Donald Trump’s inauguration moved indoors due to ‘dangerous’ cold

President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural address on January 20 will be held indoors due to dangerously cold weather forecast next week in Washington, he confirmed.

The address, like other speeches, will now take place inside the Capitol Rotunda, rather than outside the building.

The inaugural parade will also be held indoors at Washington’s Capital One Arena in downtown Washington about a mile (1.6 km) away, along with the three inaugural balls.

The last president to be sworn in indoors was Ronald Reagan in 1985, when cold weather also plagued the US Capitol.

In a statement posted on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said he did not “want to see people hurt or hurt in any way” amid the sub-zero temperatures.

“These are dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of law enforcement officers, first responders, police K9s and even horses,” as well as “hundreds of thousands” of supporters.

“In any case, if you decide to come, dress warmly,” he added.

Capital One Arena will also be open for live viewing of the commencement address.

BBC Weather: Inauguration Day could be one of the coldest in US history

Trump, who has a planned rally there Sunday, said he would visit the arena after being sworn in at the Capitol.

A planned parade will now take place in a modified form. It is unclear whether it will now be held inside.

Extreme cold was forecast in Washington on opening day, with temperatures expected to reach a low of -11C (12F) and a high of -5C (23F). Taking into account the cold wind, the temperature will feel significantly lower.

The weather is part of a larger polar vortex that will cause temperatures to plummet across the US.

“Everyone will be safe, everyone will be happy, and together we will make America great again,” Trump wrote.

Before the opening, organizers said about 220,000 tickets would be given away to watch the event on the grounds of the US Capitol.

Those without tickets could also view the ceremonies on the National Mall.

Alternative plans will now be needed for these visitors, as well as the tens of thousands more expected in the city.

Trump said other inaugural events, including his rally on Sunday and three separate official inaugural balls on Monday night, would go ahead as planned.

The move indoors means a much more limited capacity at Monday’s inauguration for Trump, who is known to keep a close eye on attendance at his public events.

After his first inauguration, he claimed that “a million and a half people” attended the National Mall.

But crowd size experts said the number was about a third of the estimated 800,000 to one million people who attended Barack Obama’s 2009 rally.

Only about 1,000 people attended Joe Biden’s inauguration on the Capitol grounds due to Covid-19 restrictions.

In 1841 then-President William Henry Harrison, 68, delivered the longest inaugural address in US history in cold and wet conditions.

He contracted a cold and subsequently pneumonia and died exactly one month later, making his presidency the shortest in US history.