It’s been one heck of an election race these past few months. The impossible happened. Donald Trump has been working towards his Presidency for almost two years, and that whole time, no one anywhere near the left side of things thought there was any chance it was going to happen. But now it’s Inauguration Day and Donald Trump is about to become the 45th President of the United States and there’s no going back (unless he’s impeached).
Trump is already in Washington for the event
Trump arrived in Washington yesterday in anticipation of the inaugural ceremony, and gave a speech to tens of thousands of his supporters at a concert in his honour at the Lincoln Memorial (while the man who abolished slavery was turning in his grave).
The concert featured a Z-lister-studded lineup, which Trump’s inauguration head Tom Barrack promises is what they wanted all along.
Some doubters were expecting Trump to tone down his brash attitude now that he’s actually secured the office, but there was no sign of that during his speech. He also proved he is a sore winner, as he had harsh words to say about the commentators who spent the election sceptical of his chances of winning.
Trump praised his Cabinet choices and had many kind words to say about his administration, claiming they have “by the far the highest IQ of any Cabinet ever assembled.” He’s been known to brag about his IQ before: “My IQ is one of the highest...Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure, it’s not your fault.”
Ceremony starts at 11:30am
The ceremony will begin with some opening words at 11:30am (Eastern time) before Trump is sworn in at noon.
Just under seventy Democratic legislators have promised they won’t be attending (almost half of them), although Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill will be. After the ceremony, Trump will eat lunch at the Capitol (so spectators could be waiting a while) before the inaugural parade heads down Pennsylvania Avenue and three official balls take place tonight.
Monday is Trump’s first day as President
Monday will be Trump’s first full day as POTUS, but he could technically start work as early as today, so he might use the weekend to get a headstart constructing that wall, but he has yet to confirm when he will officially start work. The wall is just one of the promises Trump made during his campaign about what he would do on his first day as President.
Trump also promised to shake up relations with China and end the war on coal on his first day, so he might choose to make Monday his first day to give himself a full day to get all these things he’s promised done. However, incoming press secretary Sean Spicer promises executive actions to be made later today.
Washington police prepared for protests
Tens of thousands of anti-Trump protestors are being expected to turn out at the inauguration and continue their protests in Washington all through the weekend. The police are prepared for protests from over sixty protest groups (however, they believe that some of those groups will be protesting in Trump’s favour, essentially protesting the protestors).
The pro- and anti-Trump protestors squared off in this manner last night at the DeploraBall white supremacist Trump celebration.
The water cooler conversation in America is about whether or not Trump will be able to heal the national divide he effectively created, and since Russia has been proven to have interfered in the election outcome and Trump himself (while winning the election as a whole) lost the popular vote, it is looking unlikely. Trump’s politics are divisive by their very nature, as his policies appear to be merely his personal opinions without considerations of the wants and needs of the nation.
The Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue has become a hotspot for inauguration aides, tourists and ceremony attendees this week, so Trump has utilised this spike in the market by charging guests five times the usual rates for rooms. Even as President, he’s still looking for business opportunities.
