From JC this morning

The winds of change are literally blowing in Washington DC today, and the Washington Post ran a bemused story this morning headlined, “Indoor inauguration upends plans for Trump backers. They’re still excited.” Of course we are. The excitement of Trump’s presidency far exceeds our excitement for watching him take the oath from 400 yards away while sitting in snow.

The story’s sub-headline added, “Many Trump supporters have yet to figure out backup plans for Inauguration Day.” Not just for Inauguration Day. We’ll need other backup plans, too, like figuring out what to do with the fleece-lined long johns, the foldable flag blankets, the sacks of hot hands, and the waterproof snow boots Michelle ordered off Amazon. Set that aside for now.

Yesterday, President Trump arrived in Washington, DC, and was promptly escorted to Blair House, the official Presidential Guest House right across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. Historic Blair House was built in 1824, is roomier than the White House, and usually houses very VIPs.

Fox’s Senior Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram tweeted yesterday that, despite having 700 constituents who traveled to DC for the ceremony, one lawmaker told the network they’ve had “not one complaint” from folks with now-canceled tickets. I’m not surprised; the overwhelming feeling is safety first.

There might even be a sense of relief among Trump supporters. I think the fact it was happening outside in the first place made everyone as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

“While the weather is the primary reason for moving the inauguration indoors,” Pergram reported, “multiple sources have expressed concerns about security.” Nobody Pergram interviewed identified any specific threat (nor would they), except for concerns about snowball fight injuries, given the amount of snow that will be on the ground — another record broken.

It will be the most snow decorating an Inauguration since 1937, when the 20th Amendment moved up the swearing-in date to January 20th.

The weather did not interfere with last night’s gala pre-Inauguration celebration at Trump’s National Golf Course in nearby Sterling, Virginia. Among other crowd favorites, the spectacular private light show was accompanied by Trump’s favorite Opera aria, Nessun Dorma.

We don’t know how many people can come. It’s getting smaller by the minute. Fox correspondent Pergram reported that the number of attendees allowed into the Rotunda could be as few as 600, and that Congressmen are being told only spouses can come — not “plus-ones.” Fox has also heard tell that even spouses are “iffy.” So the ceremony might be limited to just sitting Congressmen—in other words, all business.

We don’t know where they’re going to hold it. It could easily be moved from the Rotunda. Online rumors suggest that at least two other locations have been floated. For example:

Nobody still on the attendance list would be surprised by last-minute instructions to show up anywhere in Washington.

To be honest, we’re not even 100% certain when the swearing-in will happen. With the number of people invited still up in the air, and even the location seemingly in play, pundits have pointed out that the 20th Amendment only provides that the prior presidential term ends at noon—it does not mention the swearing-in at all.

So Trump could legally take the oath at any time on Monday, anywhere he wants, given a Bible, a Supreme Court justice, and a camera.

Putting it another way, nobody knows anything for sure. Clearly, a blizzard of strategic ambiguity has descended over the Inauguration’s time, place, and manner, making it much, much easier to protect the President.

So don’t be surprised to wake up Monday morning and find out Trump was already sworn in, one minute after midnight, in a private ceremony held at the Blair House. This is Trump 2.0, keeping the deep state guessing till the last second.

Maybe all the strategic ambiguity explains why the New York Times’ web page this morning reported nothing at all about the Inauguration or its fascinating evolving details. They’re not even reporting about all the ambiguity. Instead, they’re pretending like the Inauguration isn’t happening; it’s a non-event with little interest for the Times’ regular readers.

But don’t worry, it’s all over Fox News’ web page.