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It is the year 1980. 34 year old Donald Trump was giving an interview to an American magazine. During this he is asked – What do you think about politics? Trump replies, “Political life is cruel, the most capable ones run the business.”
After 45 years of 1980, the same Trump is going to become the President of America for the second time. He will take oath at the US Parliament Capitol Hill at around 10 pm Indian time tonight.
How will this oath be taken, why will Trump take oath on the Constitution by placing his hand on the Bible, what will he say, know the answers to 7 important questions related to Trump’s oath ceremony and power transfer in America…
Question 1: What will happen at Trump’s swearing-in ceremony?
answer: Donald Trump will take oath as the 47th President of America in front of about 700 Americans in the US Parliament Capitol Hill. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the oath to Donald Trump and his Vice President JD Vance.
During this time Trump’s left hand will be on the Bible. The Bible is in the hands of the President’s wife during the swearing-in ceremony. In Trump’s case, his wife Melania will hold the Bible.
Trump will say with Bible in hand-
I swear that I will honestly fulfill all the responsibilities of the office of the President of the United States. I will defend the US Constitution to the best of my ability.
Trump’s speech will be after the oath. Trump spoke for 17 minutes during his last term’s swearing-in.
After the oath, there is also a musical performance by artists on Capitol Hill. Although this time most of the Hollywood actors supported Kamala Harris in the elections, it is not clear who will perform for Trump.
After the performance, Trump will have lunch with US lawmakers in Capitol Hill’s Satuary Hall. The food served at lunch mostly comes from the homes of the President and the Vice-President. After this there will be a rally from the US Capitol to the White House. Which will be led by President Trump himself.
At night, Trump will attend the party with his close aides, which according to the New York Times will be hosted by Meta Chief Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg has been trying to improve relations with Trump since the election; during Biden’s tenure, he had banned Trump from Facebook.
Question 2: Why does the American President take an oath to protect the Constitution by placing his hand on the Bible? answer: The tradition of taking an oath by placing one’s hand on the Bible began with George Washington in 1789. Although it is not constitutional. According to the US Constitution, the new President only has to take oath. There is no rule like taking oath from any Bible or any other religious book.
John Quincy, the sixth President of America, took the oath by placing his hand on the Constitution. At the same time, Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office without laying his hand on any book.
President Joe Biden took the oath of office by placing his hand on his family’s 19th-century Bible. During this time, his wife Jill Biden was holding the Bible in her hand.
Question 3: Why power transfer in a few hours in Britain, 4 to 10 days in India, 75 days in America?
answer: In Britain, after the election results are declared, the losing Prime Minister goes to the King or Queen of the country and resigns. Immediately thereafter, the winning candidate takes oath as Prime Minister after meeting the head of the royal family on the same day. This work is completed within a few hours.
At the same time, in India, after the declaration of the results, the leader of the party or coalition which gets the majority is invited to become the Prime Minister. The President of India administers the oath to the Prime Minister.
After this, the process of power transfer is considered complete and the new government starts functioning. In the last 5 elections, the process of power transfer was completed within 4 to 10 days after the results.
This does not happen in America, it takes 72 to 78 days to complete the power transfer process. This time the transfer of power in America will take 75 days. The biggest reason behind this is America being a huge country.
America got independence in 1776. At that time most of the population lived in remote areas. The means of transportation and roads were extremely inaccessible. After the elections, it took a lot of time for the votes to be counted, the electors’ meeting and the votes to reach the Congress. That is why so much gap was kept between voting and taking oath. This gap was of 4 months in the initial days.
In 1789, the tenure of the first President started from April 30. The tenure of the second President started from March 4, 1793 and then this became the tradition. After the elections in November, a lot of time was wasted till March. So much time was not required to make the cabinet.
In 1933, before the inauguration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 20th Constitutional Amendment set January 20 as the start date of the new term.
Question 4: What happens in the transfer of power, from changing the curtains of the White House to explaining national security to the new President? answer: The new President has to make more than 4 thousand political appointments. Of these, about 1000 thousand require the approval of the Senate.
Office and email IDs have to be created for new employees and they are briefed on new responsibilities. The President is informed about the National Security Policy. It takes time to complete all this work, hence a time of 2 months has been fixed for power transfer.
Normally, the process of power transfer starts in November after the elections but this did not happen in 2020. Trump did not allow the process of power transfer to begin until 3 weeks after the elections.
Although Trump is not the first president to do so, it dates back to the 1932 election. Franklin Roosevelt of the Democratic Party defeated Herbert Hoover of the Republican Party in the election. This was a period of recession in America. Roosevelt had made some announcements to deal with this, but Hoover did not like them.
Hoover tried to delay the transfer of power to prevent Roosevelt from working on the plan. At that time the power transfer time was also 4 months. After this incident it was reduced to two and a half months.
Question 5: Who will be present at Trump’s swearing-in ceremony? answer: There is a tradition of former presidents being present at the swearing-in ceremony of the US President. However, last time Trump did not participate in Biden’s swearing-in ceremony. He was the first President in the 150-year history of America to do so. In Trump’s absence, the responsibility of the President was performed by then Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump’s swearing-in ceremony will be attended by President Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff. This time, former President Barack Obama, George W Bush, his wife Laura Bush and Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton are also said to be present in the swearing-in ceremony. Michelle Obama will not be present at the ceremony.
Vice President Pence assuming the responsibilities of the President in Trump’s absence at Biden’s swearing-in ceremony in 2017.
Question 6: Where will Trump stay after the oath? answer: After assuming office in America, it is necessary for the President to stay in the White House. This is the official residence and office of the US President. George Washington was the only US President who never lived in the White House. Actually, its construction started in 1792 during his presidency. Its work was completed in 1800. By then Washington had left office.
John Adams was the first president to live in the White House. He was the second President of America. Usually, the President comes to the White House before taking the oath and from there he reaches the swearing-in ceremony.
But Trump did not do this in 2017. He entered the White House only after taking oath. This time also he is going to the White House only after taking oath.
Question 7: How is the White House decorated to welcome the new President?
answer: The President who comes to power in America not only changes the policies of the previous government. In fact, the new President can even change the entire decor of the White House, from curtains to carpets. What will change in the White House depends on the likes and dislikes of the new President.
When Biden reached the White House as President in 2021, he had the pictures of former US President Andrew Jackson and British PM Winston Churchill removed. These pictures were put up by Trump. Trump considered Jackson his idol.
Biden had the President’s chair changed and also removed the red button kept on the working table, which Trump used to call the butler. Biden was not the only President to change the decor of the White House after entering it.
During Obama’s time, the color of the White House curtains was maroon, Trump had them changed to golden.