The TV Column

Trump special precedes Inauguration Day flurry

President-elect Donald Trump and President Barack Obama meet in the Oval Office on Nov. 10. After 11 a.m. Friday, Trump will be president and Obama a private citizen.
President-elect Donald Trump and President Barack Obama meet in the Oval Office on Nov. 10. After 11 a.m. Friday, Trump will be president and Obama a private citizen.

Fans of ABC's blockbuster Thursday night lineup will have to suck it up one more week. Last week the network opted to postpone the return of Grey's Anatomy, How to Get Away With Murder and Scandal from tonight until Jan. 26.

Instead, ABC News will present an hour special at 9 p.m., America's First Family: The Trumps Go to Washington. That's ahead of Friday's inauguration activities in Washington. It's going to be huge.

Scandal, which was last seen May 12, should be worth the wait. All the ads have had "Mr. Movie Voice" proclaiming, "You've waited long enough. Scandal is back and trust us, it lives up to the hype. In just the first 10 minutes alone, you're not going to ... know ... what ... hit ... you."

Then there's a huge explosion at a cabin in the woods. Huge.

As far as Friday's inauguration plans are concerned, C-SPAN begins at 6 a.m.; CNN at 8 a.m.; NBC, MSNBC and the BBC will kick off at 9; PBS coverage is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Fox News begins at 10 a.m. and goes to 4 p.m.

If you want to mull over what it all means, CBS will air Change and Challenge: The Inauguration of Donald Trump at 7 p.m. Friday. The hour special will feature interviews with those in the Trump administration and provide analysis from around the country on key issues facing the new president.

At 7:30 p.m. Friday, CNBC will air a half-hour special, Trump: The Billionaire President, focusing on "Trump's expensive vehicles and homes, businesses, colleagues, family, and Cabinet members."

At 8 p.m. Friday, History Channel will roll out The Making of Trump. The two hours will showcase "how a youngster from Queens took New York by storm, survived two broken marriages and several failed businesses, reinvented himself as a TV personality, and then launched a successful bid to become president of the United States."

Here's Friday's inauguration schedule, according to Newsweek. All times are Central Standard Time.

President-elect Trump and his wife, Melania, will visit with President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House on Friday morning for coffee and tea before riding together to the inaugural ceremony.

Opening remarks for the swearing-in ceremony will be at 10:30 a.m. on the west front of the U.S. Capitol.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence will be sworn in first; then, at precisely 11 a.m., Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Jr.

For the record, here are the 35 exact words of the oath of office as specified in the Constitution: "I do solemnly swear [or affirm] that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Former candidate Hillary Clinton will attend the inauguration with former President Bill Clinton. Former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush, as well as former President Jimmy Carter, also will be on hand.

Former President George H.W. Bush, won't be in attendance because of his health.

After Trump attends a luncheon at the Capitol with members of Congress, a parade with about 8,000 participants kicks off about 2 p.m. It includes some 40 high school and university marching bands, first responders and veterans groups. They will follow the Trumps down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.

The participants include the Russellville High School Band. The Cyclones marched during the inauguration of Jimmy Carter in 1977 and Bill Clinton in 1997.

The parade should take about 90 minutes.

Washington officials estimate a crowd of 800,000 to 900,000 people (including protesters) is expected for this year's inauguration, down from the almost 2 million who showed up for President Barack Obama's first inauguration.

Three official inaugural balls, featuring appearances by the president and first lady, are set from 6 to 10 p.m.

The Secret Service is the lead agency responsible for overseeing security for the day. There will be D.C. police and other federal and local law enforcement, along with 3,000 police officers from other localities and 5,000 National Guardsmen, to protect the perimeter around the parade route.

Online. If you want to watch it all online, ABC.com has a live stream on YouTube that will cover the presidential inauguration. Other places to watch are CBS.com, MSNBC.com, Fox.com, CNN.com, NYTimes.com, WashingtonPost.com and NPR.org.

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Weekend on 01/19/2017

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