NJ Guide To Donald Trump’s Inauguration As 47th President

NEW JERSEY — Former President Donald J. Trump will become the nation’s 47th president Monday after a weekend of glitzy inaugural festivities.

A handful of Democratic lawmakers from across the country have said they’ll spurn the Republican president-elect’s inauguration, but most are expected to be in attendance Monday as Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance take the oath of office in the nation’s 60th presidential inauguration.

Swearing-in ceremonies begin about noon local time at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Local and county Republican clubs have watch parties planned around the state, including in Somerville and Howell.

What’s The Schedule?

The weekend kicks off Saturday with a fireworks show at Trump’s golf club in Sterling, Virginia, followed by for Trump’s cabinet picks. Trump is scheduled to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery and then hold a campaign-style “MAGA Victory” rally at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington.

Performers at the swearing-in ceremony include Carrie Underwood, Lee Greenwood and opera singer Christopher Macchio, The American disco group The Village People, whose “Y M.C.A.” became a campaign staple, will perform at one of three inaugural balls Monday evening.

Tuesday, Trump’s first full day as the 47th president, will include a National Prayer Service in the morning.

Click here for the full schedule of inaugural festivities.

How Can NJ Residents Get Tickets?

Members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation have a limited number of free tickets available to constituents to watch the swearing-in ceremony from the Capitol grounds. Constituents can request tickets through their congressional office or here. Non-ticketed viewing areas on the National Mall west of 4th Street NW will also be open to the public.

Demand for tickets appears to be strong, The Washington Post reported. A spokeswoman for Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-District of Columbia) told the Post her office received 1,264 requests for the 198 inauguration tickets she received.

New Jersey residents can also register here for tickets to the MAGA victory rally at 3 p.m ET Sunday at the Capital One Arena.

Trump plans to give remarks at the Commander In Chief Ball, the Liberty Inaugural Ball and the Starlight Ball, and additional information will be released in the coming days and updated here.

Fewer Boycotts Than In 2017

Fewer lawmakers are expected to boycott Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president than when he was sworn in as the 45th president in 2017. Eight years ago, more than 60 members of Congress, led by the late Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, boycotted the event. Some of those people — but not all — are expected to again decline to attend the ceremonies again this year.

U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, who represents Trenton and other parts of Central Jersey, reportedly plans to attend Martin Luther King Jr. Day events instead.

Rep. Jared Huffman of California skipped the inauguration eight years ago but told Politico “it’s different now.”

“I’ve talked to colleagues who see it differently. I feel like whether we like it or not, this guy was just elected by the country with full disclosure of all of his ugliness,” Huffman said. “This time around, I feel like I need to stand there to show that he’s not pushing me out of my role.”

Other Democrats who have said they’ll skip it are Reps. Judy Chu of California, Adam Smith and Pramilia Jayapal of Washington, Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Dan Beyer of Virginia, and Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, according to Politico.

Fewer Protests Expected

Requests for protest permits are down this year and fewer people are expected to demonstrate than in 2017, according to the National Park Service. Some protests have satellite events around the country.

The People’s March on Washington on Saturday, “a day of joyful resistance,” is expected to bring about 50,000 people to Freedom Plaza and the Washington Monument grounds. Organizers of the event include the Women’s March, whose 2017 rally drew a crowd of about 470,000 people. Satellite People’s March events are taking place across the country, with local rallies planned in Newark and Newton.

The Answer Coalition’s National Day of Action rally and march in protest of the Trump administration’s “extreme right billionaire agenda” starts at 11 a.m. ET at Malcolm X Park/ Meridian Hill Park in Washington. Satellite events are planned in dozens of cities, though none were listed in New Jersey.

The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network’s MLK Day 2025 demonstration kicks off at 10:30 a.m. Monday at McPherson Square, then march to Metropolitan AME Church at noon. Organizers expect this event to draw about 1,500 people.

Inauguration week ends with the National March for Life’s annual rally at the Washington Monument grounds at noon, with a march along Constitution Avenue and around the U.S. Capitol to the Supreme Court at 1 p.m. About 150,000 people are expected to attend, according to the National Park Service. New Jersey residents can register to participate in this march.

Observe MLK Day Instead?

Inauguration Day coincides with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is always observed on the third Monday in January. Because it’s an official U.S. holiday, all but essential federal and state workers will have the day off. Some local governments and private businesses observe it is a paid-time-off holiday, too.

Since the day honoring King’s civil rights legacy became a federal holiday in 1983, MLK Day has been observed as a day of volunteer service in local communities. Because the holiday is relatively new, it has coincided with Inauguration Day only one other time, in 1997 when former President Bill Clinton was sworn into office — although former President Barack Obama took the oath for his second term on MLK Day 2013. That’s because Jan. 20 fell on a Sunday that year.

Bernice King, the slain civil rights leader’s youngest daughter, told The Independent that she’s happy Inauguration Day falls on the same day as the holiday honoring her father because it’s a reminder there’s still work to do.

“We cannot retreat or recoil,” King told the publication. “We have to commit ourselves to continuing the mission of protecting freedom, justice and democracy in the spirit of my father.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting.