A former adviser to Barack Obama has claimed that the deadly terror attack in New Orleans “played a role” in the decision to move Donald Trump's inauguration indoors.
Organizers announced that Monday's ceremony would be held inside the Capitol building on Friday, blaming the extremely cold weather that Washington, D.C., would experience that day.
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It will be the first Presidential inaugurations have been held indoors since January 1985, when Ronald Reagan was sworn in for his second term inside the Capitol's rotunda.
This was also due to the extremely cold temperatures in the capital in January.
Coincidentally, Reagan, like Trump, was sworn in after surviving an assassination attempt.
The Republican was shot by would-be assassin John Hinckley Jr. outside the Washington Hilton Hotel in March 1981.
In 2024, Donald Trump was shot and injured during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, after Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on him, wounding his right ear.
Speaking to The US Sun, Brett Bruen, president of public relations firm The Global Situation Room, explained that although the cold was the main factor in the switch of venues, security was also a concern for organisers.
The move also comes just weeks after the horrific January 1 attack in New Orleans, when ISIS-inspired terrorist Chams al-Din Jabbar drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year's Eve revelers on Bourbon Street. .
15 people died, including Jabbar, and 57 others were injured in horrific scenes just hours later in 2025 in the city of Louisiana.
“There is a wide range of concerns that the Secret Service will take into account, whether they are from foreign entities or whether there is a risk of domestic terrorism,” Bruin said.
“We recently saw an ISIS-inspired attack in New Orleans, so there will be consultations with the Secret Service and with other law enforcement agencies,” he added.
He added that Trump's tendency to “deflect” and meet the crowd on Inauguration Day will present separate challenges for those charged with protecting him.
“In the case of Donald Trump, we've already seen efforts by the Secret Service to limit exposure when it comes to his golf course, for example, and those types of spaces are difficult to control and secure,” Bruen said.
“It would be a lot easier at the Capitol.”
Trump's near misses
Trump averted a possible second assassination attempt in September 2024 after the suspect, Ryan Roth, allegedly stationed himself with a gun near a Trump-owned golf course in Florida to shoot the candidate.
Security measures on opening day
The inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump will be under tight security measures.
Trump survived two assassination attempts during his 2024 presidential campaign.
On July 13, 2024, a 20-year-old armed man sitting on a roof fired several shots at then-presidential candidate Trump as he was making remarks to his supporters at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A bullet hit Trump's right ear.
Suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper.
On September 15, 2024, Trump's Secret Service team intercepted a rifle barrel in bushes at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while the former president was playing golf.
Suspect Ryan Wesley Roth was arrested shortly after and charged with attempted murder of the former president.
What are the security measures on inauguration day?
- About 7,800 National Guard soldiers and airmen will join the Secret Service, U.S. Capitol Police and Washington, D.C., Metro Police to secure the swearing-in ceremony.
- Law enforcement officials will provide security support, crowd management and medical assistance during the event.
- FBI personnel and officials from the Department of Homeland Security will also be present at the event.
- Much of downtown Washington — stretching about two miles from the White House to the Capitol — will be closed to traffic.
- Entry points will be blocked off with concrete barriers, garbage trucks and other heavy objects.
- The 30-mile-long, 7-foot-high black fence will be the tallest ever in Washington, D.C. The fence is described as “unscalable”.
He has pleaded not guilty to these charges, and his trial will begin on September 8 of this year.
Trump also went off script by throwing a viewing party for his supporters at D.C.'s Capital One Plaza and holding pre- and post-inauguration rallies in the city, Bruin added.
“This does not follow traditional protocol,” he said.
“This is not a political campaign. He is now the commander in chief.
“He is now expected to govern and to govern for the benefit of all Americans.”
Trump posted a statement on his Truth Social app on Friday explaining the decision to move the inauguration ceremony indoors due to the extreme cold that will dominate the capital on Monday.
He warned that dangerous wind chills could cause temperatures to drop to between 6 and 10 degrees at midday on Monday.
“There is an explosion in the Arctic that is sweeping the country,” he wrote.
“I don't want to see people hurt or injured in any way.
He continued: “Therefore, I have ordered that the inaugural address, in addition to other prayers and speeches, be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda.”
This will be the first time in 40 years that the inauguration will have to move indoors after Ronald Reagan was sworn in inside the Capitol in 1985 during a severe cold snap with temperatures peaking at 7 degrees and -25 with a wind chill.
The rotunda, a sacred place in American democracy, was recently the scene of national mourning after the late President Jimmy Carter lay in state there before his funeral at the city's National Cathedral.
Trump promised his disappointed supporters that Capital One Arena in D.C. would be open for the inauguration.
He also promised to join his supporters in the stadium after taking the oath.
“Everyone will be safe, everyone will be happy, and we will make America great again!” pledge.
Many of his fans, who had already traveled to the capital for the swearing-in, were horrified by the news.
“We'd better stay home and watch it on TV,” Ken Robinson, a Trump supporter who came from Oklahoma with his family, told NBC News.
“I'm kind of disappointed, to be honest with you.”
The presidential inauguration is rundown
President-elect Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States by taking the oath of office on January 20, 2025.
The swearing-in ceremony for Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance will begin on January 20, 2025, at noon EST.
However, the inauguration activities began on Saturday, January 18, 2025.
Opening date:
- Saturday, January 18, 2025: Reception and fireworks at Trump Golf Club in Virginia.
- A reception for the Council of Ministers and a dinner for the Vice President.
- Sunday, January 19, 2025: A wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
- Trump delivered his remarks at a victory rally at Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C. and a candlelight dinner.
- Monday, January 20, 2025: The opening will begin with a prayer at St. John's Church, followed by tea at the White House.
- The official presidential swearing-in of Trump and J.D. Vance will begin at noon.
- This will be followed by the farewell of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
- President Trump will then head to the President's Room in the Capitol building near the Senate Chamber, where he is expected to sign nominations and other documents in his first official act.
- The signing ceremony was followed by a luncheon hosted by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inauguration Ceremonies.
- President Trump begins the presidential parade from the Capitol on Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.
- After the presentation, the signing ceremony begins in the Oval Office of the White House.
- President Trump will attend three inauguration parties – the Commander-in-Chief Party, the Inaugural Freedom Party, and the Starlight Party. He is expected to make statements at all three events.
- Tuesday 21 January: A national prayer is held to conclude the official opening ceremony.
Monday's events will be largely due to the decision to take the oath inside the Capitol building.
It remains to be seen whether Trump supporters will remain in the city or decide to cut their losses and return home.
“We came here to see it in person,” Robinson grumbled.
“We don't really care to watch it on the Jumbotron.”
Intimate party
Bruin said some security measures in place to deal with expected crowds of thousands may be scaled back in some places.
“I was downtown yesterday, and there were huge walls everywhere,” he said.
He added, “Now I think you will see some of those removed. You will see a focus on securing the Capitol complex.”
But he warned that security forces now face a different challenge as they grapple with Trump's new plan to speak to his supporters at Capital One Arena.
You'll see an effort, in the wake of the two attacks on Trump, for the Secret Service to say, “Look, we can't guarantee your security if you decide to go into a hotel.”
Brett Bruen
The 20,000-seat stadium is located just blocks from the Capitol, but the presidential motorcade will now require new security measures.
He added that Trump would likely try to “engage” with his supporters along the way.
“What we'll see on Monday may be some noise and other tactics to try to drum up enthusiasm in Washington, even if it's a very cold day,” he said, describing Trump as an “unconventional president.”
He said the Secret Service would likely be as direct as possible with Trump about the threats he faces if he goes off script.
“You'll see an effort, in the wake of the two attacks on Trump, for the Secret Service to say, 'Look, we can't guarantee your security if you decide to go into a hotel,'” he said.
“You will also see an attempt by his advisors to keep him informed of the message.”
Cop out
On Friday, it was revealed that some police departments in the D.C. area were not helping city officers secure Trump's inauguration.
The Daily Caller reported that more than a half-dozen D.C.-area troopers would not be assisting the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) that day.
This could leave MPD with hundreds fewer officers than would normally be the case for an event of this size.
About 25,000 military and law enforcement personnel will assist with security on Monday, WTOP News reported.
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