Donald Trump is set to take the oath of office Friday, but the AP reports that on Sunday, an Army band member stood in for the soon-to-be 45th president during an inauguration dress rehearsal at the Capitol. Band vocalist Greg Lowery—a 53-year-old sergeant major—says his role was to "look the part as much as possible," and he says he bought a red tie for his assignment. "I believe he's much handsomer than I but, I'm honored to be a part of this," Lowery told WUSA9 earlier. Another band member, Sara Corry, was standing in for Melania Trump, a native of Slovenia. The Army specialist is from Capistrano Beach, Calif. The goal of the rehearsal was to practice events so everything goes off as flawlessly—and on time—as possible for the real thing Friday.
The military foursome chosen to stand in for Trump and Pence and their respective wives weren't picked so much for their looks as they were for their height, notes WUSA9. "It's crucially important because the escorts to the president and first lady will need to know their route. So they'll need to rehearse escorting someone and they'll need to set the heights of the microphones and the lighting, the camera angles to make sure that everything's perfect for the day of the inauguration so that all goes without a flaw," says Neil Ewichiw, who's standing in for Mike Pence. (More inauguration stories.)