The nation will fixate on Washington, D.C., over this long holiday weekend, as Trump prepares to be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.
There will be parties, official events, high-level meetings, parades and protests.
Officials are scrambling to address the practical and symbolic concerns around the inauguration.
A brutal cold front is slamming the East Coast, bringing the lowest temperatures in 40 years for Inauguration Day.
Trump announced one major change this afternoon: The inauguration will be moved indoors due to the dangerously low temperatures. Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will be sworn in inside the Capitol Rotunda, rather than on the west front of the Capitol.
Lawmakers and luminaries will still have a spot inside to watch the ceremony, but for most people who wanted to catch a glimpse of the ceremony outside, the inauguration tickets are now "commemorative."
“I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way,” Trump posted on TruthSocial. “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 (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!).”
Safety concerns are top of mind as hundreds of thousands are expected to descend on the nation’s capital, including foreign leaders, corporate executives, supporters and demonstrators.
Permitted protests, such as the People's March scheduled for Saturday, will be allowed.
But the city will look like a police state at times, with maximum security enforcement after the two assassination attempts against Trump last year and the New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans.
Trump has won the battle of the flags, with the American flag temporarily being raised after former President Jimmy Carter's death late last year.
Flags are typically flown at half-mast for 30 days after a former president dies, but the House opted to raise them for Monday's inauguration.
Flags at the U.S. Capitol will be flown at full-staff when Trump is sworn in for the second time, The Hill’s Niall Stanage reports.