By Tim Reid and Doina Chiacu
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump stated his inauguration on Monday will happen contained in the U.S. Capitol reasonably than open air due to extreme chilly, the primary time in 40 years that U.S. presidential inaugural ceremonies might be moved indoors.
“There’s an Arctic blast sweeping the Nation. I don’t need to see folks damage, or injured, in any method,” Trump stated on his Fact Social platform on Friday.
“Due to this fact, I’ve ordered the Inauguration Handle, along with prayers and different speeches, to be delivered in america Capitol Rotunda,” Trump added.
The final time an inauguration was moved indoors due to the bitter chilly was in 1985 for former Republican President Ronald Reagan’s second swearing-in when the afternoon wind chill fell into the vary of minus 10 to minus 20 levels Fahrenheit (minus 23 to minus 29 Celsius).
The climate forecast for Washington on Monday predicts temperatures on the time of Trump’s swearing-in to be round 19 F (minus 7 levels C), however will really feel even colder with wind chill.
Trump stated supporters can view the ceremony on screens contained in the Capital One (NYSE:) Area, a sports activities venue in downtown Washington that holds 20,000 folks.
Trump additionally stated his presidential parade, which was set to contain marching bands and different teams continuing down Pennsylvania Avenue previous the White Home, might be switched to contained in the Capital One Area. It was not instantly clear how a parade could be organized contained in the sports activities venue.
Trump stated he would be a part of the gang on the area after he’s sworn in.
Trump is because of maintain a rally with supporters inside the identical area on Sunday, the eve of his inauguration.
Bitter chilly has had an influence on a number of previous inaugurations.
William Henry Harrison, the ninth U.S. president, delivered the longest inaugural deal with on March 4, 1841, in moist and chilly circumstances and not using a hat or overcoat.
That occasion and speech had been thought to have contributed to his later succumbing to pneumonia. He died one month after taking workplace, making his presidency the shortest in American historical past.
In the course of the second swearing-in ceremony for President Ulysses S. Grant on March 4, 1873, a number of cadets and midshipmen standing outdoors with out overcoats collapsed and gusting winds made Grant’s deal with inaudible to even these near him on the platform, in response to a historical past printed by the Nationwide Climate Service. The morning low temperature of 4 F (-15 C) on that day stays Washington’s coldest March day on report.
