Donald Trump Sworn in as 47th US President, Marks Historic Second Term Return

Washington (The Uttam Hindi): Business tycoon and Republican Party member Donald Trump made a historic return to the White House on Monday taking the oath as the 47th President of the United States, marking the start of his second term. The oath was administered by Chief Justice John Roberts at the Capitol Rotunda. Before the ceremony, outgoing President Joe Biden and Trump made their way together to the U.S. Capitol after a traditional tea ceremony at the White House, accompanied by their wives, Kamala Harris and her successor J.D. Vance, along with their spouses. Jill Biden and Melania Trump traveled separately to the Capitol as did Kamala Harris and her successor J.D. Vance.

This marked the second time in history that the swearing-in ceremony was held indoors—the previous instance was in 1985 when President Ronald Reagan took the oath for his second term. In an earlier moment, Biden greeted Trump with a simple but warm message at the White House: "Welcome home," according to media reports. Guests had started arriving at the Capitol Rotunda for the ceremony which was held indoors rather than the traditional outdoor venue. Trump’s return to the White House is also significant as it marks only the second time in American history that a President has served two non-consecutive terms. The first instance was with Grover Cleveland at the end of the 19th century.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Trump’s nominees for the cabinet, including Marco Rubio who is expected to be confirmed as Secretary of State as early as Monday. The inauguration began with Trump attending a private service at St. John’s Church, accompanied by incoming First Lady Melania Trump, J.D. Vance and his wife Usha Vance along with several cabinet members. Notable attendees included Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, Tesla and SpaceX’s Elon Musk and Google’s Sundar Pichai. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton, George W. Bush and his wife Laura Bush and Barack Obama (without Michelle Obama) also attended the ceremony, continuing the tradition—though President Trump broke with tradition in 2021 by skipping Biden’s inauguration.