Donald Trump and JD Vance‘s January 20, 2025 inauguration viewership was down by more than 10 million from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ 2021 audience. Viewership was also lower than Trump’s first inauguration in 2017, according to early Nielsen data shared on January 21. The majority of viewers for the 2025 presidential inauguration were watching on Fox News, which was also the only major news network to see an increase in inauguration viewership since the 2021 ceremony.
Trump’s second swearing-in ceremony was watched by 27.12 million viewers across the six major news networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, MSNBC, CNN) during the 12 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. ET time frame on Monday, January 20. There was an average of 26.05 million viewers from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET. Biden’s swearing in attracted nearly 40 million viewers (39.87 million), and Trump’s 2017 inauguration had 38.3 million viewers.
Fox News averaged 10.3 million viewers in the 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. ET window and peaked with 10.59 million in the noon to 1 p.m. ET hour. In the 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. ET time frame, ABC had 4.7 million viewers, NBC had 4.4 million, CBS had 4.1 million, CNN had 1.7 million, and MSNBC had 848,000. Fox News’ coverage brought in its second-biggest inauguration audience ever, with Trump’s 2017 ceremony being its largest.
The inauguration took place inside the Capitol Rotunda on Monday, January 20, as opposed to outside of the building facing the Capitol lawn as usual. Freezing temperatures were the cited reason for moving the event indoors.
The inauguration was televised live on all the major news networks. ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN, CSPAN, Fox News, MSNBC, NBC, PBS, and Telemundo all carried the event. There was also a White House livestream.
Trump and Vance were sworn in surrounded by an audience of tech billionaires like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos and politicians (including all of the living former presidents and first ladies, except Michelle Obama), Vice President Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, and more. Trump’s inaugural address was followed by an honorary departure for President Biden and first lady Jill Biden. Then came a signing ceremony in the President’s Room of the Capitol’s Senate wing, an inaugural luncheon, an inaugural parade, and an inaugural ball.
Trump and Vance then went to DC’s Capital One Arena after the inauguration to sign Trump’s first executive orders in front of a crowd of his supporters. It was during this event that Musk, the new owner of X/Twitter, gave a speech and delivered two Nazi salutes at the podium that bore the president’s seal.
Trump’s first executive orders 0f his second term included pardons for January 6 riots convicts and defendants, including members of white supremacist groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
Other executive orders include a pause of the TikTok ban (a ban he initiated in 2020 while still in his first term), the reversal of 78 Biden-era executive actions, orders, and presidential memoranda, an attempt to end birthright citizenship (this will no doubt face continued legal action as it violates the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution), a declaration that the US government will only recognize male and female as genders, the end of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs (DEI) within the federal government, a withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, and more.