By Emma Weidmann | Editor-in-Chief
WASHINGTON D.C. — Cold breaths hung suspended in the freezing air. Pellets of hail came down from a gray January sky, bounced off parkas and melted into furry hats as thousands of supporters of Donald Trump stood in fierce winter weather, hoping to get a glimpse of the president.
Hope for the administration and faith in Trump himself compelled thousands to stand shivering in hail, rain and snow, some even beginning to queue at 5 a.m. Across Sunday and Monday, temperatures reached the lower 30s at their highest and on Monday, temperatures dropped to 23 degrees during the day with a windchill that made it feel 10 degrees cooler. Regardless, supporters huddled up in the streets, at watch parties and — if they were lucky — in Capital One Arena to watch the ceremonies.
The itinerary for the weekend was slightly unusual, as Monday’s swearing-in ceremony was moved inside the capitol rotunda — and out of the public eye — for the first time in 40 years. The change threw a wrench in most supporters’ plans owing to the limited accessibility of some of the more highly anticipated events. Only 20,000 attendees were allowed inside Capital One Arena on Sunday afternoon to hear the president-elect and his posse speak at the “Make America Great Again Victory Rally,” and at the post-swearing-in address on Monday, leaving countless more to line up outside, inching closer and closer in hopes of making it through the doors.
The line snaked through D.C. for more than a mile, stretching from the arena, weaving around numerous blocks and ending somewhere near Jefferson Street at its longest.
For many, bookings were expensive and nonrefundable. So, Trump voters from all across the country — and some international travelers — made their way to the capital for the weekend. Holly Newman, an esthetician from Seattle, arrived on Jan. 17, the day the changes in venue were announced. Newman had tickets for the victory rally, but the line to attend was as far as the eye could see, full of the thousands of rally hopefuls. She said she also had tickets for the inauguration ceremony on Monday, and it would be her first time attending a presidential inauguration.
Newman said she felt that God had called her to D.C. So, she booked her tickets, signed up to be a volunteer for the inauguration and passed a background check by the Secret Service. But as of the afternoon of the rally, she said she had been waiting to hear where she would be assigned, and notification was pushed back due to the ceremonies being moved indoors.
Newman, who grew up in San Francisco and said she attended two “liberal colleges,” became a Trump supporter after seeing her younger family members become “confused about their gender identity and their pronouns” after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is actually the first time I’ve ever voted Republican in my whole life,” Newman said. “I mean, I’m sure I voted for some Republican candidates here or there, but [not] for a presidential election. God’s hand is totally in this, and I really think that Trump got saved between last time and this time.”
Some visitors came from the Lone Star State to see the transition of power take place. Alex LaScala of Fort Worth said her group booked their trip to D.C. the day after the election. When she heard the ceremonies were moved indoors and mostly out of public view, she said it was “a bit of a bummer.” But LaScala and her family weren’t the only ticketed attendees who couldn’t get close to the action. Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas’ 17th Congressional District said he kept his door open Friday, Saturday and Sunday to talk and visit with some constituents who still wanted to make the journey.
“We took pictures,” Sessions said. “We met people, kids, wives, stories, sat down with them, shared Dr Pepper… Everybody learned early on, ‘Whoops, we’re not going to do the inauguration like normal.’ And so people still wanted to come in and receive their tickets.”
The tenacity and passion of the supporters who showed up surprised him, Sessions said.
“I’ve never seen, nor would I have thought that I would see the spirit that I have,” Sessions said. “You’d almost have to be here to recognize it. This morning, when I got up at 6: 30 [a.m.], I turned on the TV; they were already gathered by the thousands in this literally 14-degree weather. There are people from all over the country that feel compelled to save this country, and I’ve truly never seen anything like this.”
Ted Oroskiu of Virginia Beach, Va., said he signed up to be a medical volunteer for the events. When he made the more than three-hour drive up to D.C., he said he was told to stay in the crowd.
“I’m a physician, so I put in my name for medical access, and they said, ‘Just let us know when you’re there, and we’ll put you in a medical tent and everything,’” Oroskiu said. “But then when it changed to inside, it kind of got foiled, but that’s all right.”
Like Newman, this was Oroskiu’s first time attending a presidential inauguration. He said he wanted to volunteer this year in particular because he is a “big believer in Trump” and the MAGA movement.
“It’s paving the way for the future,” Oroskiu said. “And I definitely believe in it. We’re religiously based, and I think his ideals and everything just go along with our whole belief system.”
