While Trump was a political outsider at his first inauguration in 2017 as the 45th president, this time around he was surrounded by America’s wealthy and powerful.
The world’s richest man Elon Musk, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi all had prime seats in the Capitol alongside Trump’s family and Cabinet members.
Trump on Monday signed an executive order giving TikTok 75 days to find a buyer for its US business,
Musk will lead a cost-cutting drive in the new administration, offering the platform a crucial lifeline.
TikTok missed an deadline on Saturday that ordered its Chinese owners ByteDance to sell its US subsidiary to non-Chinese buyers or be banned in the United States.
Former presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton all attended the ceremony with their spouses – except for ex-first lady Michelle Obama who pointedly stayed away.
Clusters of supporters watched the ceremony – normally viewed by thousands of people on the National Mall – on their phones outside the Capitol.
“I feel on Cloud 10,” said Gregg Donovan, a 65-year-old from Hollywood wearing a top hat with a photo of Trump tucked into the brim, moments after Trump was sworn in.
