Friday, Jan. 20, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States.
The day’s festivities began at 8:30 a.m., before the actual ceremony. The Trumps attended a service at St. John’s Church. Afterwards, the Obamas officially welcomed the Trumps to the White House with a coffee and tea reception.
Many notable speakers gave remarks before the inauguration, including Inaugural Committee Chairman Roy Blunt, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Reverend Dr. Samuel Rodriguez, Pastor Paula White-Cain and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
After Trump and Vice President Mike Pence took the Oaths of Office for both the President and Vice President, respectively, Trump gave his inaugural address.
Trump’s address contained a spirit of nationalism. The speech was geared toward the working class, and Trump emphasized those who had been previously forgotten by the government.
He criticized politicians who did not put the people first and promised to give the country back to the people.
CNBC called Trump’s address a “heroes and villains speech.” He portrayed a hope for the future, one where America would be “great again.” He also emphasized putting America first and taking jobs back into American hands, as well as protecting America’s border.
Even though Trump spoke about putting the people of America first, the reporters at CNBC speculated that he may have a challenge uniting the country.
After the inaugural speech, Rabbi Marvin Hier, the Reverend Franklin Graham and Bishop Wayne Jackson gave the benediction, and Jackie Evancho sang the national anthem. Trump then attended a luncheon with the members of Congress as the Obamas departed from Washington.
A parade began at 3:00 p.m. Over 8,000 people and 82 groups were in the parade and over half of the groups in the parade were related to the military, including active duty members, veterans and college drill teams.
There was also a variety of marching bands as well as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America. These groups came from 23 different states.
This parade was one of the smaller ones of modern day inaugurations. Former president Barack Obama’s parade had over 100 groups from 48 different states, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Inaugural Ball ended the day.
Even though the day began relatively peacefully, protesters soon began to make their presence known. Protesters lined up along the streets, preventing people from going to the parade.
The violence of the protesters escalated when they broke the windows of businesses in Washington D.C., threw newspaper stands and began to set small, isolated fires.
According to CNN, 217 protesters were arrested, and six police officers were injured in Washington D.C. on the day of the inauguration.
Some Elizabethtown College students attended the inauguration day festivities. Sophomore Cameron Dorr attended the event in Washington D.C.
He said he saw many different types of people there, from protesters to “outspoken and adamant” supporters.
Out of the protesters he saw, the vast majority of them were peaceful.
According to Dorr, the atmosphere was “very reminiscent of [Trump’s] rallies” with a “very energized crowd as usual.”
Junior Kyle Schaeffer, vice president of the Etown College Republicans, also attended the inauguration.
Schaeffer felt that it was “crazy watching a piece of history unfold,” and that even though it was so crowded he could barely move, it was exciting to be there and watch democracy in action.
