By S.A. McCarthy, The Washington Stand
President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration is imminent — and with headlines hinting that a number of celebrities and stars will attend to support the 47th president, excitement is running high. However, following multiple assassination attempts against Trump earlier this year, safety concerns are also running high, and some friction is expected from the Democrats who have railed against the incoming president for the past eight years. Here are some of the top expectations for Trump’s inauguration Monday.
Musical Smorgasbord
Numerous events and extravaganzas are planned for Monday, featuring not only some of Trump’s favorite tunes but some popular, all-American musical talent. Notably, country music star Carrie Underwood is slated to sing “America the Beautiful” at the swearing-in ceremony. While Underwood’s presence has garnered some controversy and outrage from the political Left, the singer stood by her decision, saying in a statement, “I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event. I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.” Classical tenor Christopher Macchio, who performed previously at several of Trump’s campaign rallies, will perform the U.S. National Anthem and Grammy Award-winner Lee Greenwood, whose song “God Bless the USA” has become a staple of Trump’s presidential campaigns, will also sing at the swearing-in ceremony.
Greenwood will appear again at the Make America Great Again Victory Rally, alongside outspoken Trump supporter Kid Rock and country music star Billy Ray Cyrus. The Village People will also perform at the event, after Trump’s use of the disco group’s song “YMCA” during his campaigns turned into an international phenomenon. Liberty University’s Praise Choir will also sing at the event.
Country star Jason Aldean, another Trump ally, will take the stage later Monday night at the Liberty Ball. Aldean has previously shared that he and his wife “have taken a lot of heat from the entertainment industry and the media” for their support of Trump over the years, but he stated, “As a father and an American citizen, I want to see our country get back to its values and principles that made us great to begin with.” Another event, the Commander in Chief Ball, will feature a performance from the country band Rascal Flatts, famous for their cover of “Life is a Highway.” In a social media post, Rascal Flatts frontman Gary LeVox said that he is “humbled and honored and grateful for the opportunity” to play at Trump’s inauguration, having performed at Trump’s first inauguration in 2017. “It will be a night to remember!” he added.
Plenty of Prayer
Presidential inaugurations often feature a religious invocation, and this one is no different. While Trump has invited leaders of various faiths to pray at his swearing-in ceremony, he has given pride of place to Christians. The invocation is to be delivered by Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, and evangelical leader Rev. Franklin Graham. Dolan delivered the invocation at Trump’s first inauguration in 2017 and led the opening prayer at the Republican National Convention in 2020. Graham was also invited to pray at Trump’s first inauguration and both he and Dolan have distinguished themselves as Trump allies over the years.
While Rabbi Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University, and Imam Husham Al Husainy of the Karbalaa Islamic Center have been invited to participate in the benediction following Trump’s swearing-in, the president-elect also invited evangelical Lorenzo Sewell, senior pastor of 180 Church Detroit, and Catholic priest Fr. Frank Mann, who developed an “unlikely friendship” with Trump in 2020 and described being a part of the president-elect’s inauguration as an “indescribable honor.” According to The Tablet, the newspaper for the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, Mann also advised Trump’s 2024 campaign on winning the Catholic vote.
Tech Titans in Tow
It may not be a surprise that tech billionaire and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk will attend the inauguration, given the friendship he has built with Trump over the past year, but Musk will be joined by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, both of whom opposed Trump in the past. However, both Zuckerberg and Bezos have made efforts recently to ally themselves with the incoming Trump administration: Zuckerberg is in the process of ending the years-long censorship of conservatives on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, while Bezos barred The Washington Post, which he owns, from endorsing then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Musk, Zuckerberg, and Bezos will be seated alongside Trump’s Cabinet nominees and senior White House staff members, along with staunch Trump ally and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White, who recently joined the board of Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. According to Puck News, Musk and Zuckerberg, along with several major Republican Party donors, are hosting a pre-inauguration ball in Trump’s honor. It has also been reported that Google CEO Sundar Pichai will attend the inauguration, despite Google’s roughly two decades of actively aiding Democrats and censoring Republicans online. With news that Trump is considering prosecuting Google during his second term for “election interference,” Pichai may be attempting to make amends with the incoming president.
Fully Funded
Hot off the heels of his historic comeback campaign, Trump has also managed a record inaugural donation haul. According to The New York Times earlier this month, Trump’s team had already raked in over $170 million to celebrate the inauguration of the 47th president, with even some of those who donated $1 million or more being put on waiting lists for VIP tickets. Major donors so far include Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Uber and its CEO, Boeing, Open A.I. CEO Sam Altman, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and even several corporations which previously pledged not to donate to Trump after the events of January 6, 2021. Ford, Toyota, General Motors, Bank of America, AT&T, Goldman Sachs, Stanley Black and Decker, Intuit, and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America have all reversed their January 6-related decisions and made sizeable donations to Trump’s inaugural festivities. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also donated $50,000 — double what it spent on Trump’s inauguration in 2017. The organization did not donate to Biden’s inauguration in 2021.
Commemorative Coca-Cola
Trump famously does not drink alcohol and instead sips Diet Coke, even at swanky white-tie affairs like the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner. According to Trump’s Deputy Communications Director Margo Martin, Coca-Cola Company CEO James Quincey gifted the incoming 47th president a commemorative inaugural Diet Coke bottle. The label is the usual silver but features an image of the White House and a banner denoting “The Inauguration of the President of the United States Donald J. Trump,” along with the date January 20, 2025. A note accompanying the gift recounts Coca-Cola’s long history as an icon of American culture, as well as boasting of supporting over 860,000 jobs in the U.S. The note concludes, “We’re proud to continue our decades-long tradition of celebrating the U.S. presidential inauguration with a commemorative bottle.” The gift marks the first time that Coca-Cola has produced a commemorative bottle of Diet Coke, Trump’s drink of choice.
Flying High
While the nation memorializes former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away last month at the age of 100, numerous federal and state officials will nonetheless raise the star-spangled banner to full staff Monday to honor Trump’s inauguration. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) ordered Capitol flags to be flown at full-mast and several Republican governors, led by Greg Abbott (R-Texas), have also ordered flags to be raised to full staff on Monday. Even California’s left-wing Governor Gavin Newsom (D), an outspoken Trump critic, followed suit, decreeing that the Golden State will honor Trump’s inauguration with flags flown at full mast.
Presidential Parade
Following the president’s swearing-in, one of the top inauguration ceremonies is the Presidential Parade, and the Trump team is reportedly pulling out all the stops for Monday’s event. In a humorous touch, the garbage truck that Trump drove just days before being reelected — and just days after outgoing President Joe Biden referred to Trump supporters as “garbage” — will feature in the parade. Trump rode the truck, with a giant “Make America Great Again” campaign logo affixed to the side, while on the campaign trail in Green Bay, Wisconsin. “How do you like my garbage truck?” Trump asked reporters when he pulled up in the vehicle in November. He added, “This truck is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.”
In July, Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. When gunman Thomas Crooks opened fire on a Trump campaign rally, he grazed the former president’s ear, but wounded two rally attendees and killed a third, firefighter Corey Comperatore. Monday’s parade will feature Butler County First Responders, marching in honor of their slain comrade.
Despite the excitement surrounding the inauguration, the GOP drew heat from conservatives for announcing that the Shivam Dhol Tasha Pathak Indian percussion band would be performing as part of the parade. “The more than 50 passionate performers exemplify the community spirit that the state of Texas proudly celebrates,” the GOP wrote on social media. The post sparked significant backlash, with users calling the band’s inclusion in the parade “anti-American.”
Security Upgrades
Trump survived two assassination attempts last year, emphasizing the need for increased security on Monday. While security officials have stated that they have not yet identified any specific threat, they are not taking chances. “We are in a higher-threat environment,” said U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool a week before the inauguration. He added that Washington, D.C. will therefore be under a “slightly more robust security plan” than in years past.
Part of that “more robust security plan” includes erecting 30 miles of fencing around critical areas, setting up checkpoints to screen all inauguration attendees, using surveillance drones to identify possible threats, and relying on 25,000 law enforcement officers in the city. An additional 7,800 National Guard troops and 4,000 officers have been brought in from across the country. The FBI will also have at least two command posts at the inauguration to monitor the crowd.
Several anti-Trump demonstrations are expected on Saturday and Sunday, with about 25,000 expected to participate in the People’s March on Saturday afternoon. In 2017, violence and rioting broke out in the streets of D.C. the day after Trump’s first inauguration, resulting in police firing tear gas and stun grenades at the anti-Trump protestors and arresting over 200. According to The Washington Post, Trump’s first year in office saw at least one anti-Trump protest a day somewhere in the U.S.
Another concern is weather. Friday afternoon, Trump announced via Truth Social that inauguration events would be moved indoors due to expected below-freezing temperatures in Washington, D.C. “It is my obligation to protect the People of our Country but, before we even begin, we have to think of the Inauguration itself,” Trump said, noting that temperatures may fall to “severe record lows.” He continued, “I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th…” Therefore, he announced, “I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda, as was used by Ronald Reagan in 1985, also because of very cold weather.”
The majority of attendees will be watching the inauguration on the big screens in Capital One Arena, where Trump will join them following the swearing-in. “In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!” Trump advised attendees. He added, “Everyone will be safe, everyone will be happy, and we will, together, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Deserting Democrats
While the second Trump inauguration is expected to draw significant crowds, a number of Democrats will not be part of them. While outgoing President Joe Biden and his wife Jill plan to attend the inauguration, along with a number of swing-state Democrats, high-profile members of the party will not. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has confirmed that she will not be present at the event, although she did not provide a reason. Pelosi underwent hip surgery last month but still attended several D.C. events, including Jimmy Carter’s funeral and a joint session of Congress earlier this month.
Other congressional Democrats, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), have. cited scheduling conflicts or the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a federal holiday that happens to fall on the day of the inauguration this year, as reasons for not attending. In 2017, a swath of House Democrats refused to attend Trump’s first inauguration, explicitly stating that they were boycotting the event. Although outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris will reportedly attend Trump’s inauguration, she refused to invite incoming Vice President-elect J.D. Vance to tour the Naval Observatory residence where the VP lives. According to sources close to Harris, she broke from tradition and did not invite Vance to tour his future home for the next four years because she herself did not tour the residence when elected in 2020. However, advisors to former Vice President Mike Pence insisted that Harris had been invited for a tour but she declined after the events of January 6, 2021.
One major Democrat skipping the inaugural celebrations is former President Barack Obama’s spouse, Michelle. Although Barack confirmed he will be present at the event, no reason was provided for Michelle’s absence. Kid Rock, who will be performing at Trump’s Make America Great Again Victory Rally and who previously performed at Obama’s inauguration in 2009, said in an interview that Michelle’s failure to attend is a sign of disrespect. “I would kindly remind her that years back, when Obama was first elected, I did not vote for him, but they asked me to play the inauguration, and I played it, and I went, had a good time,” the singer and guitarist said. He added, “I went out of respect to the presidency. So I would kindly remind Ms. Michelle about that.”
This article appeared originally in The Washington Stand.