearing-in.
That’s despite an order from President Joe Biden that flags be lowered for 30 days following the Dec. 29 death of former President Jimmy Carter.
