Donald Trump back in the White House: All the details about the historic change of power

Washington is facing a change of power of historic importance: On January 20, Donald Trump (78) will take the oath of office as President of the United States again and thus begin his second term in office. However, the freezing temperatures in the US capital forced the organizers to change plans at relatively short notice – instead of the traditional ceremony on the steps of the Capitol, the ceremony will now take place inside. However, this does not change the symbolic meaning of the day.

The day follows a precisely timed protocol that is deeply rooted in American history: After a morning service in the historic St. John’s Church, outgoing President Joe Biden (82) and his successor Trump meet in the White House for a traditional cup of tea . At 11:47 a.m. – a symbolic time based on Trump’s position as the 47th President of the USA – he will then take his oath of office. His second presidency officially begins promptly at noon, as required by the constitution.

The guest list for this historic moment is certainly impressive: In addition to Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris (60), who lost the election to Trump in November, former Presidents Barack Obama (63), George W. Bush ( 78) and Bill Clinton (78) are expected with their spouses – only Michelle Obama (61) canceled her participation at short notice. Silicon Valley is represented by its most prominent representatives: Tesla boss Elon Musk (53), who will head the new US savings commission DOGE in the future, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (61) and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg (40) are taking part promised.

Apple CEO Tim Cook (64) and OpenAI boss Sam Altman (39) are also on site alongside TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew (42). Incidentally, it’s a remarkable turnaround for Chew, after the video platform TikTok was recently briefly switched off in the USA, but is now available again at the behest of the new President Trump. Representatives of the conservative media world such as Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson (55) have also announced their coming.

What is unusual is the strong international presence at the inauguration – traditionally, foreign heads of state are actually represented on such occasions by their ambassadors and delegations. However, at least Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (48) and Argentina’s President Javier Milei (54) will be present in person. The German delegation will be led by AfD co-chairman Tino Chrupalla (49) and the Union faction’s foreign policy spokesman, Jürgen Hardt (61), while the federal government will be represented by Ambassador Andreas Michaelis (65).

The musical arrangement of the inauguration promises to be a highlight, despite the short-term move to the Capitol. Country superstar Carrie Underwood (41), who stayed out of politics for a long time, will perform “America the Beautiful”. The performance of the Village People – the very band whose actually queer anthems “YMCA” and “Macho Man” became Trump’s unofficial campaign songs – attracted particular attention. After initial hesitation, the group stated, “We believe that now is the time to bring the country together with music.” The program is completed by country singer Lee Greenwood (82), who will perform his patriotic hit “God Bless the USA”, and tenor Christopher Macchio (46), who will sing the traditional national anthem.

The security precautions for the inauguration are reaching an unprecedented level: more than 25,000 police officers and soldiers will be on duty, and a 50-kilometer-long security fence surrounds downtown Washington. Financially, all previous records were also broken – the inauguration committee was able to collect more than $170 million in donations, significantly more than the $106 million at Trump’s first inauguration in 2017.

After the official swearing-in, Trump will waste no time: he reportedly plans to sign more than a hundred presidential decrees on the same day. The crowning conclusion of the historic day will be three large celebratory balls: the Commander-in-Chief Ball, the Liberty Inaugural Ball and the Starlight Ball. Trump himself has announced that his inaugural speech this time should be “encouraging and unifying” – a quite notable departure from his first inauguration speech in 2017, which went down in history as the “American Carnage” and divided the country rather than united it.

The historical significance of Trump’s second inauguration is also reflected in the extensive reporting by German TV channels. ZDF will broadcast the ceremony on Monday from 5:15 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in a “ZDF special” entitled “Donald Trump back in power – inauguration in Washington.” The moderators Antje Pieper (55) and the ZDF studio manager from Washington, Elmar Theveßen (57), will comment and classify the events live from the US capital. At midnight there will be another summary of the historic day.

The other major broadcasters also give the event a lot of space in their programming: RTL and N-tv start their joint live broadcast “Trump is back – change of power in the White House” at 5:30 p.m. The ARD focuses on the analysis and classification of the political comeback: After a “focal point” at 8:15 p.m., the documentary “Donald Trump – Fateful Years of a President” about his career follows on the first, before Louis Klamroth (35) on “Hart but fair” discussed the consequences for Germany with guests such as Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (61) and writer Juli Zeh (50).