Schuyler Kresge ’18: President Donald J. Trump is no stranger to controversy. Prior to becoming a presidential candidate, he was known for heckling and “trolling” people online and in person. Some of his most memorable tweets include: “I have never seen a thin person drinking Diet Coke,” he tweeted in 2012. However, on January 20th, 2017, I was able to see Chief Justice John Roberts give these aphoristic gems a much larger stage: the @POTUS handle.
On an overcast Friday morning, I left the George Washington University dorms at 6:45 AM for the inauguration of the 45th President of the States, Donald Trump. On the streets, I was faced with the sight of armed and armored Humvees with squadrons of National Guard members standing idly by. After asking one for directions, I realized that I had an unfortunately arduous 20 block walk to get to my access checkpoint. Beginning on 23rd St., the walk would take me past sights that I will never forget in my lifetime.
Starting at the farthest checkpoint on 17th St., I noticed protesters beginning to gather. Holding signs decrying the President’s stances on women’s rights or his ties with Russia, the protesters chanted hymns of “No Trump, No KKK, No fascist USA.” These protests were, however, few and far between at around 8 AM.
As I walked towards the second access checkpoint at 13th St., a D.C. policewoman started to inform passers-by that the 13th St. gate had been barricaded by DisruptJ20, a group of protesters that had promised to chemically attack an inaugural ball the night prior. DisruptJ20 was looking for a fight, and on a day with four Presidents in a close vicinity, the armed forces were willing to give it to them. While I did not see what occurred, the reports passed along throughout our trek to the “Orange Clearance” checkpoint were somber. I remember one passerby gleefully mentioning, “They (D.C. Police & Marine Crowd Control Units) were lighting them up, shouldn’ta been using beanbags.” The sentiment of anger and divisiveness loomed over protesters and celebrators alike, reaching a fever pitch at the 4th St. transfer to the Orange/Green West sections. At this junction, J20 and Trump supporters collided, with D.C. police struggling to keep the two sides at bay, despite looming barricades set up on the street.
Passing by this section as quickly as possible, I checked the time and noticed that it was 9:30, and that I had spent nearly three hours lost in the vastness of the divided sentiments of the city. After getting lost and reaching dead ends a few more times, I finally arrived at the Orange/Green West checkpoint on 2nd St., and began the check-in process. After my friend’s camera was checked for the third time for hidden weapons and our possessions all thoroughly searched, we entered the ticketed, “second tier VIP” section and found our places against another imposing barricade. While I won’t spend much time describing the President’s speech itself – one can find the speech in its entirety on YouTube – as the ceremonies concluded, the mood had substantially changed. Trump supporters and curious spectators were more upbeat and positive than they had been on the grey journey inside.
During the speech, there was a light rain shower and one supporter said to me, “it’s just God crying tears of joy.” However, across the aisle the atmosphere had significantly worsened. On K St., J20 would begin to use hammers and chisels to pick off pieces of buildings to throw at police and Trump supporters. Further down near the White House, protesters would escalate to firebombing the limousine of an ironically Muslim private driver. As protests continued into Friday night, I watched now-President Donald Trump remark to donors and Senators, “The haters want me to stop tweeting, but are we gonna do that? No way.” These messages proved to me and all present that while President Trump holds office, everyone, no matter their political stance, will have to play on his turf.