The People’s March
The People’s March took place two days before the Inauguration, sponsored by a number of groups and causes in opposition to Trump’s policies – including the Women’s March, climate change advocates, supporters of human rights, immigration, gender equity, D.C. statehood, and more. It started with rallies in three downtown parks for different causes, with a march through downtown to the Lincoln Memorial and a joint rally there.
Biden’s last days in the White House
One of our editors got a tour of the White House on January 8th, shortly before President Biden left office.
The Inauguration
[Note: President Trump got only 6.5% of the vote in the District of Columbia, so the vast majority of people here did not vote for his Presidency. The photos of the Inauguration are meant to be observational, not endorsements.]
Preparations
Preparations for the Inauguration are extensive, with some construction projects starting months in advance, and the fencing and viewing stands taking a month to build. Most of that construction, plus the snow removal for the parade, plus the rehearsals for the parade, all were not used because of Trump’s decision to move the ceremonies inside due to the weather. (note: it was very cold but not terrible weather, and lots of Trump supporters were happy to stand for hours outside in the lines for the indoor events at the Capital One Center).
Security
The security for all the Inaugural events requires the involvement of a great number of service members. Among the personnel were police from many jurisdictions and approximately 8,000 National Guard from 40 states.
Inauguration rally
Trump held an “inauguration rally” at the Capital One Center on the day before the Inauguration.
The lines started many hours before the doors opened, with supporters waiting in the cold and rain for blocks and blocks.
One of the most popular areas had a stand with music blaring, often to “YMCA” with supporters dancing to it.
Inauguration viewing
The last-minute decision to hold an Inauguration viewing party and a substitute for the parade inside the Capital One Arena caused lots of confusion about who would be allowed in and what time the doors would open – but that did not deter large crowds of supporters from showing up. The people we spoke to, who were not even near the beginning of the line, said they got there at 5 am – they’d been already waiting for more than four hours when we took these photos.
Demonstrations
We saw almost no demonstrations during the Inaugural events – this is all we saw:
The transfer of power
Presidents Biden and Trump had tea in the White House in the morning, then went in a joint motorcade to the Capitol. After going through a Secret Service checkpoint, the public was allowed to stand along Pennsylvania Avenue to wait for the motorcade, but the crowd was sparse.
This photo is of the limousine containing the two Presidents, at 10:56 on Pennsylvania Avenue. The transfer of power takes place at noon.
