Voices of the Inauguration: Americans Reveal Why They’re Attending Donald Trump’s Swearing-In
Following a divisive and bitter election, crowds began to descend on Washington, D.C., in the early morning hours Friday to witness the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States — some for different reasons than others.
Excited groups bustled atop the brick sidewalks of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, toward their metro stop to head into the nation’s capital in the pre-dawn hours. Passengers played “guess where I’m from” with strangers from around the country. Two Texas women played matchmaker for their absent adult children, trading photos, contact information and pinky-swears to keep secret their plot.
Upon their arrival at Union Station, however, protesters shouted expletives about Trump. Some responded by telling them to “go home.”
Joe Paratore, a 53-year-old man from Salem, Oregon, traveled across the country with his son and his son’s fiancé to attend the event.
“We actually traveled 4,200 miles,” Paratore tells PEOPLE of their journey. “It’s snowing in the upper middle west so we had to go all the way down to Arizona, to Mexico, through Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, all the way around to get here. We went through snow, hit thunderstorms, electrical storms through New Mexico and Texas and also severe hail storms in New Mexico and Texas.”
Despite the extended road trip, Paratore felt it was important to attend because he felt for the first time in his life that he felt it was necessary and show he was once again proud to be an American.
“I don’t believe that the people in charge, whether it’s the Congress, the Senate or the president in the past have listened to us the people,” he said.
Paratore continued that he hoped “that we’ll finally have somebody who’s gonna listen and start fixing problems that we have here in the country rather than smoothing them over and glossing them over and pretending that they don’t exist.”
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Joean Senatore, a 60-year-old finance director in Mesa, Arizona, arrived in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday with her adult son. She said that although she had high hopes for change when President Barack Obama was elected, she was “sorely disappointed.” This time, she hopes to witness “history in the making.”
“I want to see an alpha male. I don’t want to see a wuss anymore. I’m done with it,” she shares. “I want somebody who can make a decision. I’m ready for us to believe in doing things the right way and not being afraid and cowering in the corner. Donald Trump will be the uniter.”
Members of the 2 Million Bikers 2 DC — a group of working class Americans who organized a trip to the nation’s capital to “stop the libtards from ruining the welcoming” of Trump by encouraging a peaceful transition, according to their Facebook event — expressed gratitude that the new president isn’t a career politician.
“He wants to take down the establishment,” explains 2 Million Bikers participant Travis Thompson, a 43-year-old general building contractor from Sandpoint, Idaho.
Phil Williamson, 48, of Baltimore helped organize the group of Trump supporters. He shares that he has admired the business mogul all of his life for being an entrepreneur.
Tony Shank, a 48-year-old welder from Lakeland, Florida, says he’s been a Trump supporter since day one because of his concerns over jobs.
“I’m concerned with all the work that’s leaving,” he said. “I have a lot of coworkers and steel miner friends, and their industry is gone.”
Shank added, “I would like to see him continue to bring jobs back and open up the coalfields. It’s the backbone of America, the blue-collar industries. I’m tired of the white-collar industries. They’re killing me. It’s going to take a while because of all the repair that he needs to make.”
However, not everyone in attendance was there to welcome the new president.
Nate Pierce, 29, of Hershey, Pennsylvania, says he’s been to two Trump rallies and one Pence rally “just to see what the fuss was about.” However, he ended up voting for Gary Johnson.
“After getting in and listening to them talk, it became more apparent to me how much they disagreed with what I was saying,” he explains.
Pierce traveled to Washington, D.C., to show that he was “not afraid to stand up against something I don’t believe in.”
He was with Hillary Clinton supporter Monica Robinson, 27, from York, Pennsylvania.
“I’m here because I do not support Trump and his ideals although I do support the presidential process and the democratic process,” Robinson says. “I don’t support him.”
