New York City Mayor Eric Adams canceled his scheduled appearances at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day events Monday throughout the city to attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony in Washington, D.C.
This year, the holiday honoring the civil rights leader's legacy and fight for equality falls on the same day as the inauguration of Trump as the nation's 47th president.
According to a post on X from New York Daily News reporter Chris Sommerfeldt, New York City Hall sent out a public schedule after midnight that said Adams will not attend Trump's swearing-in, likely indicating he received an invitation to the event Monday morning.
PIX 11 reported that Adams received an invitation to attend a private ceremony and the larger ceremony.
The mayor had reportedly been scheduled to deliver remarks at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's 39th Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast before speaking at the Baptist Ministers' Conference of Greater New York & Vicinity's 57th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration.
Prior to clearing his schedule, Adams had also been set to appear live on CBS' special programming “CBS News: The Inauguration of Donald Trump.”
Sommerfeldt reported that Adams also canceled his appearance at another MLK Day event on Sunday night in Brooklyn that doubled as the 94th birthday party for his mentor, the Rev. Herbert Daughtry.
Trump's day on Monday is expected to begin on a traditional note, with a prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church and tea at the White House with outgoing President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden.
Trump then will head to the Capitol, where he will take the oath of office in a ceremony that had to be moved indoors due to the frigid weather that is forecast to make it the coldest Inauguration Day in 40 years. It is not yet clear how the ceremony has been adapted to accommodate the more than 250,000 ticketed guests, as the Capitol Rotunda only holds 600 people.
Scheduled to perform during the inauguration festivities are country music stars Carrie Underwood, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Jason Aldean; disco band the Village People; rapper Nelly; and musician Kid Rock. Actor Jon Voight and wrestler Hulk Hogan are also expected to make appearances, as are Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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