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Traditionally, the group sitting on the platform includes the president and vice president and their families; the president-elect and the vice-president-elect and their families; the president of the tribunal and associate magistrates of the Supreme Court; former presidents; the diplomatic corps; cabinet members and nominees; members of Congress; governors; the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and other guests, according to the joint committee.
In 2017, when Trump was sworn in, his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, were present, as were Trump’s predecessor, former President Barack Obama, and his wife, Michelle Obama. . and former Presidents George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter. President George HW Bush was unable to attend due to health problems; died in 2018.
How long is the opening speech?
Every president since George Washington has delivered the inaugural address, which has ranged from 8,445 to 135 words, according to the committee. During his inaugural address on January 20, 2017, Trump spoke for 16 minutes to hundreds of thousands of supporters and viewers. In his speech, he vowed to break the established order and reverse a national decline that he called “this American carnage.”
The next day, Trump questioned independent estimates of attendance, saying up to 1.5 million people had been there, a claim refuted by photographs. Visual estimates of crowd size put it at one-third the size of Obama’s first inauguration in 2009.
Has the event always been in January?
No. Ratification of the 20th Amendment in 1933 set January 20 as the date. Before that, openings traditionally took place on March 4. Throughout history, the ceremony has been held on other dates and in 10 different places.
Washington, the nation’s first president, was sworn in on April 30, 1789, at Federal Hall in New York City.
Andrew Jackson’s first inauguration, on March 4, 1829, was the first ceremony to take place on the East Portico of the Capitol. The crowd of attendees was so excited that they ran to the new president, who then withdrew to the Capitol and rode to the White House.
