Donald Trump is Sworn in as 45th President
January 20, 2017
The history of the United States was changed forever as President-elect Donald Trump was officially sworn in as the new President of the United States. The presidential inauguration is a traditionally star-studded event, and as it seems, Trump has been having trouble in this department.
Charlotte Church was one of the first celebrities to publicly turn down Trump after being allegedly asked to sing at his inauguration, and myriad performers have since followed suit. From those celebrities who do not support Trump, many have declined to perform at his inauguration through twitter and other forms of social media such as the Elton John, Moby (a famous DJ), and Rebecca Ferguson.
The meager amount of talent lined up leads to the idea that Trump’s inauguration will not be as big of an event as Obama’s first. Obama was able to secure some pretty big names to perform at his event: speakers including Tom Hanks and Martin Luther King III and singers such as Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen (and according to The Independent, a Springsteen tribute band declined to perform at Trump’s inauguration).
In an attempt to explain as to why Trump did not reveal a lineup of all-star guest speakers and performers for his inauguration, the ceremony committee’s director of communications, Boris Epshteyn, recently stated that the inauguration “is not Woodstock. It’s not Summer Jam. It’s not a concert, it’s not about the celebrities…. It’s about the people.”
However, some see this as just an excuse for not being able to secure performers for the big night. Meanwhile, political commentator, Bill O’Reilly, accused these celebrities unwilling to perform at Trump’s inauguration as simply being “un-American”. O’Reilly argues that the celebrities do not want to perform for fear that it will “hurt their careers.”
The lineup for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is small compared to past examples. A few of the acts set to perform are 16-year-old “America’s Got Talent” singer, Jackie Evancho, the Rockettes, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. But even with these groups secured, members of both the Rockettes and the Tabernacle choir have since protested involvement and been deemed “not required to perform.”
Many Winter Springs High School Students tuned in for the swearing in of the 45th president of the United States at noon today, and parallel to the smaller lineup of performers was Trump’s attendance. Compared to Obama’s 2009 inauguration, Trump’s received a much lower attendance rate.
As of today, a new president—Donald J. Trump—has officially entered the White House.