President-elect Joe Biden’s team of inauguration planners have said the event’s festivities will be cut way back and are asking supporters to refrain from coming to the White House to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Dr. David Kessler, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner who was recently appointed chief medical adviser for the inauguration said in a statement, “The pandemic is continuing to have a significant public health impact across the nation. We are asking Americans to participate in inaugural events from home to protect themselves, their families, friends, and communities.”
The moment when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris take their oaths of office slated to take place on January 12 is usually a day filled with excitement and ceremonial splendor. Thousands of supporters and onlookers would gather to watch the monumental historic event.
But this time around Biden’s team is considering canceling the traditional ceremonial aspects, such as the luncheon with members of Congress and a pre-ceremony tea with the outgoing president.
The team said in a statement, “The ceremony’s footprint will be extremely limited, and the parade that follows will be reimagined.”
The inauguration committee is working closely with the production team that planned the Democratic National Convention. Their plans are to incorporate similar features into the election event such as the virtual roll call from every state.
There is still no word from President Trump on whether he will be attending the event. When asked about his attendance during a Fox News interview all he would say was, “I don’t want to talk about that.”
Trump still refuses to accept the results of the election even after the Electoral College confirmed Biden’s victory earlier this week.
Rumors are floating around that the president is planning to announce he will be running in the 2024 election on the same morning of Biden’s inauguration during one last big hurrah in Florida in an attempt to upstage the incoming president on his big day.
