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Gone quiet · last update Feb 20, 2026 / Donald Trump

Trump's second inauguration on January 20, 2025

Overview · reviewed October 28, 2026

Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term as president on January 20, 2025, in a ceremony moved inside the Capitol Rotunda because of extreme cold.[1][2] In his inaugural address he declared that "the golden age of America begins right now,"[3] and he planned a record wave of executive actions for his first day.[4][5] Some of the world's richest people attended,[6] and an estimated 24.6 million people watched on television, the smallest audience for the ceremony in years.[7]

Read the timeline

Follow this story to see new developments when you return.

In his inaugural address he declared that "the golden age of America begins right now,"[3] and he planned a record wave of executive actions for his first day.[4][5] Some of the world's richest people attended,[6] and an estimated 24.6 million people watched on television, the smallest audience for the ceremony in years.[7]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2024-12-09 (UTC): 13%, 27 of 208 tracked outlets (5 left, 15 center, 7 right)Week of 2024-12-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2024-12-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2024-12-30 (UTC): 9%, 18 of 195 tracked outlets (2 left, 8 center, 8 right)Week of 2025-01-06 (UTC): 1%, 2 of 221 tracked outlets (1 left, 0 center, 1 right)Week of 2025-01-13 (UTC): 44%, 100 of 228 tracked outlets (27 left, 42 center, 31 right)Week of 2025-01-20 (UTC): 50%, 112 of 226 tracked outlets (28 left, 49 center, 35 right)Week of 2025-01-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-02-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-02-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-02-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-02-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): 4%, 8 of 178 tracked outlets (2 left, 2 center, 4 right)Week of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRight

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings.We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 11 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (6 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Feb 16, 20262248 of 1784%
Jan 20, 2025284935112 of 22650%
Jan 13, 2025274231100 of 22844%
Jan 6, 20251012 of 2211%
Dec 30, 202428818 of 1959%
Dec 9, 2024515727 of 20813%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Feb 19, 2026 · first reported · Headline from WFMZ Allentown

    Melania Trump donates her white and black-trimmed inaugural ball gown to the Smithsonian

Background

In the weeks before, Trump invited foreign leaders including China's Xi Jinping and conservatives such as Argentina's Javier Milei and Italy's Giorgia Meloni.[8][9] Tech executives gave to his inaugural fund, among them Apple's Tim Cook, who made a personal $1 million contribution,[10] and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg co-hosted a reception for Republican donors.[11] Trump complained that flags would be at half-staff for the death of former President Jimmy Carter, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state flags raised to full staff for the day.[12][13] Former first lady Michelle Obama said she would not attend,[14] and some people who had stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, were allowed to come.[15]

With temperatures forecast to be the coldest for an inauguration in 40 years, Trump moved the ceremony indoors.[16][1] He held a victory rally in Washington the night before.[17] Trump and Vice President JD Vance were sworn in in the Rotunda,[2] and Trump did not place his left hand on the Bible as he took the oath, viewers noticed.[18] Carrie Underwood sang "America the Beautiful" a cappella after sound problems.[19] CNN's analysis described a president in a hurry to wield great power.[20] A year later the gown Melania Trump wore to the inaugural balls went on display at the Smithsonian.[21]

Supporting stories (21)
  1. Trump moves inauguration ceremony indoors due to forecast of dangerously cold weather
  2. How to Stream Donald Trump’s Inauguration Online
  3. Trump sworn in a second time, vows 'golden age of America'
  4. Trump to take more than 200 executive actions on day one
  5. List of executive orders President Trump signed on his first day in office
  6. Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg to attend Trump inauguration: report
  7. Trump inauguration draws 24.6 million viewers, a steep drop from 2021 and 2017
  8. Trump’s inauguration will be first attended by foreign leaders
  9. US President-elect Trump invites China’s Xi Jinping to his inauguration
  10. With Tim Cook’s $1 million inauguration donation, Big Tech sends warm wishes to Trump
  11. Mark Zuckerberg will cohost reception with Republican billionaires for Trump inauguration
  12. Why are U.S. flags being flown at half-staff on Inauguration Day?
  13. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott orders flags to be raised to full-staff for Trump's inauguration
  14. Michelle Obama will skip Trump inauguration, but ex-President Obama will be there
  15. Judges allow some Capitol riot defendants to return to DC for Trump's inauguration
  16. Trump's inauguration will be coldest in 40 years
  17. Trump rallies in DC on eve of inauguration: ‘We won'
  18. Was Trump's hand on the Bible during his inaugural oath of office? What to know
  19. Carrie Underwood improvises ‘America the Beautiful' at Trump inauguration after tech issue
  20. Read the full text of Trump's inaugural address
  21. Melania Trump celebrates her inaugural gown’s donation to Smithsonian

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 41 recorded updates

February 2026

  1. Melania Trump celebrates her inaugural gown’s donation to SmithsonianHeadline from New York Post · 9 outlets

January 2025

  1. Billy Ray Cyrus’ family ‘genuinely worried’ about him after performance at Trump’s inauguration ballHeadline from New York Post · 8 outlets
  2. Trump inauguration draws 24.6 million viewers, a steep drop from 2021 and 2017Headline from Los Angeles Times · 9 outlets
  3. Trump sworn in a second time, vows 'golden age of America'Headline from Dglobe · 25 outlets
  4. Melania Trump styles Inauguration Day outfit with a matching hatHeadline from New York Post · 13 outlets
  5. Carrie Underwood improvises ‘America the Beautiful' at Trump inauguration after tech issueHeadline from NBC Chicago · 15 outlets
  6. Melania Trump returns to White House in style on Inauguration DayHeadline from ABC 7 San Francisco · 3 outlets
  7. List of executive orders President Trump signed on his first day in officeHeadline from ABC 7 New York · 46 outlets
  8. Live inauguration updates: Trump set to take office as the nation’s 47th presidentHeadline from Los Angeles Times · 64 outlets
  9. How to Stream Donald Trump’s Inauguration OnlineHeadline from The Hollywood Reporter · 5 outlets
  10. Read the full text of Trump's inaugural addressHeadline from NBC10 Philadelphia · 31 outlets
  11. Trump’s inauguration will be first attended by foreign leadersHeadline from WTOP Washington DC · 7 outlets
  12. It's inauguration eve and Donald Trump is ready to revel in his return to powerHeadline from ABC 30 Fresno · 7 outlets
  13. Trump to take more than 200 executive actions on day oneHeadline from Fox2 Detroit · 5 outlets
  14. Trump set to be sworn in for 2nd term after unprecedented comebackHeadline from Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier · 8 outlets
  15. Was Trump's hand on the Bible during his inaugural oath of office? What to knowHeadline from NBC4 Washington · 15 outlets
  16. Trump rallies in DC on eve of inauguration: ‘We won'Headline from NBC10 Philadelphia · 19 outlets
  17. Judges allow some Capitol riot defendants to return to DC for Trump's inaugurationHeadline from NBC Chicago · 13 outlets
  18. Nelly speaks out on his decision to perform at Trump's inaugurationHeadline from NBC Chicago · 11 outlets
  19. Trump arrives in Washington for inaugural celebrations to mark his return to powerHeadline from WTHR Indianapolis · 22 outlets
  20. Trump moves inauguration ceremony indoors due to forecast of dangerously cold weatherHeadline from PhillyVoice · 75 outlets
  21. A rebranded Women's March returns before Trump's inauguration as progressives seek to regroupHeadline from NBC Los Angeles · 6 outlets
  22. Trump's inauguration will be coldest in 40 yearsHeadline from ABC 13 Houston · 5 outlets
  23. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi won't attend Trump's inaugurationHeadline from ABC 13 Houston · 7 outlets
  24. What time is Trump’s inauguration? How to watch the eventsHeadline from The Guardian · 5 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →