Organizers for President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday finished setting up about 200,000 flags on Monday, representing the American people who cannot travel to the inauguration amid a worsening coronavirus pandemic and extraordinary security precautions. The flags represent all of the states and U.S. territories, and they also are meant to honor the 400,000 Americans who will have officially died from COVID-19 by the time Biden is sworn in.
Embed from Getty Images// Embed from Getty Images// Embed from Getty Images//
The Presidential Inaugural Committee highlighted the "Field of Flags" on Monday night, with 56 pillars of light — one for each of the 50 states and six U.S. territories — beamed into the air for 46 second, a reference to Biden becoming the 46th U.S. president.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Biden arrives in Washington for his inauguration on Tuesday, and he and incoming first lady Jill Biden will spend Tuesday night at Blair House, near the White House. Outgoing President Trump plans to leave the White House on Wednesday morning, making him the first president since Andrew Johnson — the first impeached president — to skip the inauguration of his successor. Trump has made no public appearances in six days.
Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who resigned as a U.S. senator on Monday, volunteered in service events to honor Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday. They will take part in a memorial at the reflecting pool near the Lincoln Memorial on Tuesday to honor the Americans who lost their lives to COVID-19.
-
Five key questions about the Gaza peace dealThe Explainer Many ‘unresolved hurdles’ remain before Donald Trump’s 20-point plan can get the go-ahead
-
See the Northern Lights from these bucket list destinationsThe Week Recommends The dazzling displays can be spotted across Iceland, Sweden and parts of Canada
-
Sudoku hard: October 7, 2025The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsionSpeed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
