*BONUS EPISODE* Trump’s inauguration: What to expect
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Download Grammarly for free at Grammarly.com slash podcast. That's Grammarly.com slash podcast. In November, Donald Trump was elected president of the United States again. I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your president.

47th president and your 45th president. Three months later, he's officially about to move back into the White House. On Monday, 20th of January, Donald Trump is going to be sworn in as president at his inauguration. It's going to be a grandiose ceremony with lots of pomp and tradition. But what actually happens at the inauguration? What are the key things to look out for? And how is it going to be different from other presidents? That is all coming up for you in this extra episode of What in the World from the BBC World Service with me, Hannah Gelbart.

So

Here to tell us a bit more is BBC reporter Natalia Jimenez in New York. Hi, Natalia. Hi, thanks for having me. Great to have you back on the podcast. So the presidential inauguration is on Monday. Talk me through the day. What do we expect is going to happen? It's like a first day at a job. That's usually how I think of it. But it's a little bit more ceremonial, obviously. Monday is when Trump becomes the 47th president of the United States. This is the second time around.

It'll be a mix of tradition and Trump-style spectacle, as always. The day basically starts with the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol. That's when he's going to say his 35-word oath of office, right? The famous one. I do solemnly swear, blah, blah, blah. But fun fact, this has been happening since 1789, so it is not new at all.

It's basically to mark the peaceful democratic transition that comes with that transfer of power, right? That's why it's so important. And after that oath, he's going to go in with his inaugural address, which is that short speech. But it's expected to actually be a little bit more concise and sharp than usual, which is kind of a good thing.

kind of a surprise for Trump. I think he's known for his longer rallies, but he's going to focus mainly on his America First message. And then there's the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. It's going to be, again, a little bit more scaled back. And the reason for that is because of heightened security and political tensions and whatnot. We saw a very divided country during the election. And so that's being reflected in his inauguration on Monday.

What kind of security measures do you think they're going to take? Because there were two assassination attempts in the presidential campaign. Security is going to be tighter than ever. There are tens of thousands of law enforcement officers and National Guard personnel that's going to be deployed. That's also mainly because we might see record numbers in terms of protests happening.

So there's going to be the Women's March. There is going to be massive demonstrations happening at the same time as the inauguration. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected in D.C. alone in the city. But protesters might overshadow some parts of the celebration. It's going to be both part celebration and another part, a platform for opposition.

The election was way back in November. So why is the inauguration happening three months later? Yeah, it feels like forever ago, to be honest. But the three month gap is very purposeful. It allows for that preparation, right? It gives the incoming president time to pick their cabinet and...

and plan their policies and really dive into those top secret briefings that we will never know about. But January 20th has been set as the date since the 1930s, and that's enshrined in the Constitution. So it's like a long handover period that just ensures that smooth transition, especially because, you know, being president is a massive job. So you need time to prep, basically.

Is Donald Trump going to be doing anything different from his predecessors when it comes to his inauguration? Oh, for sure. This is Trump. So if he didn't put his own spin on things, I don't think it would be Trump. So for starters, his inaugural celebrations are going to be smaller. Like we said earlier, he's just going to have three balls. So balls are parties compared to 10 inaugural balls when Obama was inaugurated. So

So it's going to be toned down, but he's very involved in the planning, which is unprecedented. So he's overseeing everything from the guest list to music selection. This is extremely detailed on his part, but it's also very on brand for someone who has built an

empire on branding. So he wants full control. He's invited also foreign leaders, which is not the norm for U.S. inaugurations. But that bold move is just indicative that he is very set on his global ambitions.

You said that he has been really involved in the music. What do we know about Trump's music taste? Are there any artists that he's invited to the inauguration? Yes. First of all, a lot of artists have turned him down. Let's be clear about that. So his selection has become quite limited. So he is actually going to have a singer called Toby Keith. So we're looking at quite like, you know, Southern American music. There's always...

kind of that element of music from the South, music of the people. He wants to keep it that way. So he's not looking for any like huge, big ticket artists right now. He wants to keep it very grassroots. But that's the kind of tone he's taking. But again, I don't think his selection was quite or his pool was quite big to select from because he got a lot of no's and a lot of artists are actually boycotting and not attending in the first place.

So after all those celebrations, Donald Trump is going to be sitting at his desk thinking about what he's going to be doing for the next four years. So what will his second term in the White House look like? Let's go back to Natalia. Trump's priorities, I don't think, have changed much since his first term. So in terms of his agenda, he's pretty much sticking to his greatest hits here. So immigration reform is at the top of his list. And he's going to be sitting at his desk

He is making some promises to strengthen the border, reduce illegal immigration. He's still talking about building the wall, but he's also focusing on cutting taxes, for example, and reducing regulations, especially when it comes to energy and manufacturing industries, etc.

But it's not all domestic. On the global stage, people are expecting him to continue his tough stance on China, push for trade deals that he believes are better for the United States, demanding more defense spending from NATO allies.

It's a big agenda. He has no reelection to worry about. So he's going to go all in and he's going to focus on fighting for a legacy. Trump has more experience under his belt this time around, but he's also facing a very tough political environment. So we're expecting him to rely on a very direct to supporters approach. Think rallies, social media, staying in that spotlight.

But the tone will likely maybe be a bit more combative. But for Trump, that's always been part of the strategy. The focus here is just on building that legacy. The world is very different now, too, to when he was last president in 2016. What are some of the key global issues facing him and how might he respond to those?

Yes, the world has changed a lot since 2016. And Trump's second presidency is entering a much more complicated landscape, that's for sure. At home, he's walking into a country that feels more divided than ever. Issues like climate change, gun reform, social justice, top priority for younger voters, by the way. And Trump's positions on these topics often clash with what they want.

And on the global stage, things are equally as tense. U.S.-China relations, worse than what they were in 2016 with trade wars and tech rivalry. Russia is another huge challenge. Its global influence has grown substantially.

And just also rebuilding alliances with U.S. allies that have felt sidelined by America, the America first policy that he's been pushing forward. But, you know, during his first presidency, Trump pulled out of more international agreements than any other president before. So I think rebuilding that international trust is going to be a...

Which is why people are saying that he invited those world leaders to attend his inauguration in the first place. And you also cover business news, business stories for the BBC. How have business leaders been reacting to Trump's presidency and the upcoming inauguration?

For the most part, business leaders could not be happier. I mean, they are very optimistic, but that doesn't mean that they don't have a healthy dose of cautious optimism. So Trump wants to cut taxes slash regulations, which are huge wins for big corporations. But he also has quite unpredictable trade policies. And his America First rhetoric have some industries like Trump

tech and manufacturing a little bit nervous. So Wall Street typically loves Republican presidents, but I think Trump's unpredictability means that they're watching him a little bit closer because they maybe can't take his word for things. How's America feeling about President Trump's second term? What's the mood? I think the best way to describe it would be cautiously approaching the next four years.

America was divided during the election. We saw that in the results. So you're going to have that play out during the inauguration. Huge celebrations for Trump's second term. I mean, he was president, then he wasn't. Now he's again against all odds. So you're going to have that element of celebration for sure. But then you might have record numbers of protesters and protests.

You know, if we're talking about the Women's March, a lot of these issues feel increasingly salient, like abortion access, for example. So we're entering these next four years very cautiously because we know that Trump, since he doesn't have that reelection pressure, will go all in, will want to build that legacy. With that comes unpredictability. So we'll see what's to come. Natalia, thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me.

If you want to find out more about Trump and in particular his right-hand man, Elon Musk, we recently did an episode on how Musk has been influencing world politics. You can find that wherever you're listening to this. And that is it for today. Thank you for joining us for this special episode of What in the World from the BBC World Service. I'm Hannah Gelbart and we'll see you next time. Bye. Yoga is more than just exercise. It's the spiritual practice that millions swear by.

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