Donald Trump fans queue in freezing rain while inauguration tickets are cancelled

Tens of thousands of disappointed fans, hoping to watch the inauguration of Donald Trump queued in the freezing rain in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the incoming president.

It came after the ceremony was moved inside as the US braces to be hit by severe winter weather. MAGA supportes began lining up as early as 4.30am, hoping to be among the lucky 20,000 allowed in the Capital One Arena for the victory rally. Steve Bruckener, from Atlanta, Georgia, had travelled to Washington for the swearing-in ceremony, but after the outdoor event was cancelled, he queued to see the president-elect. He told the Mirror : “I got in line at 8am and thank goodness I did. An hour or so later and I think 30,000 people were in queue. The man is that popular. We just wanted to see our President.”

Kristen Jameson, 28, arrived at 11am, hours before the doors opened, but said she had “no chance” of getting in. She said: “It’s very disappointing not to be able to see President Trump. It just goes to show how many Americans love him.”

Trump is expected to call for “unity and strength” as he is sworn in for his second term as US president – just hours before he begins deporting “millions” of undocumented immigrants. The president-elect was making the final changes to his inauguration speech on Sunday night before retakes the Oval Office promising to carry a “record-setting” number of executive actions.

His tone is set to be in stark contrast to his 2017 address, which sparked bitter division across the States during his first term and into Joe Biden’s presidency. Trump, who will be the first criminally convicted US leader to hold office, has said the central theme of his address will be “fairness.”

“You have to be treating people fairly,” he said. “You can’t just say, ‘Oh, everything’s going to be wonderful.’ You know, we went through hell for four years with these people. And so, you know, something has to be done about it. You can’t have that happen, and we shouldn’t have that happen.”

Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president at noon (5pm UK time) in a hurriedly arranged indoor ceremony after freezing temperatures cancelled the planned event on the Capitol lawn. The change has left hundreds of thousands of ticket holders unable to watch the historic event, sparking an exodus from Washington ahead of the swearing-in. The inauguration as the country’s 47th president was expected to be an extravagant break from tradition – before it got moved indoors due to cold weather.