“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." 

On January 20, when Joe Biden says these words, former presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush, and Bill Clinton will join him at his inauguration as America’s 46th president. But one man will be conspicuous by his absence (unless he changes his mind at the last minute)—the outgoing president Donald Trump.

Almost anything and everything to do with this year’s transition and inauguration of the new president is different. While some of it has to do with the debilitating pandemic that has ravaged America more than any other country, security protocols were dramatically scaled up after a pro-Trump mob stormed the US Capitol on January 6.

A time-honoured tradition