On January 20, on its Facebook page “POSTV – Politics,” the pro-government media outlet POSTV published a video of Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zourabichvili, attending Donald Trump’s inauguration. According to the post, Salome Zourabichvili watched Trump’s swearing-in ceremony on television. However, the accompanying video shows Zourabichvili watching Trump’s swearing-in ceremony on a screen placed in a hall. About seven minutes after the video was published by “POST – Politics,” an identical video was disseminated by the Facebook page “Anti Maidani,” created to discredit pro-European protests in Georgia.
Similar videos were published on January 20 and 21 by accounts known for spreading false information, including Fantina Fantina, Irakli Zakareishvili’s Backup FB, Davit Jebashvili, and Irma Khakhutaishvili (1,2).
The footage is misleading. In reality, Zourabichvili attended Trump’s inauguration at Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center of the U.S. Capitol. Attendees in the hall watched the swearing-in ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda on screens as part of the inauguration events. After taking the oath, Trump also addressed guests in the Emancipation Hall, where Zourabichvili was present.
On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony was held in the Capitol Rotunda. Traditionally, the swearing-in ceremony is held outdoors on the west side of the U.S. Capitol, but due to anticipated low temperatures, the event was announced to take place in the Capitol Rotunda.
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Who attended the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol Rotunda?
Notably, approximately 220,000 tickets were issued for the event, but the Capitol Rotunda has limited capacity, so around 600 people attended the swearing-in ceremony. Prestigious seats were reserved for high-ranking officials, Supreme Court justices, military leaders, former presidents and their spouses, and foreign guest leaders, including Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and Argentine President Javier Milei. The event was also attended by prominent figures from the tech world, including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who sat in the second row behind Donald Trump’s family. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was also present.
The relocation of the swearing-in ceremony to the Capitol Rotunda because of inclement weather significantly limited the number of attendees. Given the limited seating in the Rotunda, other invited guests watched the ceremony from the Emancipation Hall. The Emancipation Hall served as an auxiliary location for those guests who could not be physically accommodated in the Rotunda. The hall was equipped with screens broadcasting the ceremony live, allowing the attendees to follow the event. After being sworn in, Donald Trump addressed the guests in the Emancipation Hall as part of the inaugural events.
Both the Capitol Rotunda and Emancipation Hall are located within the United States Capitol but are situated in different sections of the building complex. Emancipation Hall is part of the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) and is connected to the main Capitol building. The hall features exhibits and educational materials about the U.S. Capitol.
The fifth president of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, was in the Emancipation Hall with other official delegation representatives and watched the swearing-in ceremony on screens placed in the hall. Video footage of Salome Zourabichvili in the Emancipation Hall is also available on YouTube. Salome Zourabichvili also streamed Trump’s address to the attendees in the Emancipation Hall live on her Facebook account.
Footage of Salome Zourabichvili from the Emancipation Hall
As part of Donald Trump’s inauguration, a series of events, including parties and private gatherings, took place from January 18 to 20. Pro-government media and actors suggested that Zourabichvili had purchased tickets to attend the inauguration. In reality, Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zourabichvili, attended Donald Trump’s inauguration at the invitation of Republican Congressman Joe Wilson. There was also a photo fabrication spread about Zourabichvili. Read more in the materials from Myth Detector:
- Are Tickets to the U.S. Presidential Inauguration Available for Purchase?
- Fabricated Photo Suggests Salome Zourabichvili Wore Clothing with American Symbols at Trump’s Inauguration
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