Donald Trump has left St John’s Episcopal Church in Washington DC after attending a prayer service ahead of his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States.
The 78-year-old’s arrival at the historic church, located across from the White House, was his first public appearance on Monday as he prepared to return to the White House.
He is set for a momentous day as millions of people around the world watch on.
Mr Trump arrived at the prayer service, a tradition for president-elects on inauguration day, with his wife Melania at around 8.45am local time (1.45pm UK time).
They sat in the front row with their son Barron, 18, to their left, and incoming vice president JD Vance and his wife Usha to their right.
Former British prime minister Boris Johnson, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon boss Jeff Bezos were also spotted sitting in the same row as each other in the church.
Image: President-elect Donald Trump, Melania Trump and their son Barron walk to their seats. Pic: AP
Image: President-elect Donald Trump talks with Vice President-elect JD Vance and Usha Vance before the service. Pic: AP
The service lasted around 30 minutes.
Afterwards, Mr Trump returned to Blair House, often referred to as the “President’s Guest House”, where he stayed on Saturday and Sunday.
The Republican is hours away from being sworn in as president for a second time after he defeated Democratic candidate and vice president Kamala Harris in the US presidential election in November.
Before the ceremony inside the Capitol Rotunda, he will meet with outgoing president Joe Biden and his wife Jill for tea at the White House at around 9.45am local time (2.45pm UK time).
Mr Trump will be joined by incoming first lady Melania for the tea, which is traditionally held on inauguration day to welcome the new president.
The meeting offers a stark contrast to four years ago, when Mr Trump refused to acknowledge Mr Biden’s election victory or attend his inauguration.
This time around, the incoming and outgoing presidents will travel in the same car as they join a motorcade to depart for the Capitol at around 10.25am local time (3.25pm UK time).
Image: Donald Trump, left, and Joe Biden at the White House in November last year. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump, who will become only the second president to serve two non-consecutive terms, is expected to arrive at the Capitol around five minutes later.
Mr Vance is expected to be sworn in at 11.25am local time (4.25pm UK time).
The 40-year-old will take the oath read by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on a bible given to him by his great-grandmother.
Mr Trump is expected to take the oath at around 11.40am local time (4.40pm UK time).
Image: The US Capitol building ahead of the inauguration. Pic: Reuters
He will use both a family Bible and the one used by President Abraham Lincoln at his 1861 inauguration as chief justice John Roberts administers his oath.
Mr Trump will then deliver his inaugural address, which is expected to last just over 30 minutes and will likely be watched by millions of people across the world.
The ceremony will take place inside the Capitol Rotunda after it was moved indoors because of what is forecast to be the coldest inauguration day in 40 years.
It is not clear how the ceremony will be adapted to the setting, but only a fraction of the originally expected crowd will be allowed in.
Former presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will be in attendance, in keeping with former incumbents of the White House attending inauguration day.
Neither gave an explanation as to why they were skipping the ceremony.
Image: Organisers prepare the Capitol Rotunda for the swearing-in ceremony. Pic: AP
A cadre of billionaires and tech titans who have sought to curry favour with Mr Trump and have donated handsomely to his inaugural festivities, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, will also be in attendance.
Following Mr Trump’s inaugural address, there will be a ceremonial farewell to Mr Biden and Ms Harris at 12.40pm local time (5.40pm UK time).
Mr Trump and Mr Vance will head to the President’s Room just off the Senate Chamber in the US Capitol for a signing ceremony watched by members of Congress at around 12.50pm local time (5.50pm UK time).
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1:10
Trump shows off his dance moves
An hour later the new president and vice president will attend a luncheon at Statuary Hall in the US Capitol hosted by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
Mr Obama, Mr Clinton and Mr Bush will not attend the luncheon despite receiving invites, Sky News’ US partner network NBC News has reported.
At around 3.50pm local time (8.50pm UK time), Mr Trump and the new first lady will travel to the Capitol One Arena for the parade celebrations to start.
Image: JD Vance is preparing to be sworn in as vice president. Pic: AP
The original plan for a traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue has been turned into an indoor event because of the cold.
Mr Trump will speak to his gathered supporters at the arena, where many of the people who had planned to watch the swearing-in ceremony outside will have watched a live broadcast of the inauguration instead.
The event is expected to feature remarks from Mr Trump and marching bands.
The new president will then head to the White House for an Oval Office signing ceremony at 5pm local time (10pm UK time).
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During Mr Trump’s speech on Sunday, he promised to sign close to 100 executive orders on his first day in office, including repealing “every radical and foolish executive order of the Biden administration”.
Country music band Rascal Flatts and country singer Parker McCollum will perform at the Commander in Chief Inaugural Ball, which is geared toward military service members.
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1:10
Trump shows off his dance moves
Meanwhile, the US rapper Nelly and disco band The Village People are scheduled to appear at the Liberty Inaugural Ball which is geared towards Mr Trump’s supporters.
Singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw will perform at the Starlight Ball, at which guests are expected to be big donors of the incoming president.
Mr Trump’s return to the White House marks a stunning comeback after he overcame criminal indictments and two assassination attempts to regain the presidency.
It also comes after he lost the 2020 election, before denying his defeat and attempting to cling on to power.
He directed his supporters to march on the Capitol while legislators were certifying the election results, sparking a riot that interrupted the country’s traditional peaceful transfer of power.
Donald Trump has announced a 10% trade tariff on all imports from the UK – as he unleashed sweeping tariffs across the globe.
Speaking at a White House event entitled “Make America Wealthy Again”, the president held up a chart detailing the worst offenders – which also showed the new tariffs the US would be imposing.
“This is Liberation Day,” he told a cheering audience of supporters, while hitting out at foreign “cheaters”.
He claimed “trillions” of dollars from the “reciprocal” levies he was imposing on others’ trade barriers would provide relief for the US taxpayer and restore US jobs and factories.
Mr Trump said the US has been “looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations.
Image: Pic: AP
His first tariff announcement was a 25% duty on all car imports from midnight – 5am on Thursday, UK time.
Mr Trump confirmed the European Union would face a 20% reciprocal tariff on all other imports. China’s rate was set at 34%.
The UK’s rate of 10% was perhaps a shot across the bows over the country’s 20% VAT rate, though the president’s board suggested a 10% tariff imbalance between the two nations.
It was also confirmed that further US tariffs were planned on some individual sectors including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical mineral imports.
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6:39
Trump’s tariffs explained
The ramping up of duties promises to be painful for the global economy. Tariffs on steel and aluminium are already in effect.
The UK government signalled there would be no immediate retaliation.
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “We will always act in the best interests of UK businesses and consumers. That’s why, throughout the last few weeks, the government has been fully focused on negotiating an economic deal with the United States that strengthens our existing fair and balanced trading relationship.
“The US is our closest ally, so our approach is to remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced today.
“We have a range of tools at our disposal and we will not hesitate to act. We will continue to engage with UK businesses including on their assessment of the impact of any further steps we take.
“Nobody wants a trade war and our intention remains to secure a deal. But nothing is off the table and the government will do everything necessary to defend the UK’s national interest.”
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0:43
Who showed up for Trump’s tariff address?
The EU has pledged to retaliate, which is a problem for Northern Ireland.
Should that scenario play out, the region faces the prospect of rising prices because all its imports are tied to EU rules under post-Brexit trading arrangements.
It means US goods shipped to Northern Ireland would be subject to the EU’s reprisals.
The impact of a trade war would be expected to be widely negative, with tit-for-tat tariffs risking job losses, a ramping up of prices and cooling of global trade.
Research for the Institute for Public Policy Research has suggested more than 25,000 direct jobs in the UK car manufacturing industry alone could be at risk from the tariffs on car exports to the US.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) had said the tariff costs could not be absorbed by manufacturers and may lead to a review of output.
The tariffs now on UK exports pose a big risk to growth and the so-called headroom Chancellor Rachel Reeves was forced to restore to the public finances at the spring statement, risking further spending cuts or tax rises ahead to meet her fiscal rules.
A member of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), David Miles, told MPs on Tuesday that US tariffs at 20% or 25% maintained on the UK for five years would “knock out all the headroom the government currently has”.
But he added that a “very limited tariff war” that the UK stays out of could be “mildly positive”.
He said: “There’s a bit of trade that will get diverted to the UK, and some of the exports from China, for example, that would have gone to the US, they’ll be looking for a home for them in the rest of the world.
“And stuff would be available in the UK a bit cheaper than otherwise would have been. So there is one, not central scenario at all, which is very, very mildly potentially positive to the UK. All the other ones which involve the UK facing tariffs are negative, and they’re negative to very different extents.”
Israel is beginning a major expansion of its military operation in Gaza and will seize large areas of the territory, the country’s defence minister said.
Israel Katz said in a statement that there would be a large scale evacuation of the Palestinian population from fighting areas.
In a post on X, he wrote: “I call on the residents of Gaza to act now to remove Hamas and return all the hostages. This is the only way to end the war.”
He said the offensive was “expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and capture large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel”.
The expansion of Israel’s military operation in Gaza deepens its renewed offensive.
The deal had seen the release of dozens of hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, but collapsed before it could move to phase two, which would have involved the release of all hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
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1:08
26 March: Anti-Hamas chants heard at protest in Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had already issued evacuation warnings to Gazans living around the southern city of Rafah and towards the city of Khan Yunis, telling them to move to the al Mawasi area on the shore, which was previously designated a humanitarian zone.
Israeli forces have already set up a significant buffer zone within Gaza, having expanded an area around the edge of the territory that had existed before the war, as well as a large security area in the so-called Netzarim corridor through the middle of Gaza.
This latest conflict began when Hamas launched an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages.
The ensuing Israeli offensive has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
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1:22
Bodies of aid workers found in Gaza
Aid group Doctors Without Borders warned on Wednesday that Israel’s month-long siege of Gaza means some critical medications are now short in supply and are running out, leaving Palestinians at risk of losing vital healthcare.
“The Israeli authorities’ have condemned the people of Gaza to unbearable suffering with their deadly siege,” said Myriam Laaroussi, the group’s emergency coordinator in Gaza.
“This deliberate infliction of harm on people is like a slow death; it must end immediately.”
“Liberation day” was due to be on 1 April. But Donald Trump decided to shift it by a day because he didn’t want anyone to think it was an April fool.
It is no joke for him and it is no joke for governments globally as they brace for his tariff announcements.
It is stunning how little we know about the plans to be announced in the Rose Garden of the White House later today.
It was telling that we didn’t see the President at all on Tuesday. He and all his advisers were huddled in the West Wing, away from the cameras, finalising the tariff plans.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is the so-called ‘measured voice’. A former hedge fund manager, he has argued for targeted not blanket tariffs.
Peter Navarro is Trump’s senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing. A long-time aide and confidante of the president, he is a true loyalist and a firm believer in the merits of tariffs.
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His economic views are well beyond mainstream economic thought – precisely why he appeals to Trump.
The third key character is Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary and the biggest proponent of the full-throttle liberation day tariff juggernaut.
The businessman, philanthropist, Trump fundraiser and billionaire (net worth ranging between $1bn and $2bn) has been among the closest to Trump over the past 73 days of this presidency – frequently in and out of the West Wing.
If anything goes wrong, observers here in Washington suspect Trump will make Lutnick the fall guy.
And what if it does all go wrong? What if Trump is actually the April fool?
“It’s going to work…” his press secretary said when asked if it could all be a disaster, driving up the cost of living for Americans and creating global economic chaos.
“The president has a brilliant team who have been studying these issues for decades and we are focussed on restoring the global age of America…” Karoline Leavitt said.
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2:52
‘Days of US being ripped off are over’
Dancing to the president’s tune
My sense is that we should see “liberation day” not as the moment it’s all over in terms of negotiations for countries globally as they try to carve out deals with the White House. Rather it should be seen as the start.
Trump, as always, wants to be seen as the one calling the shots, taking control, seizing the limelight. He wants the world to dance to his tune. Today is his moment.
But beyond today, alongside the inevitable tit-for-tat retaliation, expect to see efforts by nations to seek carve-outs and to throw bones to Trump; to identify areas where trade policies can be tweaked to placate the president.
Even small offerings which change little in a material sense could give Trump the chance to spin and present himself as the winning deal maker he craves to be.
One significant challenge for foreign governments and their diplomats in Washington has been engaging the president himself with proposals he might like.
Negotiations take place with a White House team who are themselves unsure where the president will ultimately land. It’s resulted in unsatisfactory speculative negotiations.
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6:03
Treasury minister: ‘We’ll do everything to secure a deal’
Too much faith placed in the ‘special relationship’?
The UK believes it’s in a better position than most other countries globally. It sits outside the EU giving it autonomy in its trade policy, its deficit with the US is small, and Trump loves Britain.
It’s true too that the UK government has managed to accelerate trade conversations with the White House on a tariff-free trade partnership. Trump’s threats have forced conversations that would normally sit in the long grass for months.
Yet, for now, the conversations have yielded nothing firm. That’s a worry for sure. Did Keir Starmer have too much faith in the ‘special relationship’?
Downing Street will have identified areas where they can tweak trade policy to placate Trump. Cars maybe? Currently US cars into the UK carry a 10% tariff. Digital services perhaps?
US food? Unlikely – there are non-tariff barriers on US food because the consensus seems to be that chlorinated chicken and the like isn’t something UK consumers want.
Easier access to UK financial services maybe? More visas for Americans?
For now though, everyone is waiting to see what Trump does before they either retaliate or relent and lower their own market barriers.