Millions brave cold for 2nd Trump Inauguration

Washington, DC — Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the nation’s capital in Washington, D.C. this weekend for celebratory events including the Victory Rally, Inauguration Rally, plus Inauguration Balls, and Special Parties this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend.

However security was exceptionally tight due to the repeated assassination attempts upon President-elect Donald Trump’s life during the past summer. Capitol Hill was cordoned off with 7-feet tall black steel grid fencing, while an extra 25,000 troops were called in to hold guard along the gated perimeters. Nearby subway stations were closed, and due to the freezing snow, the outdoor ceremony was cancelled. People were told they could watch the event from Capital One Center in Chinatown, Washington, D.C.

AGN signed up for the Victory Rally on Sunday afternoon of January 19, scheduled for 3pm, but by 2pm, the line to get into the Capital One Center snaked around the area for over eight blocks, from F Street to G Street NW, from 4th Street NW to 10th Street NW. People patiently stood in line for several hours, including this reporter, until after 4pm, when it began snowing, and it was quite clear that the indoor stadium was filled for the 20,000 people it can officially hold. Clearly outside there were probably at least 60,000 people who would find solace later being happy to discover multiple recordings of the Victory Rally whether at T47Inaugural.com, Donald J. Trump (Youtube or Rumble), or Fox5 Washington DC.

Of course some podcasters such as FreedomNews TV recorded moments when Blue voters were taunting the Victory Rally ticket holders standing in their long queus. Whether these were staged or not is debatable. This was not at all representative of the Trump supporters, many of who had traveled from far away just to participate in the general jubilee, and stood in line with no complaint. No matter the rain, freezing cold, biting wind, or snow flurries, most Trump voters were a happy throng, jubilant that after years of daily persecution by the media, the courts, the Congress, indeed the sitting President himself, the President-elect was soon to be sworn in.

Nothing could dampen their happiness, those who have endured having their lives torn asunder by the mandatory experimental Covid vaccinations, by false accusations of racism for not supporting Critical Race Theory, for not bowing to the prerogatives of EDI LGBTQ+ sufficiently. Social engineering distractions have so taken hold in certain corporations that the critical functions have become sidelined, while choice positions are repopulated with career climbers whose primary interest lay in politics. Would these people volunteer to clean the streets of their neighborhood, volunteer with Food Not Bombs, or work with nonprofit social services where their rhetoric is less distinguishable from the voices of the masses?

After such a day of nipping cold, one appreciates the camaraderie of how many had come out repeatedly for Trump during this year’s rallies, no matter the jokes about ‘Trump Train.’ The National Guard and soldiers were also inspiring, understanding that some of them had never visited Washington, D.C. before, and are yet so youthful. Christian groups came out to distribute pamphlets like “John & Romans Commemorative 2025 Inauguration Issue”, with Bible gospel, or including maps of Downtown Washington, D.C. Soldiers parked their dunebuggies at intersections, while local police tried to point the way to the next street that was outside the pedestrian-only zone.

The next day, Inauguration Day was forecast to be snow, however, it turned out this was not the case. Instead it was merely freezing cold, in the low 20s, with winds pushing the temperature lower. Nevertheless because it was a sunny day, people hoped to get to the National Mall. However with the swearing in ceremony still held indoors at the Capitol Building Rotunda, people were only allowed to gather along Pennsylvania Avenue. After filing through the TSA-style checkpoint, most people were hoping for a glimpse of the presidential entourage.

The schedule was a bit confusing to many at this point, whether the President would still have a parade along Pennsylvania Avenue, or it would be all held inside Capital One Center. Nevertheless, for those venturing outside, it was still a happy day, because the Inauguration Event was so heavily guarded that one got a glimpse of all the various volunteer brigades who had traveled from out of town. There were troops from Middletown, Ohio, sheriffs from Kentucky and Tenessee, National Guardsmen college students, Policewomen from Los Angeles, California, Loudoun County Police, Capitol Police, Park Police, D.C. Police, WMATA police, Secret Service cars, plainclothes police, plus the usual intermixture of embassy personnel.

Presidential Parade January 20, 2025 subdued, heavily guarded, but many people gathering to watch buses coming down from Capitol Hill — video by AGN

The highlight of enduring such biting cold were the glimpses of buses traveling from the Inauguration Ceremony from Capitol Hill to either the White House or to Capital One Center. It was suspected that buses filled with dignitaries, Congressional Representatives, U.S. Senators passed by. Smaller entourages of heavily guarded SUVs and even a Special Van passed by may have been transporting speakers for the Inauguration Rally, including Elon Musk, Pete Navarro (former Senior Counselor), and even V.P. J.D. Vance and family. But no one really knew for sure of course. In the skies above, one could also spot special helicopters and unusual jet planes leaving, because the area was a no-fly zone for the event.

The visitors came from as faraway as Texas, and California. Some of the gals from Texas were not used to the cold, and their winter gear clearly was much more basic when compared to the police. One National Guard youth standing nearby was so well-equipped he was fiddling with his thermal handwarmers, even getting to cram a few extras into his boots. Other police wore very ample thermal padded coats, hats, gloves, and heavy shoes. However the Kentucky sheriffs with their broad-brimmed hats kept marching around back and forth along Pennsylvania Avenue; while the Los Angeles policewomen stood at attention, facing the crowds, and spaced apart less than every 10 feet.

Being close to the Canadian Embassy, attendees to the outside Inauguration Parade got to listen to the Inauguration Ceremony being streamed live at their outdoor pavilion. Later there was even a rock band that showed up to play live 70s-era rock-and-roll. It also brought to mind that AGN had gotten to view their Environmental Film Festival documentary once there. Today AGN struck up a conversation with one Californian who apparently came by as part of his visit to D.C. from Lodi, CA. Another couple came from Sarasota, Florida, and ended up out-standing this reporter, whose camera and smartphone batteries were burning out from the cold.

Trying to leave the parade grounds was a challenge because of all the fenced in area that prevented a simple walk north along 5th Street NW from Pennsylvania Avenue to H Street NW. Instead, the reporter struggled to walk all the way to Union Station to get to Massachusetts Avenue NW, and then back towards 5th Street NW, amid a sensation of hypothermia. But imagine the surprise inside Union Station, normally a safe place from the cold, where one can grab a warm drink or snack. All the food and shop vendors were gated off and shut down for the day! There were people crammed into long queus to access the ticket station; and meanwhile people were relegated to sitting on the ground because of such limited sitting inside heavily guarded areas. Along Massachusetts Avenue, there were guests arriving to D.C. walking on foot dragging their luggage, because buses and taxis were not running, bravely bearing up on the freezing walk to a hotel.

It was truly a sight to behold, along with the number of local vendors trying to sell Trump Inauguration hats, tee-shirts, sweatshirts, and other commemorative trinkets. There were too few people buying from these vendors who also were even setting up tables outside in the biting cold, hoping to make a sale, risking hypothermia. One enterprising fellow even had his own special Trump teeshirt, “Trump Effing President”, making it no secret that especially inside the Beltway, there are a number of Blacks worried that white racism will rear its ugly head. However, the number of pragmatists who are adopting a “If you can’t beat ’em then join ’em” attitude is still hopeful.

Nobody wants to be left out of the promises being made by the Trump Administration for a rejuvenated economy, lower crimes, affordable prices, healing of divisions, and a “Make America Great Again” vision. As far as we can make out, even the most anti-Trump personality is conceding gracefully, in the hopes that they can continue their profit-making ventures and role-playing. And as far as the lesser goes, everyone is grateful that only in America there remains such a diversity possible, along with equity and inclusionism, that one will always be able to march around in the open in D.C. whether dragging a wooden cross, or dancing on a stage waving a rainbow-colored banner.

Photos and article by Asian Green News (AGN)