Donald Trump and JD Vance dodged what would have been a frigid swearing-in ceremony this afternoon.
Trump moved the inaugural festivities inside the Capitol Rotunda citing weather concerns, he announced in a post Friday on Truth Social. He said an “Arctic blast” threatened “dangerous conditions” and “severe record lows” for the thousands of supporters, law enforcement and first responders expected to attend the event. (Indeed, it’s currently a balmy 23 degrees in the nation’s capital.)
Other presidents, too, have taken a similar weather-minded approach.
Ronald Reagan was sworn in a second time inside in 1985, when the temperature in Washington was only 7 degrees. And in 1909, William Howard Taft’s ceremony was forced indoors due to a storm that dropped 10 inches of snow throughout the city. Despite the freezing temperatures, wind, snow and sleet, a large crowd gathered in front of the Capitol to view the inauguration before the ceremony moved inside.
Famously, America’s ninth president wasn’t as cautious.
In 1841, William Henry Harrison delivered the longest inaugural speech in U.S. history — coming in at 8,445 words over 1 hour and 40 minutes — without a coat. It was 48 degrees.
According to Harrison’s secretary at the time, Harrison opted for no overcoat or gloves. An attempt to show his masculine side? Who knows. A month later, he succumbed to pneumonia, which many credit to his unpreparedness the day of his inauguration.
