Donald Trump moves inauguration indoors due to severely cold weather

Donald Trump said he had ordered his inauguration ceremony to move indoors due to dangerously cold temperatures forecast in the nation’s capital on Monday.

The last president to be sworn in to office inside was Ronald Reagan in 1985, when temperatures plunged to 7F (-13C). The wind chill forecast for Trump’s second inauguration is expected to make it feel like 8F.

In a post to his Truth Social account, the incoming US president said the decision was taken for safety reasons due to extreme cold weather, which has held much of the US in its grip for the past several weeks.

“It is my obligation to protect the People of our Country but, before we even begin, we have to think of the Inauguration itself. The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows. There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way,” he said.

Trump added: “I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda, as was used by Ronald Reagan in 1985.”

Trump’s inauguration and his return to the Oval Office is set for Monday as he sweeps back into Washington on the back of his defeat of Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election. In warmer moments, the ceremonydraws large crowds and outdoor celebrations – and protests – as America’s transition of power takes place.