At noon today, January 20, 2025, Donald J. Trump will once again take the oath of office, beginning his second term as president of the United States. After this 60th inauguration, Trump will officially become the 47th president. But what do those numbers mean, and why don’t they match up? Come to think of it, shouldn’t there have been more than 60 already, based on the number of times a president has taken the oath? What, precisely, is inauguration anyway? How does it work, and why? And finally, what should you expect today? If you find yourself wondering about this every four years, then you’ve come to the right place.
Got questions? We have the answers.
What to Expect When You’re Expecting a New President
For those who care less about how the sausage is made, so to speak, and more about what’s actually happening today, we’ll begin with what to expect from the 60th inauguration. It’s going to be a bit different from most.
Typically, Inauguration Day begins with the security screening gates opening at 6 a.m. Eastern, followed by live performances and opening remarks outside the Capitol around 9:30 a.m., and the oath of office is then administered, outside, at noon. That’s how this year’s event was planned as well, but the outdoor activities were moved indoors due to the weather.
The nation’s capital saw snow and then borderline dangerous wind chills Sunday, and, according to The Weather Channel, the big day is forecast to have a high of 27 and a low of 15, with 17-MPH winds. As such, inauguration will take place inside the Capitol Rotunda. Trump announced that he would be swearing in with two Bibles this time. Along with the Lincoln Bible, which he used the last time, he’ll also have one his mother gave him in 1955 to commemorate his graduation from Sunday Church Primary School at First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, NY.
Capital One Arena in downtown DC will be open for those who want to watch the ceremony and inaugural address on live video, and the president will later join the festivities there instead of taking the traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. Everything else is reportedly going to remain as planned. So he’ll still attend a service at St. John’s Episcopal Church and have tea with the Bidens at the White House before the transition.
For those hoping to see the presidential motorcade outside, there are now three opportunities to do so. The first will be in the morning, when President-elect Trump travels from the White House down Pennsylvania Avenue NW to the Capitol. Then, after his swearing-in, Trump will travel from the Capitol to the arena. Finally, the motorcade will then go back along Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.
What Is Inauguration, and Why Are the Numbers So Wonky?
Every four years, the presidential inauguration raises a host of questions. This year will be the 60th inauguration, but Trump will become president 47. Why don’t those numbers match? Well, that’s the easiest of the inaugural math questions to answer. Simply put, the president swears in every time a new term begins, whether it’s a new person or not. So, for example, when George Washington took the oath of office the first time in 1789, he became the first president. When he swore in again in 1793, it was his second inauguration, but he remained the first president. So, for every president who served more than one term, the gap grew – and Franklin D. Roosevelt served four!
To confuse things just slightly more, Grover Cleveland was elected twice, but not consecutively. He became the 22nd president in 1885, but then he lost the 1888 election to Benjamin Harrison, who became the 23rd. He then won again in 1892 and swore in as the 24th president in 1893. Trump is now the second president to win non-consecutive elections, so he was the 45th president, and now he’ll be the 47th.
But wait, there’s more. Nine presidents have been replaced outside of the normal inauguration schedule. Additionally, five times the oath of office has been administered privately when Inauguration Day fell on a Sunday and then again publicly the next day.
So, today will be the 74th swearing of the oath, beginning the 69th presidential term for the 47th president (though there have only been 45 separate individuals, thanks to the Cleveland/Trump anomalies). All these discrepancies can be explained away with the above information except one: Why is this the 60th inauguration when, in fact, there have been nine extra presidents sworn in due to the death or resignation of their predecessors?
William Henry Harris was sworn in on March 4, 1841, then died shortly after. His successor, John Tyler, swore in on April 6 of the same year. Zachary Taylor took the oath on March 5, 1849. He then died in office and was replaced by Millard Fillmore on July 19, 1850. Abraham Lincoln’s second inauguration took place on March 4, 1865, then he was assassinated. Andrew Johnson took over on April 15. James Garfield took the oath on March 4, 1881, and was later assassinated. Chester Arthur then swore in on September 20. William McKinley was assassinated in September of 1901 after taking his second oath on March 4 earlier that year. Theodore Roosevelt replaced him on September 14. Warren G. Harding’s one inauguration was on March 4, 1921. He died in office a couple years later, and Calvin Coolidge took office on August 3, 1923. Franklin D. Roosevelt won four presidential elections and enjoyed his fourth inauguration on January 20, 1945. He died in office and was replaced by Harry S. Truman on April 12 of that year. Finally, the last president to die in office, John F. Kennedy was sworn in on January 20, 1961. He was assassinated on November 22, 1963, and Lyndon B. Johnson then took the oath. Richard Nixon, the only president to resign, was inaugurated the second time on January 20, 1973. Gerald Ford took over upon his resignation on August 9, 1974.
Why didn’t these nine emergency inaugurations change the count? As confusing an issue as it might be, there actually is a fairly simple answer – well, simple for government issues, that is. Inauguration Day is set by federal law, and so any “inauguration” that falls outside this schedule doesn’t update the official count – even though the person sworn in is, in fact, the new president and then gives an inaugural address. See? Simple – by Swamp standards, anyway.
On January 23, 1933, the 20th Amendment was ratified, changing the presidential inauguration date from March 4 (or March 5 if the fourth fell on a Sunday) to January 20 (or January 21 if the 20th fell on a Sunday). So now, the Constitution declares this date to be Inauguration Day. At issue was the fact that a so-called lame duck president had four months to govern without having to answer to the electorate that replaced him. In the beginning, this gap was necessary, as news and people traveled slowly. With more advanced modes of communication and transportation, such a large gap from Election Day to Inauguration Day was no longer necessary. Indeed, some argue today for even less of a waiting period.
Prior to the 20th Amendment, the US Constitution didn’t set the date. So, where did March 4 come from?
The US Constitution isn’t the first government-establishing document after the Revolution. The colonists declared their independence from Britain in 1776, then fought and won a war for the right to self-govern. But the US Constitution – the official beginning of the country we live in today – didn’t take effect until 1789. In 1777 Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, which on March 1, 1781, established the first United States of America – that’s right, our government is technically the second United States. This “league of friendship” for the 13 otherwise sovereign and independent states had a Congress with just one legislative body in which every state got a single vote. This weak central government didn’t last, however, and it was quickly replaced with a slightly stronger one in the Constitution.
But before that happened, the last Congress convened under the Articles of Confederation voted on September 12, 1788, that “the first Wednesday in March next be the time and the present seat of Congress the place for commencing proceedings under the said constitution.” When the first Wednesday in March of 1789 rolled around, it just happened to be the fourth. The date stuck, and the rest is, as the saying goes, history.
So, today will be the 60th Inauguration Day as established by federal law and the Constitution – first March 4, then January 20 – since the new Constitution took effect and presidents were sworn in every four years after regularly scheduled elections the year prior.
