Billionaires and multimillionaires are arriving in Washington, the heart of the United States of America, where until now only power has mattered. Either as guests for the inauguration of the elected president of the United States, Donald Trump, or as members of the new government in the country.
Outgoing President Joe Biden had already warned a few days ago, through his farewell presidential address, about "an oligarchy of extreme wealth, power, and influence" that is "forming in the United States of America."
Without naming the country's president-elect, his warning "hit" directly at the heart of Donald Trump's new administration, in which the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, with a fortune exceeding 400 billion dollars, according to Forbes, will have both a say and a position, and therefore power.
As the New York Times notes, even Donald Trump himself may have emerged victorious from an election campaign during which he defended the working class of the United States, but his fortune is around six billion, while upon returning to the Oval Office, he chose for some of the key positions in his new administration people not only loyal to him and his vision for the future of the country, but also multimillionaires. Some, in fact, will also oversee those sectors of industry that "gave" them their fortune.
The new era that Donald Trump himself promised and described as the “golden age” of the United States is here. It will begin with him taking the oath: “I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear that I will be President of the United States and to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me, God.”
This is not the first time Donald Trump has been sworn in as president of the United States. It is the second. From 2017 to 2021, he served as the country's 45th president, and today he is being sworn in as the 47th.
The swearing-in program
His inauguration day will begin with a service at Washington's historic St John's Church, followed by tea at the White House with the Bidens.
At 16:30 p.m. (Greece time) the musical performances and the first speeches will begin, while at 18:00 p.m. (Greece time) Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States of America. J.D. Vance will already have been sworn in as Vice President. Their inauguration will take place inside the Capitol rotunda due to the cold and not on the Capitol steps, as happened during Ronald Reagan's second inauguration in 1985.
This time Donald Trump will swear on two Bibles, his own – a gift from his mother in 1955 – and the one used by Abraham Lincoln during his inauguration in 1861. J.D. Vance will have sworn on two Bibles earlier.
Donald Trump will then deliver his first speech as president of the country. During it, the president will set out the goals of his four-year administration, and according to reports, Donald Trump will focus on unity and strength.
Next up will be the signing ceremony, which will mark the first steps of the new president. Donald Trump has promised to sign a series of executive orders on his first day in office, including cracking down on illegal immigration and mass deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants from the country, as well as extending the life of the TikTok platform.
He will then attend a luncheon hosted by the Joint Committee of Congress that oversees the inauguration. The luncheon is usually followed by the traditional presidential parade from the Capitol to the White House. This year, it will be held indoors, specifically at the 20.000-seat Capital One Stadium. Later, Donald Trump will attend three receptions, the Commander-in-Chief's Ball, the Freedom Ball and the Starlight Ball. He is expected to speak at all three.
Who will go and who said no?
Three of the world's richest people, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, are expected to attend his inauguration. Apple CEO Tim Cook and TikTok CEO Suu Kyi Chu will also be in attendance.
Of course, outgoing President Joe and outgoing First Lady Jill Biden will be present, as well as outgoing Vice President and his opponent in last November's elections, Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not attend.
However, the three living former presidents of the United States will be present, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, as well as Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State and Donald Trump's former opponent in the 2016 elections, Hillary Clinton.
The Chinese president may have been among the guests, but he will not be attending and will be replaced by the Vice President of the People's Republic of China, Han Zheng. However, this inauguration will be attended by a number of other leaders, many of whom Donald Trump shares many common ideas with.
For example, from Europe we expect the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, the co-leader of the neo-Nazi party "Alternative for Germany", Tino Chroupala, the leader of the far-right party of France Reconquête, Eric Zemmour, the president of the Spanish far-right VOX, Santiago Abascal, and the also far-right from the United Kingdom and leader of the Reform party, Nigel Farage. The bad boy of Europe due to his close relations with Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán, has already announced that he will not be able to attend.
At the same time, neither French President Emmanuel Macron, nor outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, nor UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, nor European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen received an invitation.
From Latin America, the far-right, populist president of Argentina, Javier Milley, will be present. The also far-right populist former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, was also invited, but his request to have his passport returned was rejected by the country's Supreme Court. At the same time, the center-right Daniel Noboa, the youngest president in Ecuador's history, the son of the country's richest man involved in the banana trade, is expected to be present.
Finally, from Asia and the Pacific, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Igea and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong will be present.
Who will sing?
Country singer and former American Idol winner Carrie Underwood will sing "America the Beautiful" during the ceremony, as will Lee Greenwood, a longtime friend and collaborator of Donald Trump, and Christopher Macchio, who will perform the national anthem. The inauguration will also feature the disco band Village People, whose songs, like "YMCA," were played during Donald Trump's campaign.
Source: skai.gr
Discussion about this post