A viewer’s guide to Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day
For both loyal supporters and fierce opponents, President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration Friday is set to be a surreal affair. Here’s what we know about the schedule of the day’s events, the parade route, the inaugural performers and attendees, and the planned protests:
How can I watch?
All of the major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox) and cable news networks (CNN, Fox News, MSNBC) are expected to televise the day’s events live and stream them online . Mediate has a a detailed broadcast schedule for the three cable news channels here.
C-SPAN will also broadcast and stream inauguration coverage beginning at 7 a.m.
What will the day look like?
6 a.m.
Gates at the Capitol Building open bright and early Friday.
9:30 a.m.
The official inaugurations officially kick off with the arrival of guests and a slate of musical performances (more on that later).
11:30 a.m.
According to the Presidential Inaugural Committee, which organizes the day’s events, the official swearing-in of Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence begins. During the ceremony, Trump and Pence will be joined on the west front of the Capitol by their families, members of Congress, the Supreme Court, foreign diplomats, and “other distinguished invited guests.” The hourlong ceremony will also feature readings by faith leaders, according to the committee.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will swear in Pence, who will take the oath of office using President Ronald Reagan’s family bible.
Noon-ish
Trump will be sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts using both his childhood bible, given to him by this mother in 1955, as well as the so-called Lincoln bible, which was also used during President Barack Obama’s two inaugurations. Trump will then give his inaugural address. The New York Times‘s Maggie Haberman reports the address is expected to be less than 20 minutes.
Early afternoon
Following the swearing-in ceremonies, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies will host Trump and Pence at the traditional Inaugural Luncheon. For those curious, here’s a look at the menu:
INBOX: No Trump wines on the Inaugural Luncheon menu provided by office of Sen. @RoyBlunt (R-Mo.). Sad! pic.twitter.com/J6n2liVkg9
— Ed O’Keefe (@edokeefe) January 17, 2017
The JCCIC also released recipes.
3 p.m.
Following the luncheon, Trump and Pence will walk in the Inaugural Parade.
The parade route takes the newly sworn-in leaders down Constitution and Pennsylvania avenues from the Capitol to the White House. A map of the parade map can be viewed here.
According to Trump’s inauguration team, the more than 8,000 parade participants will include high school and university marching bands, equestrian corps, first responders, and veterans groups. The NBC affiliate station in Washington, D.C., reports that no local high school and university bands will be participating in the parade, a break from in precedent from the past five inaugurations.
Each branch of the U.S. military will also be represented in the parade, according to the committee. A full list of parade participants can be viewed on the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s website. The Washington Post reports the entire march is expected to take just 90 minutes.
The parade will also have a new announcer, after Trump’s inaugural team dropped 89-year-old David Brotman, who has voiced the parade for every president since Dwight Eisenhower. Brotman will instead be honored as “announcer chairman emeritus.”
7 p.m.
Trump’s big day ends with a relatively short tour of the evening inaugural balls. According to the Post‘s report of Trump’s “worksmanlike” inauguration festivities, the president-elect is expected to hit just three balls, far fewer the recent presidents (Bill Clinton reportedly went to 14).
Of the three balls Trump will appear at, two will be held at the Washington Convention Center, a traditional site for inaugural balls. According to the Post, the third will be at the National Building Museum (in addition to “dozens” of other unofficial inaugural balls). The Presidential Inaugural Committee announced Tuesday that “for the first time ever” TV networks would be able to broadcast the two balls at the Washington Convention Center.
Who is (and isn’t) performing on Inauguration Day?
Here are the musical performances scheduled Friday morning, before Trump and Pence are officialy sworn in, according to a list compiled by CBS News.
- Jackie Evancho, a 16-year-old Pittsburgh native and America’s Got Talent runner-up, will sing the national anthem at the ceremony. Evancho—who, with her transgender sister, was recently profiled by The New York Times—also sang at the 2010 National Christmas Tree Lighting and the 2012 National Prayer Breakfast, according to CBS News.
- The Missouri State University Chorale will sing a a newly commissioned piece titled “Now We Belong,” according to the Kansas City Star. The group was invited to the inauguration in October by Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt.
- The Mormon Tabernacle Choir will make their seventh inauguration appearance, but the decision to attend has proved divisive within the church group’s ranks. In December, a member of the choir resigned over the group’s Inauguration Day participation.
- The Radio City Rockettes are also performing before Trump, despite similar internal strife. At least two Rockettes voiced opposition to be being “forced” to perform. However, the dance group’s union ultimately negotiated a deal to make participation voluntary.
Friday’s performances are in addition to a welcome celebration Thursday afternoon at the Lincoln Memorial, featuring appearances by Toby Keith, Jon Voight, The Piano Guys, Lee Greenwood, RaviDrums, 3 Doors Down, and The Frontmen of Country. The show, which runs 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, will also feature military bands and fireworks.
However, there have also been more than a few artists who have declined to participate in Trump’s inauguration.
According to CNN, the Beach Boys, Rebecca Ferguson, and Jennifer Holliday were invited, but ultimately decided not to perform at the swearing-in. The Beach Boys will instead reportedly play at the Texas State Society’s “Black Tie and Boots” inaugural ball. And despite initial reports to the contrary, Elton John’s publicist has emphatically denied that the singer would perform at the inauguration.
A Bruce Springsteen cover band has also backed out of a Thursday inauguration concert.
A view out toward the National Mall and Washington Monument from the Capitol Building.
Who is (and isn’t) attending?
Officials are anticipating between 700,000 and 900,000 people to attend the ceremonies and parade in person Friday, falling well short of the 1.8 million who attended Obama’s 2009 Inauguration Day.
Earlier this month, the JCCIC released 250,000 free tickets for the gated areas west of the Capitol Building. Nearly all of these tickets are then distributed out by members of Congress, according to the Post. However, the National Mall has room to accommodate several hundreds of thousands more.
The Obamas will also be in attendance Friday, before flying off to California for a long-awaited vacation. Former President Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush have also confirmed they will attend, as has Democratic election opponent, Hillary Clinton, who will attend with her husband. Former President George H.W. Bush does not plan to attend, due to health concerns.
There is also a growing list of sitting elected official who won’t be attending Trump’s inauguration, in protest of the president-elect. The list, which as of Tuesday had reached more than 50 Democratic members of the House of Representatives, includes Rep. John Lewis, of Georgia; Rep Keith Ellison of Minnesota; and Rep. Katherine Clark, of Massachusetts. Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo has also said she declined an invitation to the inauguration.
As of Tuesday, no senator, Republican or Democrat, had said they would skip the inauguration.
Will there be protests?
While some will mark their opposition to Trump’s presidency by skipping out of the nation’s capital Friday, other will protest by making their presence known.
According to NBC News, the National Parks Service had provided 22 permits for protests, ranging from 50 people to hundreds of thousands, in Washington, D.C., on the week of the inauguration.
As The New York Times mapped, the protests planned in Washington, D.C., on Friday will take place north of the daytime inaugural festivities—except for one planned in Freedom Plaza, directly on the parade route.
The largest of the protests is scheduled for Saturday, the day after Trump’s inauguration. The Women’s March on Washington reportedly expects up to 200,000 participants, and will coincide with hundreds of concurrent demonstrations organized in cities around the world.
According to the Times, the largest ever Inauguration Day protest to-date was in 1973, after President Richard Nixon was elected. The anti-war protest was reportedly estimated at 25,000 to 30,000.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com