Trump moves inauguration indoors as freezing weather forecast for Washington

Washington: President-elect Donald Trump has ordered Monday’s inauguration be held indoors due to cold weather in Washington DC, the first time in 40 years the ceremony will not be held outdoors on the steps of the US Capitol and the National Mall.

Instead, Trump will be sworn in inside the rotunda below the Capitol’s dome, the same venue Ronald Reagan used for his inauguration in 1985 also due to weather conditions.

The forecast for Monday predicts an overnight low of minus 12 degrees celsius and a daytime high of minus five, though conditions will be sunny and dry. Trump said with the windchill factor, temperatures could near record lows.

“There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way,” he posted on TruthSocial. “It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours.”

Crowds would normally pack the National Mall to witness the inauguration. The President-elect said the ceremony would instead be televised at Capital One Arena in Washington, where he was also due to hold a rally on Sunday. He would attend the arena following his swearing-in, he said.

Preparations were already underway at the National Mall for the event, with seats being set up outside the Capitol and roadblocks already in place ahead of what is a mammoth security and logistical operation.

The forecast temperatures are well below average for Washington, although presidents have been sworn in on the Capitol steps in frigid conditions before. In 2009, for Barack Obama’s first inauguration, the mercury topped out at minus 2 degrees.

Former Obama adviser David Axelrod suggested on X that Trump’s age could be a factor in the decision to move indoors, as might his fear of small crowds.

More to come