5 Things To Watch Out For At Joe Biden’s Inauguration

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1 – Demonstrators

After Trump-supporting Nazis stormed the Capitol just a few weeks ago (can you even believe that’s a legit sentence? It actually happened!) the security at the seat of American democracy has been stepped right up.

With pretty much the entire line of succession attending the event there’s a lot of pressure to avoid a Designated Survivor scenario (though Kiefer, you’d get my vote).

20,000 troops from the National Guard have been posted to protect the Capitol (to give an idea of scale, that’s like every single infantryman in the entire British Army).

But the threat isn’t just in Washington, every state capital across the US is on high alert…

2 – Flags

One thing that Donald Trump can crow about is that his inauguration crowds far exceed the number that Joe Biden drew. Let’s not mention that the reason for this is the combined threat of violence and a deadly pandemic that’s killed over 400,000 Americans.

The place of the crowds at the inauguration has been taken by flags planted in front of the Capitol. The tasteful tribute underscores the effect of coronavirus as well the mountain ahead for the new administration to wrest control of a lacklustre vaccination programme and a dismal prevention strategy.

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3 – The Guests

The guests at an inauguration give a clue to the type of administration the incoming president is hoping to lead.

One guest has been revealed to be Sarah Fuller, the first woman to score in a Power Five conference American football game. She’ll be joining A-listers including Tom Hanks as well as performers, including Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez (Gaga has the honour of singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” while Lopez is expected to rattle off some greatest hits).

Political guests will be equally interesting. President Trump is notable as the first president to refuse to attend his successor’s inauguration since Andrew Johnson in 1869. But while he holds his alternative send off at Andrews Air Force base, his VP, Mike Pence, will be snubbing Trump to attend the Biden inauguration, as will current Senate Majority Leader and Trump appeaser Mitch McConnell who yesterday slammed Trump in the Senate.

4 – The Speech

After Donald Trump finished his inauguration speech back in January 2017, former President George Bush turned to Hillary Clinton and said ‘well that was some weird shit…’

The speech that Joe Biden gives on the steps of the Capitol today will set the course for his Presidency. If you want to understand the incoming administration’s priorities and very DNA then you’ll find it in this speech, before the cold reality of ruling hits, as it inevitably does.

We’d expect it to mirror his election campaign closely, particularly his promise to vaccinate 100m Americans in his first 100 days in office.

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5 – The Rollback

After the inauguration Biden will travel to the White House where the work will begin immediately.

On day one the new President is expected to reverse controversial Trump policies like the Muslim ban, family separation at the border as well as recommitting America to the Paris climate agreement.

It will be interesting to see how fast he’s able to move on other intentions and priorities, from mask mandates on Federal property to suspension of student loan payments and an extension of bans on evictions in the wake of the covid crisis.