The whole world will be listening to Trump's inauguration speech - will he be as aggressive as the first time?
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Presidential inaugurations are the American equivalent of the UK's coronation and State Opening of Parliament combined. They take place regularly every four years, 10 or 11 weeks following a presidential election. The only constitutional significance is that the newly elected president takes the oath of office solemnly swearing to "support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies".
He (so far all 45 presidents have been men) then goes straight to the White House and starts governing. Unless a sitting president has been re-elected, inaugurations usually mark a fresh start for the United States with a new head of state. Not this time.
Donald Trump is only the second president to be elected for a second time, having lost an election in between, making him both the 45th and 47th POTUS (President Of The United States). The last two inaugurations, of Trump in January 2017 and of Joe Biden in 2021, were of more than constitutional significance. They both broke with the usual ceremonial niceties in ways which foretold and exemplified the extraordinary disruptions which have struck the US over the past decade. I reported on both of them from Washington DC for Sky News.
Trump's first inauguration is remembered for two things. The aggressive rhetoric of his speech and the refusal of the new president and his staff to accept the truth of their own eyes. Donald Trump says TikTok will 'most likely' get 90-day pause from US ban.
