Why is Donald Trump's Inauguration the Same Date as MLK Day?

Tomorrow, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as president of the United States for the second time at a grand ceremony joined by tech billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. The event will happen on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal public holiday in the US.

Conspiracy Or Coincidence?

Is this because of a Trumpian scheme to cement his position as a seminal figure in American history, like King or is it just a happy (or unhappy) coincidence?

The answer is that it is a coincidence brought about by the 20^th amendment to the US constitution and the somewhat moveable feast that is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was instituted in 1989 to celebrate the life of the civil rights leader. It is always held on the third Monday of January, around the time of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday on 15 January.

The 20^th amendment to the constitution states that a new president takes office at noon on the 20^th January in the year following the election. As president's cannot begin their duties until taking the oath of office, the oath is sworn in private should the 20^th fall on a Sunday, before a public ceremony on the Monday.

This year, by coincidence, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is on the same day as the inauguration. While rare, it has happened before, the last time being 1997, when Bill Clinton was sworn in for his second term.

At this year's inauguration, Carrie Underwood is expected to perform America The Beautiful. The Village People have also been invited as have numerous world leaders.

MAGA The True Heir Of MLK?

Despite years of being branded a racist by his political enemies, there is a strain of thought that believes that Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement are in fact the true political heirs of Martin Luther King Jr. and his civil rights campaign.

King's most famous quotation that people should be judged, 'not on the colour of their skin, but on the content of their character', arguably flies in the face of modern anti-racist or 'woke' beliefs that call for the privileging of people on the basis of belonging to a racial or ethnic minority or some other protected group.

By contrast, Trump and the MAGA movement, while being hostile to illegal immigration, is generally favourable to those from any background, so long as they are pro-America and do their best to contribute to society.