Inauguration day is a very historic and impactful day in American history because it is the day that the current president transfers his power to the president-elect. It is always held on the same day every time there is a transfer of power. However, this upcoming inauguration will be significantly different from the last one.
To be able to visualize what might happen during the upcoming inauguration day, one must first define and explain what exactly happens on inauguration day. Typically, the president-elect goes to the White House so that he can be sworn in alongside their family, the vice president and the vice president’s family. Then, the ceremony begins and the president-elect takes an oath to execute the role of president to the best of his abilities, according to the Constitution of the United States. After the new president is sworn in, he usually gives what is called an inaugural address, and then, the celebrations begin.
According to Charles Zelden, a professor in NSU’s department of history and political science, “It’s a big party, especially when you’re seeing a switch between [political parties] because what it means is that there’s going to be a clean sweep in terms of who the movers and shakers are in the executive branch.”
However, in light of the pandemic, there will be plenty of things that will look different and the upcoming inauguration will not be an exception.
“I think there’s still going to be a lot of celebration, but because of COVID-19, I think it’s going to be outdoors. The [people] are going to be separated, they’re going to have masks, especially with Biden taking over. There’s going to be an emphasis on social distancing and good public health. I think you’ll see less people sitting on the stage with the president, so they’re social distancing and you may not see the outgoing president,” said Zelden.
One of the most obvious changes to the symbolic inauguration ceremony will be the social distancing. The Center for Disease Control, or CDC, guidelines will be in place. There will also be an emphasis on wearing masks, minimizing the number of people present and not as many parties or celebrations as usual. Additionally, there is a chance that the outgoing president might not be present for this ceremony, although this isn’t the first time this has happened in history.
In the past, only John Adams and John Quincy Adams have ever opted out of the inauguration ceremony, for different reasons.
Zelden commented that this would depend on whether President Trump is willing to accept that he lost, and so far, that hasn’t been the case, especially with his tweets last week voicing his decision not to attend.
However, no one knows whether or not the president will appear at the inauguration ceremony. If the current president does show up, there will be a traditional transfer of power, but if he doesn’t, the inauguration ceremony will look very different.
“This will be a different inauguration because it was a different election,” said Zelden.
The best way to view the upcoming inauguration is to accept that things will be different, but remember that the heart of the ceremony will still be there. At its heart, the ceremony is a transfer of power in a democratic way and the celebration of a new leader, even if the celebration may look different this year around. The inauguration will be Wednesday, Jan. 20 and to watch the ceremony tune into any news broadcast.
