[9] In October 2024, the United States Capitol Police conducted an intelligence assessment that concluded an activist group "with a history of large-scale demonstrations involving illegal activity plans to protest the Inauguration regardless of the outcome" and that other groups protesting the Israel-Hamas war were "nearly certain to target the Inauguration" regardless of the winner in the U.S. presidential election.

Members of the Trump administration also assumed ownership of a number of institutional accounts, including @WhiteHouse, @FLOTUS for First Lady Melania Trump, @SecondLady for Second Lady Usha Vance, @WHCOS for White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and @PressSec for White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

[25][26] NPR quoted Margaret O'Mara, a Silicon Valley historian at the University of Washington, as saying these donations were due to some of these tech leaders having been in conflict with Trump in the past, in hopes to reduce regulatory pressure on their companies under the incoming administration.

[28][26][29] Various financial services businesses and their leaders donated at least $1 million, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JPMorgan, Kraken, Coinbase, Intuit, Robinhood, Ken Griffin, Ripple, and Ondo Finance.

[40] El Salvador's president Nayib Bukele and Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni were also reportedly invited.

[41] Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu initially planned to attend,[42] but ultimately did not after not receiving a formal invitation.

[48] Trump stated that he had not invited President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to his inauguration but expressed willingness to welcome him if he decided to attend.

[54] The foreign ministers of Quad nations including, S. Jaishankar from India, Penny Wong from Australia, and Takeshi Iwaya from Japan, also attended the inauguration.

[71][72] They had a prominent role at the event, seated together on the platform alongside other distinguished guests, including Cabinet nominees and elected officials.

[74] Alphabet's Sundar Pichai, Apple's Tim Cook, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Reliance's Mukesh Ambani, and Uber's Dara Khosrowshahi also attended the event.

[77] Several celebrities and sports figures – including Victor Willis, Carrie Underwood (who sang "America the Beautiful"), Christopher Macchio (who sang the national anthem), Antonio Brown, Mike Tyson, Jorge Masvidal, Evander Kane, Gianni Infantino, Anuel AA, Justin Quiles, Rod Wave, Kodak Black, Lee Greenwood, Fivio Foreign, Jake and Logan Paul, Theo Von, Conor McGregor, Danica Patrick, Dana White, Joe Rogan, and Wayne Gretzky – attended the ceremony.

[82][83] On the morning of January 19, Trump and Vance visited the Arlington National Cemetery where they placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

[87][3][88][7] Signing Ceremony Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh administered the vice presidential oath of office to JD Vance.

He decried the attempts of the Justice Department under Merrick Garland to prosecute him over the events of January 6, 2021, arguing that his political enemies had weaponized the agency.

He announced executive actions to fight illegal immigration, including implementation of Alien and Sedition Acts, increase energy production by facilitating oil extraction, boost American manufacturing through tariffs on foreign goods, restores to their posts (with full back pay) all soldiers and federal employers who were discharged for not taking the COVID vaccine, recognize the existence of two genders only, establish a Department of Government Efficiency, and rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America".

He asserted that he wanted to be known as a peacemaker and that the strength of a nation should be measured by how many wars it puts an end to or prevents altogether rather than by those it wins.

He expressed solidarity for the victims of natural disasters which had recently taken place in several states, and praised civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., while criticizing the supposedly excessive focus political progressives put on race and gender issues.

[100][103] NPR said the speech gave the American public a better idea of what Trump's policies and directives would be, noted he spoke nothing of the January 6th attack nor his prior promises of political retribution, and pointed out his derision of the outgoing administration right in front of Biden and Harris.

[104] Invocations proceeding the inaugural address were offered by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, and Rev.

Benedictions were offered by Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, Rabbi Ari Berman, and Father Frank Mann, Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn.

[105] Imam Husham Al-Husainy, a Muslim cleric from Dearborn, Michigan was initially on the program but did not speak or appear at the event.

[107] Three official inaugural balls occurred, at which performers including Nelly, Rascal Flatts, and Jason Aldean appeared.

The People's March was co-organized with Abortion Rights Now, Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, ACLU and National Women's Law Center.