Main points
- Donald Trump will be sworn in at about 4pm Irish time
- President-elect will take the oath of office in Rotunda of the US Capitol
- Some 250,000 people are expected in Washington DC for the event
- Trump is expected to sign some 100 executive actions after he is sworn in
- He is only the second US president to serve two non-consecutive terms
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
Key reads
- Donald Trump inauguration 2025: Full schedule of timings and key events
- This is America now. Let the show begin
- Trump set to be sworn in, completing remarkable comeback
- Trump plans blitz of executive orders in first days
- Conor McGregor joins Trump supporters at victory rally in US
Donald Trump’s presidency will boost right wing political forces across Europe, the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has said, as he announced an offensive “to occupy Brussels”.
Hungary’s long-serving prime minister and Trump ally was speaking as European far-right and nationalist politicians flocked to Washington to welcome the returning US president at Monday’s inauguration.
Orbán, who has a record of inflammatory statements about the EU, cited Trump and the far-right Patriots for Europe group in the European parliament, saying: “So the great attack can start. Hereby I launch the second phase of the offensive that aims to occupy Brussels.”
US-Israeli Trump Influencer Siggy Flicker, a new addition to the president’s inner circle, has given an interview to Germany’s Bild tabloid. Derek Scally has some highlights.
“Donald Trump appreciates people who tell the truth. I’m known for expressing my opinion clearly and directly, and that’s why we got along right away.”Siggy [real name Siglit] jetted around with Trump during his election campaign around the United States.
Trump, a native New Yorker, turned out to be a great music lover. “The Phantom of the Opera is his absolute favourite. Every time we were on the road with the Trump Force One, one of the songs from the musical played,” says Flicker, who became a reality star in 2015 as one of the “Real Housewives of New Jersey”.
In the plane, the president sits completely relaxed “like a king” - in front of him a huge television on which he plays music videos. According to Flicker, his favourite songs include Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinéad O’Connor (†56), November Rain by Guns N’ Roses and I Feel Good by James Brown.
Trump, who is known for never drinking alcohol, only serves non-alcoholic drinks on the plane - always his favourite drink Diet Coke, of course.
On the outbound flight there are snacks such as peanuts, chips and sweets.
”But on the return flight there is always McDonald’s,” says Flicker. On his plane “he has his own seat, and right next to him are his papers. But the seat opposite always remains free, because this is the seat of First Lady Melania Trump.
Regardless of whether she flies with her or not, no one sits in her seat - and the place next to it always remains unoccupied,” she continues.
Melania Trump “needs no attention and no cameras. She is the most beautiful, elegant first lady that America has ever had. She embodies a type of European sophistication that American women can’t easily buy.”
The incoming US first lady, Melania Trump, has followed her husband’s lead by launching a multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency meme coin, amid a rally in digital currencies as he prepares to return to the White House.
The price of the incoming president’s token, $Trump, had tripled to more than $70 (£57), giving it a total value of over $14bn shortly after its launch on Friday. However, the launch of his wife’s coin, $Melania, pared back those gains as investors piled into her rival coin.
More from Vladimir Putin who said he was open to talks on Ukraine.
There will be a lot of talk of executive orders in the hours ahead and one of the first to be signed will see Elon Musk taking centre stage.
Donald Trump will sign an order aimed at establishing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk will be working at that department although for how long is anyone’s guess.
Nigel Farage has said the British government needs to have a good long think about what it has done with a view to building bridges with the incoming administration in the US.
The Reform UK leader, who is in the US for Trump’s inauguration, told the PA news agency: “I think this Labour Party appears to be totally at odds with the American administration and I think that the mayor of London’s comments on the eve of the inauguration were spectacularly unhelpful.”
Over the weekend, London mayor Sadiq Khan warned in a newspaper editorial that western democracies need to be aware of the rise of “resurgent fascism” as Mr Trump returns to the White House.
Asked if he was still willing to act as a go-between for the UK Government and Mr Trump, Reform UK leader Mr Farage said: “Yes. I think it has got rather more difficult. But yes.”
Mr Farage said he feared “the relationship would have been unmendable” if the deal with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands had been completed ahead of Mr Trump’s inauguration.
He added: “So at least there is a reprieve there, but I think the British Government need to have a long, deep, hard think.”
Have you wondered why the photograph of Donald Trump to be used across much of the official programming has him looking so, well, grumpy? We have a piece on the pic that - amongst other things - suggests Trump might think smiling shows weakness.
Donald Trump will declare a national emergency at the US southern border with Mexico later today and announce plans to send additional armed forces to help secure the border, an incoming Trump administration official said. The official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity ahead of Trump’s inauguration as president, said the incoming president would also designate criminal cartels as designated global terrorists.
He will also move to end birthright citizenship in the US, suspend refugee resettlement for at least four months, reinstate the “remain in Mexico” policy and build that wall between the US and Mexico that has been talked about for the guts of a decade now.
Today is a good day for crypto currencies but not all cryptos are equal and some are doing a whole lot better than others, with one in particular having the best of days.
It is a great day for Donald Trump and the Maga Army, it is a great day for Fox News, It is a great day for crypto and the tech bros. And - improbably - it is a great day for the Village People.
At the risk of stating the obvious, not everyone in the US is celebrating today. AOC certainly isn’t.
It is wall to wall Trump on Fox News today as you might imagine,.
The Russian president Vladimir Putin has just formally congratulated Donald Trump ahead of his inauguration as his security council meets to discuss what it might mean.
Donald Trump will issue a memo later today directing agencies to investigate trade deficits and unfair trade practices, but will stop short of imposing new tariffs on his first day in office, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
Donald Trump is to begin “the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense”, according to excerpts of his inaugural address that are doing the rounds on the news wires.
Time’s take on its person of the year.
French prime minister François Bayrou has warned that Europe will have to stand up to Donald Trump and his policies or face being “crushed”.
“The United States has decided to embark upon an extremely domineering form of politics, via the dollar, via its industrial policy, via the fact that it can capture the world’s investments and the world’s research,” Bayrou told reporters, as he held a New Year’s address in the city of Pau.
“And if we don’t do anything, our fate is very simple - we will be dominated. We will be crushed. We will be marginalised,” he also said.
In one of his last acts as president, Joe Biden has granted pardons to people his successor threatened to punish, fending off potential retribution by President-elect Donald Trump against those he perceived as political enemies.
Those pardoned include retired Gen Mark Milley, Anthony Fauci and members of Congress who served on the select committee investigation the January 6th, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Liz Cheney, the former Wyoming Republican congresswoman who helped lead the investigation into the insurrection was among those pardoned.
Eleventh-hour pardons have become a predictable feature of the modern presidency, with presidents waiting until their final moments in office to grant their most controversial acts of clemency.
The people at Reuters have put together a short video of some of the best inauguration moments of times past.
The Trump team is said to be putting the finishing touches on around 100 executive actions that he will sign in his first days in office, starting later today.
The first measures by Trump, who has vowed to be a dictator only “on day one” of his second term, are set to include curbing immigration, increasing tariffs and deregulating sectors ranging from energy to cryptocurrencies.
“I will act with historic speed and strength and fix every crisis facing our country,” Trump told a rally of supporters in Washington last night.
Details of the first blitz of executive actions were still under wraps at the weekend, but the incoming president wants to make a national emergency declaration regarding the southern border, free up federal resources to detain migrants crossing from Mexico, limit the ability to seek asylum and launch what he has described as the largest deportation effort in US history.
Addressing a rally at Washington’s Capital One Arena on Sunday, Trump said: “Tomorrow at noon, the curtain closes on four long years of American decline, and we begin a brand new day of American strength and prosperity, dignity and pride.”
He is also expected to act on US trade policies with a view to forcing trading partners to cut deals on issues ranging from migration to drug trafficking and – maybe – the sale of Greenland.
Pope Francis has offered well-wishes to US president-elect Donald Trump in a traditional message sent ahead of the presidential inauguration ceremony in Washington.
The pontiff, who has previously expressed sharp disagreement with Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, said he would pray that God grants Trump “wisdom, strength and protection” as he takes up the presidency again.
“It is my hope that under your leadership the American people will prosper and always strive to build a more just society, where there is no room for hatred, discrimination or exclusion,” said the pope.
His congratulatory note comes a day after Pope Francis said Trump’s reported plan to sharply intensify immigration-enforcement actions across the US would be a “disgrace”.
Here are some highlights of last night’s victory rally.
Wondering what the next four years might be like? A story on our site this morning might give you just a hint of what is to come.
Conor McGregor was among the attendees at a pre-inauguration rally for Donald Trump in Washington DC where the US president-elect told supporters on the eve of being sworn into office he would end “American decline”, Sarah Slater writes.
“We are so back!” McGregor posted on social media platform X, posing next to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who joined the 20,000-strong crowd at the Capital One Arena on Sunday.
Speakers and performers at the event included musician Kid Rock, actor Jon Voight, and Dana White, the CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), while billionaire supporter Elon Musk joined the president-elect on stage.
Events will start in the morning with a service at St John’s church. Trump will then head to the White House for tea with outgoing president Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden before heading to the US Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony. With a parade along the way, the day will be capped by lavish, black-tie inaugural balls throughout Washington.
Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th US president today having previously being inaugurated as the 45th.
He will be only the second president in the country’s history to serve two non-consecutive terms, after Grover Cleveland in the late 1800s.
What can we expect? Well, it is likely to be a day of pomp and circumstance marking the peaceful transfer of power following his extraordinary political comeback.
Some 250,000 people are expected to brave freezing weather and descend on central Washington to see Trump become president again.
