Donald Trump Inauguration LIVE: Ceremony To Begin Soon, Italy PM Meloni Among Guests

Donald Trump Inauguration LIVE: Ceremony To Begin Soon, Italy PM Meloni Among Guests

Donald Trump Inauguration LIVE: Donald Trump is set to take the oath of office as the 47th president of the United States on Monday inside the Rotunda of the US Capitol, with promises to push the limits of executive power, deport millions of immigrants, secure retribution against his political enemies and transform the role of America on the world stage. The swearing-in ceremony of the incoming President, which traditionally takes place at an enormous temporary platform on the Capitol's scenic West Lawn, has been moved indoors owing to a frigid forecast. Incoming vice president JD Vance will also be sworn in.

After taking the oath, the new president is scheduled to deliver an inaugural address, laying out his plans for the next four years. Mr Trump has promised a flurry of executive actions concerning immigration, energy and tariffs, which he intends to sign as soon as he takes the oath of office. The Republican rang in his first term in 2017 with a particularly dark speech evoking "American carnage."

The festivities kicked off on Sunday, with members of the President-elect's family and his allies participating in inaugural events in the nation's capital. Mr Trump closed his pre-inaugural celebrations with a raucous campaign-style gathering in Washington, where he pledged a blitz of presidential actions to end "American decline." Addressing the inauguration eve "victory rally" at Capitol One Arena in downtown Washington, the 78-year-old Republican promised cheering supporters that he would act with "historic speed" from day one of his White House comeback. Earlier in the day, he participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Every four years America's president is sworn in on Inauguration Day, whether newly elected or returning to office, in a long-established ceremony.

Donald Trump will be sworn in as U.S. president on Monday, ushering in another turbulent four-year term with promises to push the limits of executive power, deport millions of immigrants, secure retribution against his political enemies and transform the role of the U.S. on the world stage.

Trump's inauguration completes a triumphant comeback for a political disruptor who survived two impeachment trials, a felony conviction, two assassination attempts and an indictment for attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss.

The ceremony will take place at noon (1700 GMT) inside the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, four years after a mob of Trump supporters breached the symbol of American democracy in an unsuccessful effort to forestall the Republican Trump's 2020 defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. The swearing-in was moved indoors for the first time in 40 years due to the extreme cold.

Trump, the first U.S. president since the 19th century to win a second term after losing the White House, has said he will pardon "on Day One" many of the more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.

That promise is among a flurry of executive actions concerning immigration, energy and tariffs that Trump intends to sign as soon as Monday after taking the oath of office. At a campaign-style rally on Sunday in Washington, Trump vowed to impose harsh immigration restrictions on his first day.

The price of Donald Trump's new cryptocurrency called $TRUMP soared on Sunday, with the amount held by the US president-elect and his associates now valued at more than $38 billion.

Trump unveiled the so-called meme coin, which is designed to capitalize on the popularity of a certain personality, movement or viral internet trend on Saturday, in a post on his Truth Social platform and X.

Meme coins have no economic or transactional value, and are often seen as a means of speculative trading.

Neither Trump nor the company managing the token's launch, Fight Fight Fight LLC, offered details about how much he made from the initial batch of meme coins released.

The coin's official site said 200 million meme coins were issued, with Fight Fight Fight saying an additional 800 million would be added over the next three years.

In the leaked cable, a German envoy said he saw US President-elect Donald Trump as a man driven by "desire for vengeance".

Donald Trump is expected to attend all three official inaugural balls Monday night. Multiple other unofficial galas are also planned. Country musicians including Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts and Gavin DeGraw plus the Village People will perform across Trump's three invite-only affairs.

Donald Trump's first inauguration in 2017 was marked by a lack of celebrity power, with few A-list musicians willing to be associated with him. But Trump inauguration 2.0 is in better shape.

Country star Carrie Underwood will sing "America the Beautiful" during the swearing-in ceremony. Also performing will be country singer Lee Greenwood, whose patriotic anthem "God Bless the USA" is standard at Trump rallies.

A pre-inauguration rally Sunday included performances by Kid Rock as well as the Village People, with whom Trump danced on stage as they performed their 1970s-era hit "Y.M.C.A."

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with tech tycoon Elon Musk and urged US firms to "seize the opportunity" to deepen economic ties with China.

Donald Trump has said he is preparing to sign around 100 executive orders on his first day in office, many of them aimed at undoing Biden administration policies.

"Within hours of taking office I will sign dozens of executive orders, close to 100 to be exact, many of which I will be describing in my address tomorrow," Trump told supporters at an inauguration-eve candlelight dinner on Sunday.

Among his many promises, he has pledged to launch a mass deportation program and increase oil drilling. He has also said he might swiftly begin pardoning January 6 rioters -- his followers who ransacked the Capitol in 2021.

Immediately after the inauguration, a meeting is planned between US officials and foreign ministers from Japan, India and Australia, the so-called "Quad" seen as a counterweight to China. 

Traditionally, US Presidents are sworn in from an enormous temporary platform on the Capitol's scenic West Lawn. This year, owing to a frigid forecast, it will take place inside in the Capitol Rotunda. Crowd size is a preoccupation of Donald Trump's, but the last-minute switch to an indoor event may dent his bragging rights.

More than 220,000 tickets were being distributed to the public before Trump announced Friday that frigid temperatures meant the inauguration would shift to the Capitol Rotunda, which can accommodate only about 600 people.

Mr Trump said supporters could watch a live feed from Washington's Capital One sports arena, which holds up to 20,000 -- and he promised to drop in later.

US President-elect Donald Trump closed his pre-inaugural ceremonies in style, with a raucous campaign-style "Make America Great Again Victory Rally" in Washington on Sunday, where he showed his iconic dance move as Village People performed their disc

Donald Trump has invited a number of tech titans to attend the inauguration, joining more traditional guests such as his cabinet nominees. Billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg will attend as will Shou Chew, the head of Chinese social media giant TikTok, according to US media.

Trump has courted closer ties with the tech moguls, and his campaign benefited from disinformation spread on social media platforms such as TikTok, Musk's X and Zuckerberg's Facebook and Instagram.

Outgoing president Joe Biden will attend the ceremony -- despite Trump's refusal to appear at Biden's swearing-in when he beat Trump in 2020. All living former presidents -- Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama -- will also attend, as will their wives, except for Michelle Obama.

Heads of state are not traditionally invited, but Trump has sent invitations to a handful of foreign leaders, including some who share his right-wing politics.  Far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will attend, her office confirmed Saturday.

Hungary's Viktor Orban, Argentine President Javier Milei and China's Xi Jinping have also been invited, but not all will attend. Xi sent Vice President Han Zheng in his place, who met Sunday with J.D. Vance, the transition office said. 

Donald Trump will take the oath of office as the 47th president of the United States on Monday inside the Rotunda of the US Capitol, with promises to push the limits of executive power, deport millions of immigrants, secure retribution against his political enemies and transform the role of America on the world stage. The US Constitution mandates that each new president's term begin at noon on January 20 (or the day after if it falls on a Sunday). 

In recent years, presidents have been sworn in from an enormous temporary platform on the Capitol's scenic West Lawn. This year, owing to a frigid forecast, it will take place inside in the Capitol Rotunda. Incoming vice president J.D. Vance will also be sworn in in the ceremony. 

The oath is most often administered by the Supreme Court chief justice, and Monday would mark John Roberts's second time officiating for Trump.

The new president will also deliver an inaugural address, laying out his plans for the next four years. The Republican rang in his first term in 2017 with a particularly dark speech evoking "American carnage."

Addressing his thousands of supporters who braved long waits in freezing temperatures, rain and snow to attend a "victory rally" on Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump promised to swiftly fulfil the central promise of his presidential campaign.