# Is Biden being foolish to insist on an outdoor inaguration? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 14, 2021, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539 "2021-01-14T17:48:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/1 "2021-01-14T17:48:00Z")
I think so. One sniper bullet is all it would take. What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/2 "2021-01-14T17:52:13Z")
Not at all, fuck the terrorists. If the secret service could keep someone from shooting Trump the last four years they can keep biden safe for the less than 1 hour ceremony. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/3 "2021-01-14T17:53:01Z")
Doubtful in DC with Secert Service overseeing security. I’d be more worried about a rouge congressman or cop getting to close. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/4 "2021-01-14T18:16:31Z")
I’m almost certain they’ll have a bulletproof glass/plexiglass setup, which is what they had for his victory speech when the election was called. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/5 "2021-01-14T18:16:59Z")
Outdoor = much less Covid transmission risk. And technically, every single president the past few decades had thousands of times when he was exposed to potential sniper fire. Assassination attempts on presidents are extraordinarily rare, despite them being such high-profile targets. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/6 "2021-01-14T18:18:04Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > I’d be more worried about a **rouge** congressman or cop getting to close. (emphasis mine) Well, said theoretical congressman would probably be from a “red state,” so the typoed adjective does still fit. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/7 "2021-01-14T19:01:04Z")
I think any shots coming Biden’s way are much more likely to come from police as anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/8 "2021-01-14T21:14:45Z")
I posted this article about the shield used at Obama’s 2009 inauguration on another thread. The article implies that shields have been used since Reagan. > **[Protecting A President: A High-Tech Shield](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/protecting-a-president-a-high-tech-shield/)** > > CBS Evening News: Exclusive Look At What Went Into Making The High Grade Bulletproof Glass To Keep Obama Safe ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/9 "2021-01-14T22:50:49Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Assassination attempts on presidents are extraordinarily rare To be sure. 45 Presidents, 30 assassination attempts, and 6 killed or wounded is acceptable wastage for the preservation of American democracy. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/10 "2021-01-14T22:54:08Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Doubtful in DC with Secert Service overseeing security. Plus there are now more soldiers in D.C. than in Iraq & Afghanistan combined. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/11 "2021-01-15T01:12:08Z")
The National Mall will be closed off to the public. AirBnB is canceling all reservations in the DC area. Airlines won’t be allowing packed guns to DC. The National Guard will be there. Barricades and fences are being set up. There will be a zone in DC that will have checkpoints. I don’t think indoors would be any safer. They’re taking this very seriously. > **[Entire National Mall ‘to be closed off’ for Biden inauguration](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/biden-inauguration-national-mall-closed-b1787353.html?utm_source=reddit.com)** > > Usually filled with hundreds of thousands of people, there will be no crowds on 20 January > [@](#): > > A secure zone has been established in downtown Washington, with more than a dozen metro stations set to close to deter people from travelling to the vicinity. > > Airbnb is cancelling all reservations in the city ahead of the inauguration. > > The National Guard — whose presence in DC is expected to swell to 10,000 troops by Saturday — has erected fences topped with barbed wire to surround the entire Capitol complex, which includes the Capitol itself, the Library of Congress, and the Supreme Court at its centre and the six House and Senate office buildings on the outskirts. > > Barricades for vehicles extend even farther out: a three-block perimeter in every direction from the nearest vital federal building on Capitol Hill. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/12 "2021-01-15T01:17:49Z")
Pretty sure that’s an old photo the Independent has; there should be razor wire atop that fence. Maybe the razor wire is only around where Biden will be? ---
**Author:** ![CoconutPete](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coconutpete/32/5294_2.png) [@CoconutPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoconutPete)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/13 "2021-01-15T01:22:22Z")
I agree with the other poster I’ve always worried more about a rogue cop or secret service agent in modern times, just takes one guy. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/14 "2021-01-15T01:28:32Z")
It might depend on where it is. I did a search for barricades and fences for the Biden inauguration and the pictures look just like that one. There were a few pictures with razor wire on the tops of the fences, but they were only in select places that I could tell. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/15 "2021-01-15T02:38:52Z")
> [@CoconutPete](#): > > I agree with the other poster I’ve always worried more about a rogue cop or secret service agent in modern times, just takes one guy. And about the QAnon congress people, who are already fussing about being asked to go through metal detectors. And I’m not going to assume that all those National Guard personnel are 100% on the side of democracy and/or diversity; we can’t rule out that some believe God is directing them to do…something. I’m also very worried about small planes. Not every Trump fan is willing to Die For Him, but it would be fairly easy to come up with thirty disturbed people, nation-wide, who are. Then you drive them to small airports with bombs-in-duffle-bags and put them into hired small planes. Then in the air, they pull out a weapon and direct the pilot to fly to the Inauguration location. The Air Force won’t get them all (there are issues in the Air Force itself, remember. White supremacists and religious fanatics are in all the services). A crucial question is who will be attending. Pelosi should NOT attend—she should be in a secure location. If we see NO members of the Sedition Caucus attending: look to the skies. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/16 "2021-01-15T02:45:10Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > 45 Presidents, 30 assassination attempts, and 6 killed or wounded is acceptable wastage for the preservation of American democracy. Maybe I am a crazy optimist here, but I think that presidential security greatly improved after Reagan was shot. Before that, it was the most dangerous job imaginable. Whatever the risk, I with those who also see risks indoors. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/17 "2021-01-15T02:51:17Z")
Since Hinckley shot Reagan, there hasn’t been a single person who took a shot at a U.S. president on U.S. soil. IIRC, there were two plots against Bush Sr. and Bush Jr., but both were abroad, in Iraq. Nobody ever took a shot at Obama, despite him being an unusually high-profile president due to his race. Nobody ever took a shot at Trump, despite him being especially polarizing. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/18 "2021-01-15T03:04:35Z")
No, he’s not. We Americans are foolish to think that the President-elect is helpless if in public. We’re exceptional, after all. Why on earth do we spend unholy amounts of money on the military and law enforcement if our new President can’t show his face? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/19 "2021-01-15T03:10:32Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > IIRC, there were two plots against Bush Sr. and Bush Jr., but both were abroad, in Iraq. Also… Clinton: - In 1996, there was an attempted bombing of his motorcade in Manila - In 1994, a guy fired 29 shots at a group of men outside the White House, thinking that Clinton was among them (he was not), and in that same year, a guy crashed a small plane on the White House lawn, while attempting to hit the building. > [@Velocity](#): > > Nobody ever took a shot at Obama, despite him being an unusually high-profile president due to his race. - In 2011, a guy fired shots at the White House, but only succeeded in breaking a window - In 2013, someone sent an envelope containing ricin to Obama at the White House > [@](#): > > Nobody ever took a shot at Trump, despite him being especially polarizing. - In 2016, at a campaign rally in Las Vegas, a guy tried to grab a pistol from a police officer’s holster, in order to shoot it at Trump, but it got stuck in the holster. - In August of 2020, shots were fired near the White House while Trump was conducting a news briefing. - Envelopes containing ricin were sent to the White House in 2018 and 2020. So, no, nothing on the order of the shooting of Reagan or Kennedy, but a mixture of crackpots and serious plots, nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/20 "2021-01-15T03:20:05Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I’m also very worried about small planes. A small plane (and especially several planes) would be heard long before it’s close to the Capitol, with ample time for Biden and Harris to be removed from any exposed area. A plane could never target an individual closely enough (contra _North by Northwest_). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539.md?page=2)