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Hillary Clinton smiled happily when President Trump said he would change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” A group of Proud Boys walked past marchers rushing to the Canadian Embassy and chanted, “Are you ready to be the 51st state?” Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, shouted to the 1,500 cheering crowd that “we’re still babies” in his first term but “now we can do things like never before!”
For two chilly days in Washington, there was an overwhelming sense of triumph, celebration and jubilation as Mr Trump’s supporters poured into the fortress-like capital for his second inauguration. The heat and wind were so intense that the swearing-in and inauguration speeches were moved inside.
But women still trudged along icy sidewalks in stilettos and stilettos on their way to a packed hotel room. The National Guard patrolled the streets barricaded with steel fences and concrete barriers. The oligarchs gathered for a ball of billions.
And “YMCA,” one of Mr. Trump’s favorite songs, blared day and night from the pedicabs.
Here are a few pages from the press notebook.
Happy Canadians, for a moment
Canadians are happy. At a heated rooftop party Monday morning at their Pennsylvania Avenue embassy, word got out that they would not pay a 25 percent tariff on all goods from Mr Trump is Canada and Mexico as he has threatened – at least on Day 1.
“There’s relief,” said Andrew Furey, Newfoundland and Labrador’s premier, who was in town for the inauguration. However, there were the Proud Boys out there, teasing the agency about Mr. Trump’s call. Trump as the new country of Canada America.
“It won’t be threatened by—ahh,” said Mr. Furey, stopping at whatever hand he meant. Finally, he came up with the anodyne “a few people”. He said Canada has “no chance” of being the 51st star on the American flag.
Update: Not everything was rosy for the Canadians. On Monday night, Mr. Trump said in the Oval Office that he planned to impose those 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting February 1.
A few hours earlier, on the corner of the roof of the Canadian Embassy where the Capitol is located, the Prime Minister of Prince Edward Island, Dennis King, dropped Raspberry Point oysters, which are characteristic of his territory. He said his country is trying not to point to the bear, Mr. Trump.
“We try to be as Canadian and diplomatic as possible,” Mr. King said. He also said, diplomatically, that “it is difficult to ignore the president because he has a unique way of approaching people”.
Selfies with Megyn Kelly
Charlie Kirk didn’t show up to Sunday night’s black tie party until after 11, hours after it started. Then Mr. Kirk, founder and president of Turning Point USA, a pro-Trump nonprofit that promotes conservatism to America’s youth, jumped to the stage in the youth auditorium. wearing sequins, Rapunzel hair and a cowboy hat. Mr. Kirk’s posse on stage included Don Jr. and Kash Patel, Mr. Trump’s pick for FBI director.
“Drill, baby, drill!” Mr. Kirk said with a cheer. He added that “I truly believe that this is God’s grace for our country, giving us another chance to fight and prosper.” (Mr. Trump built on that theme in his inaugural address. “God saved me to make America great again,” he said, referring to the July assassination attempt he survived. )
The party was held at the Salamander Hotel, formerly known as the Mandarin Oriental, and a crowd of 1,500 cheered before Mr Kirk arrived for a selfie with Megyn Kelly, who spoke to rally of Mr. Trump on Sunday and told with joy that the approval of Jennifer Lopez. Kamala Harris for president in 2024 failed. (“Are you glad her candidate lost?” asked Ms. Kelly. “That’s great!” The crowd roared.)
Also at the Salamander Hotel was Kari Lake, the election denier and former TV news anchor who Mr. Trump picked to run Voice of America. The same goes for Alina Habba, Mr. Trump’s lawyer in his various legal battles who will be an adviser to the president.
Don Jr., in addition to telling the public what babies Trump team members were in 2016, used his favorite line of denial that they colluded with the Russians. “I can assure you, if you were in the campaign room in 2016, we couldn’t get together to order a cheeseburger,” he said, laughing.
Mr. Patel spoke very little, or if he did, he would not have been heard. Then there was a live performance of the “YMCA” featuring the founders of the Village People. The crowd sang along enthusiastically, but soon there was a huge line at the coat check.
Not Very Glamorous
In fact, the inauguration is supposed to be brilliant. They are undoubtedly for the most important stakeholders, such as presidents and presidents. But for the thousands of supporters and non-thousands of donors who come from all over the country there is a long line, a frustrating wait in the cold and the season of chaos.
The coat check at the Salamander hotel was still being pushed back into the wee hours of Monday with people taking matters into their own hands and pushing the claim desk to get their own clothes. It took Uber more than an hour to get to the hotel, on a corner off of Southwest Washington Road, if they ever got there. There were no taxis.
On Monday morning, several streets in downtown Washington were blocked off, even for pedestrians, as people came up against metal fences at street corners trying to get to the destination. After Mr. Trump’s inauguration speech, Larissa Kilber, 30, who said she worked in tech in San Francisco, stood at a metal fence at Indiana Avenue and Seventh Street, and the National Mall was blocked on the other side.
He, his wife and two friends had tickets to sit in front of the Capitol for the address. But when it was moved inside, Ms. Kilber said: “We went to a bar to eat pizza and watch the whole ceremony with our American friends.” He said it was “a wonderful day”.
Billionaire and Icing
There were cheers at Capital One Arena during Sunday’s rally and Monday’s draft as an alternative to the inaugural parade. Both went on for hours, with one speaker after another. On Monday, Mr. Trump signed the executive order on stage in the day court.
On Sunday, his younger brother Eric Trump was one of the speakers to condemn the opposition that has hindered his father’s pursuit of the White House. “They did everything they could to stop this operation, and they failed,” he said.
A truck driver who drove down from Philadelphia for Sunday’s rally, Richard Lorah, loved every minute of it. “It’s the icing on the cake,” he said afterwards.
Later on Monday, while Mr. Trump, started the ball of the billionaires. Four billionaires — Mark Zuckerberg, Todd Ricketts, Miriam Adelson and Tilman Fertitta — hosted the black-tie event at Mastro’s Steak House in downtown Washington.
