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Inauguration Day traditions have come and gone with different presidents

Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman speaks at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden.
Drew Angerer
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Getty Images
Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman speaks at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden.

The 39th president, Jimmy Carter, wanted to eschew the limo ride and walk the route at least in large part from the Capitol to the White House. He and his wife Rosalynn did that in 1977, a story that was often retold at Carter's funeral and in other remembrances earlier this month. Carter died Dec. 29 at the age of 100.

Another president who renewed the get-out-and-walk tradition was Bill Clinton, who did it in 1993 when celebrating his first Inaugural Day.

Clinton also revived the inclusion of an Inauguration Poem, inviting Maya Angelou to present her work "On the Pulse of Morning." John F. Kennedy had initiated the feature by asking Robert Frost to read in 1961. Joe Biden refreshed the memory in 2021 when he asked 22-year-old Amanda Gorman to read her poem "The Hill We Climb."

Yet another tradition sure to be discussed during this year's observations is the raising of private money to pay for Inauguration Day activities beyond the basics of the swearing in. These include the balls that are sponsored by the president-elect's inauguration committee, states and others. Debate over the influence donors might be purchasing with such participation reached a new high in 1981 when Reagan's committee raised a reported $19 million.

This year's committee, featuring million-dollar donations from tech giants Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, is expected to raise $200 million.

Copyright 2025 NPR

Ron Elving
Ron Elving is Senior Editor and Correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News, where he is frequently heard as a news analyst and writes regularly for NPR.org.