Donald Trump's inauguration will be moved indoors due to polar vortex

Life-threatening cold weather forecast for Washington, D.C. has forced Donald Trump to move his historic second inauguration indoors in a blow to his White House return. 

Meteorologists are forecasting dangerously cold temperatures with highs only in the 20s.

Trump posted on Truth Social that the swearing-in ceremony would be moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda.

He would also deliver his inaugural address from there. 

'This will be a very beautiful experience for all, and especially for the large TV audience!' Trump wrote.  

To accommodate the MAGA masses, the Capital One Arena - where Trump will hold his pre-inauguration rally Sunday - will be opened for a viewing party. 

The parade will also move to the basketball and hockey arena. 

'I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing In,' the president-elect said. 

Reagan's 1985 swearing-in was also moved inside the Capitol Building.  

Trump said he was worried about throngs of supporters being exposed to the elements for long hours - and the first responders who would have to tend to them. 

'It is my obligation to protect the People of our Country but, before we even begin, we have to think of the Inauguration itself,' he said on Truth Friday. 

Wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour are expected on Monday. The cold air will blow in from over Canada, a country Trump has repeatedly spoken about making the 51st state of the U.S.

'I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way,' Trump continued. 'It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!).'

Trump, 78, himself would only have had to stay outdoors on the West Front of the Capitol for the duration of the oath and his speech, but crowds generally start showing up hours before due to the strict security measures.

The rest of the inaugural schedule is expected to go as planned. 

He'll have a tea at the White House with the Bidens.

After his swearing-in and speech in the Rotunda, the festivities will move to Statuary Hall for the traditional inaugural lunch. 

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New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called the decision to move indoors 'understandable.'

'I think they're just looking out for people's well-being, which I think is appropriate,' she told DailyMail.com shortly after the news broke.

'For people who are here to celebrate the inauguration, it's very meaningful to watch the inauguration with others, with part of the American public,' she said. 'So they should just replicate the whole thing in an indoor space for the spectators, so that they have a ticket. They can watch it with other spectators, there's room for the public as well. Just try to recreate what the lawn is looks like,' she advised.

'I do think it's very cold for people to be outside for three hours. So I'm hoping they can maybe create an off-site inside for spectators,' she said.

There are signs the city is gearing up for a big event.

Data compiled by STR and provided by Destination D.C., which promotes city events, puts the city's hotel occupancy rate at 70 percent on Saturday, compared to a typical 36 percent on Saturday one year ago.

It jumps to 80 percent on Sunday and 75 percent on Inauguration Day.

Major inaugural activities were scrapped four years ago amid the pandemic. But by comparison, occupancy hit 97 percent right before Barack Obama's inauguration.

It hit 95 percent for Trump's first inauguration – which also featured a lively women's march drawing hundreds of thousands of protesters the next day.

Occupancy was about 78 percent for Obama's second inaugural in 2013, on par with with this weekend's rate. 

'January is cold in Washington, D.C., said a spokesperson for Destination DC. 'I think people are prepared for the weather. People know that they’re going to be standing around similar to Times Square on New Year’s Eve. I don’t think that’s going to be an impact.'

A protest set for Saturday has obtained a permit for 50,000, but it is unclear how many people will show up. (A high of 44 degrees is forecast for Saturday).  

Trump's inauguration is set to be the coldest since Ronald Reagan's second inaugural, when temperatures were just 7 degrees at noon and the ceremony was moved indoors to the White House and later the Capitol Rotunda.

'We stand again at the steps of this symbol of our democracy - well, we would have been standing at the steps if it hadn't gotten so cold,' Reagan said at the time inside the Capitol. 'Now we're standing inside this symbol of our democracy.' 

It was 28 degrees at noon for Obama's historic 2009 inauguration - the huge crowd that former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer famously referenced when he claimed that Trump had 'the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe'