[This Post Is Dedicated to Garth Hudson (August 2, 1937-January 21, 2025)

Donald J. Trump became the 47th President of the United States on Monday, January 20, 2025 during a ceremony held in the U.S. Capitol’s rotunda. The event largely shutdown the nation’s capital during the prior four days, with many office workers remaining at home, working remotely. Starting late Saturday evening, large swaths of the areas surrounding the White House and the Capitol were closed to vehicular traffic. Throughout the weekend, sirens blared as motorcades carrying dignitaries to meetings and inaugural balls whisked by.

To provide the necessary security, the government installed hundreds, if not thousands of cement barricades. Over 30 miles of anti-scaling barricades were put in place, with one panel bolted to the next one, strengthening the resulting black grid that enclosed entire blocks. The streets were filled with thousands of D.C. police officers, Secret Service agents, FBI personnel, and National Park Service officers. Bombing sniff dogs were out in force—”Do Not Pet.”

Given the unseasonably cold temperatures, the inauguration ceremony was moved from the National Mall to the halls of Congress, with the nearby Capital One Arena serving as an auxiliary viewing site. Following the official ceremony in the Capitol rotunda, now President Trump headed to the Capital One Arena, where he spoke to his well-heeled contributors, and then theatrically signed several executive orders using his trademark Sharpies. Like paper towels in Puerto Rico, Trump threw the used Sharpies into the crowd.

While hundreds of thousands were initially expected to attend, the cold weather and the decision to move the ceremony indoors significantly reduced the numbers who journeyed to D.C., or so it seemed.. Several days before January 20th, one media outlet reported that hotels were only booked at 80% of capacity.

Based on my experience, high-end restaurants were not doing the heightened level of business that they had expected. On Sunday night Evelyn and I dined at Northern Italian stalwart i Ricchi, where I first ate during my stint on the Clinton Presidential Transition Team in 1992. When I walked in at 7:00 PM, only two tables were occupied, with several people sitting at the bar. Four days before the inauguration, we celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary at the Bombay Club. Not as empty as i Ricchi, but hardly packed.

On Sunday and Monday, I headed to the Washington Hilton for breakfast. The hotel’s gift shop was loaded with Trump merch, suggesting it was ready for out-of-town celebrants. The Hilton’s spacious dining room, however, was largely empty.

For once, the Left and the Right were in agreement. A march sponsored by a number of Progressive groups was scheduled for Saturday morning. Unlike the Women’s March on January 20, 2017, which is said to have drawn 470,000 people, the 2025 Women’s March—now dubbed the People’s March—turned out somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 people.

The Reverend Al Sharpton engaged in some counter-programming, scheduling a Monday march from Farragut Square to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, where Sharpton would then lead a largely non-denominational service. The march was canceled due to the cold weather, but the service at the church, which is just seven blocks north of the White House, proceeded. While the pews were largely filled, there were vacant spaces.

All of this raises a fundamental question: In an age of heightened security, should all future inaugurations be held in the Capitol’s rotunda? While the authorities would still have to protect the President and dignitaries, most of D.C. could remain open and accessible—so much the better. People could celebrate our government rather than a man. Those wanting proximity could visit the monuments, museums, and the other attractions in culturally rich D.C. Most attendees would not miss much in terms of the ceremony because the vast majority of those attending the outdoor ceremony have never been within meaningful eyesight of people seated on the dais.

To make the weekend more meaningful, those in charge of the monuments and museums could curate "inauguration appropriate” exhibits and events.

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order]

The People’s March. On Saturday morning, I headed to Le Pain Quotidien for a quick breakfast before the People’s March. Walking into the restaurant, I heard Joan Baez’s familiar voice ring out over the restaurant’s sound system. Probably a coincidence, but nevertheless appropriate, because later I would be headed to the Lincoln Memorial with the marchers, some 61 years after Baez sang We Shall Overcome during the 1963 March on Washington, D.C.

By 9:30 AM, I was in Farragut Square, one of the three gathering points for the march. When I arrived, there were 150 people milling about. Some held Climate Change signs, while others had signage directed at the emerging oligarchy. Several blocks east on I Street another group of demonstrators gathered in McPherson Square —between 50 and 75 in number. Led by a small contingent of Black women, the group was demanding statehood for the District of Columbia. I listened to several short speeches and chants, and then headed further east to Franklin Park, where demonstrators who were focused on abortion and women’s rights assembled. The park was filled with 2,500 people.

After several forgettable speeches, the group lined up behind a banner reading, “We Make Our Future.” They then proceeded west on I Street, with the demonstrators from McPherson and Farragut Squares filing into the formation as the green and white banner passed by. Together, all three groups took a painfully slow and less than boisterous walk to the Lincoln Memorial, where several speakers would deliver what were essentially pep talks for the dispirited.

I did have an interesting discussion with one photographer as we waited on 17th Street for the marchers. His father had taken him to John F. Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961. Unlike this inaugural, he had sat with his father, who was a national security official, on the dais. The experience left a strong impression; he remembered the hatless Kennedy. Unfortunately, the young boy did not have a camera in those days.

When the demonstrators arrived at the west end of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall, they were greeted by a dozen pro-Life, anti-gay demonstrators. Half a dozen police officers half-heartedly kept the demonstrators and the counter-demonstrators separated. Both sides playfully taunted each other. Like me, everyone had seen this movie countless times before. The two opposing sides are in a symbiotic relationship. Violence is always a possibility because a hothead on either side who does not know the drill might show up. Today, both sides only shouted slogans passed each other. No minds were changed.

The speeches began at 1:00 PM. The speaker lineup was pathetic, largely unknown people who head advocacy groups. Those wondering why Vice-President Kamala Harris lost the election had the answer if they caught even bits and pieces of the speeches, read the signage, overheard conversations, and walked along the Reflecting Pool where advocacy groups had set up tables and booths.

I heard one speaker begin by identifying themselves as a bisexual. This was not the first time I had heard references to sexual, gender, and pronoun identifiers from speakers. Who cares? How does sexual or gender identity pertain to affordable housing or student loan cancellation?

Much of the fare served up was a rehash of the woke talk that sank the Democrats in November. Discrimination and equity are legitimate issues, but the Progressives do not offer a grand vision that addresses everyday economic issues, America’s place in the world, or the appropriate balance between government authority and the marketplace as regulatory mechanisms. The speakers didn’t counter Trump’s arguments that he should control of interest rates. Nor did the speakers outline specific proposals for bringing the price of eggs down, offer scientific evidence why vaccinations and public health programs are important, or demonstrate why tariffs are problematic.

Those are the issues on the minds of everyday Americans. Instead, the Progressives repeatedly fell into the Republican trap, putting transgender (and other) equality front and center. Obviously these rights are an important issue, particularly to people who identify as transgender, but various surveys indicate that only .50% to 1.6% of the adult population identify as transgender.

Unfortunately, the Progressives are far more interested in ideological purity than winning elections. Hollywood is about to repeat this mistake, with the people behind the Oscars expected to nominate the sophomoric Emilia Pérez for multiple awards—A violent narco gang leader becomes a beautiful person after transitioning to womanhood.

Today’s counter-demonstration was the major one scheduled for this weekend. So why didn’t any congressional representatives show up? Where were Senators Tammy Baldwin, Cory Booker, Greg Casar, Tammy Duckworth, Mazie Hirono, Bernie Sanders, Raphael Warnock, and Elizabeth Warren? Where were Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib?

I wasn’t expecting Joan Baez or Bob Dylan to return to the scene of the 1963 People’s March, but where were the many musicians and movie stars who have spoken out against Trump? Alec Baldwin, Win Butler, Cher, Stephen Colbert, Miley Cyrus, Robert De Niro, Lady Gaga, Chelsea Handler, Elton John, Kim Kardashian, John Legend, Demi Lovato, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Morello, John Oliver, Shakira, Sarah Silverman, Ben Stiller, Barbra Streisand, Kerry Washington, or Neil Young?

Let’s return to 1963. In addition to Baez and Dylan, the 1963 march and rally at the Lincoln Memorial brought out Marian Anderson, Josephine Baker, Harry Belafonte, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Lena Horne, Dick Gregory, Mahalia Jackson, Eartha Kitt, ‘Peter, Paul, and Mary,’ Sidney Poitier, and Jackie Robinson. Also in attendance were Marlon Brando, Tony Curtis, James Garner, Charlton Heston, Burt Lancaster, Paul Newman, Robert Ryan, and Joanne Woodward.

I refuse to make the comparison, but many others have drawn one between Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump. Where was all the star power considering the re-emergence of fascism and a Fourth Reich? Too cold? Too damp? Too much snow? Even without the celebrities, where were the hundreds of thousands who demonstrated against Trump during the 2017 Women’s March? Trump is characterized as a five-alarm fire, but not even 25,000 people showed up for today’s march and rally.

Fortunately for the organizers, the size of the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial far surpassed the number of people who marched. Midway through the rally, I was surprised when I looked back toward the Washington Monument. The crowd lining both sides of the Reflecting Pool had grown significantly. Although a rough one, I estimate that 10,000 people who did not participate in the march had shown up. Interestingly, they did not converge on the open space in front of the stage but remained on the sides of the Reflecting Pool. But just as quickly as they came, they dispersed.

As the speakers rattled on, I walked along the Reflecting Pool toward the National World War II Memorial on the east end of the pool, and then made the return trip, walking along the other side of the pool. As I headed toward the Lincoln Memorial, people were already leaving the rally—more testimony to just how uninspiring the speakers were.

Overall, an anemic effort.

The Trump Victory Rally. Trump scheduled a Sunday afternoon campaign-style rally at the Capital One Arena. In addition to hearing Trump do the ‘weave.,’ his adoring acolytes would hear Kid Rock, the Village People (with only one original member in the lineup), and a host of celebrities praising Trump.

I had a ticket, but was highly skeptical about gaining admission, particularly with two cameras strung around my neck. One fellow photographer arrived on Sunday morning sometime between 9:00 AM and 9:30 AM. I received a text from her reporting that the lines were already long. Doors opened at 1:00 PM, with the program beginning at 3:00 PM. She gave up after concluding she was too far back. Another fellow photographer who arrived later in the morning also threw in the towel, heading to an Irish pub for a beer (or two) and some spirited back and forth with Trumpers who had also relinquished their positions in line.

Despite conceding that I would not gain admission, I nevertheless decided all the Trumpers standing in the uncomfortably cold, damp air would produce some memorable street photography opportunities. I arrived at the entrance to D.C.’s Chinatown around 11:30 PM. The lines went on for blocks, with many waiting for admission standing behind anti-scaling fencing.

The photo opportunities were not great. People look like crap bundled in puffy parkas and head gear. Moreover, how many photographs can you take of people wearing the trademark MAGA red cap?

Speaking of Trump merch: I was overwhelmed by the number of vendors selling caps, Trump voodoo heads, Trump rapper chains, Trump toys, and other Trump ephemera, or as I put it, “Tomorrow’s Garage Sale Today.” If Trump’s foray into cryptocurrency fails, the resulting financial blow will be softened by the licensing fees from all the crap being sold by the vendors in elaborate tents, pulling shopping carts and wagons, and simply standing on the street. I would bet there was a vendor every 20 yards.

I asked one vendor whether he was a Trumper or just trying to make a buck. He was from Florida, just trying to make some money. On Saturday, he was peddling merchandise at the People’s March, as I suspect was true of many of the vendors. By and large, most work both sides of the proverbial street.

Surprisingly, the Trump crowd attracts “Fire and Brimstone” street preachers. They were not as prevalent as the vendors, but there seemed to be one or two of them with a megaphone every couple of blocks. ‘Don’t worship false idols.’ Hmm. On Monday, I heard one of them tell the crowd that Donald Trump is not Jesus Christ, so to avoid Hell, the Trumpers should shift their attention to the Biblical savior.

Sunday’s Trump Victory Rally also attracted a television crew from Comedy Center. I stumbled upon Jordan Klepper doing an interview with two Trumpers. He ‘worked’ just as I had always assumed. Klepper was gregarious, laughing as he repeatedly threw his head back, thereby lulling his marks into a false sense of security. The interview lasted seven or eight minutes, which inevitably meant that one of the Trumpers would serve up an unguarded statement—one that would produce laughs from Klepper’s audience of ‘elites,’ particularly after it is edited into the montage. The Trumpers, however, will be having the last laugh, at least until the midterm elections. They might stop laughing even earlier if the price of eggs (and everything else) is going up rather than down.

In total, I spent about five hours walking the streets surrounding the Capital One Arena, eventually following one line that stretched along 3rd Street from somewhere around F Street to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum on the southside of the National Mall. Most of those standing in that line would never see the inside of the arena, but would be cold and soaking wet, which brings me to Trump, who is an asshole—and not because I dislike the man and disagree with much of what he proposes. Any decent leader would have shown far more concern for those who supported his rise to power.

Trump raised over $250 million in private funds for his inauguration. He could have paid Ticketmaster to handle the ticketing for the Victory Rally, so that everyone who had a ticket knew in advance that they had an assigned seat and would be admitted. Instead, the vast majority of people who waited hours in line never had a chance of getting a coveted seat. Trump wasted their time while dashing their expectations. To the credit of those standing in line, they took it all in stride. I heard people, as they left the line say, ‘Well we tried, but at least we were part of history.’

I felt bad for all the disappointed members of MAGA, just as I would if Taylor Swift or the Rolling Stones treated their fans so shabbily. Many of these people traveled great distances and spent large sums to see Trump’s inauguration. He undoubtedly knew the majority standing in line would never be admitted, but he wanted an overflow crowd, thereby proving to his insecure mind that the world worships him.

Finding myself on the National Mall as I walked the line filled with hopefuls, I encountered crews taking down fencing and other temporary infrastructure that had been put in place to support the outdoor inauguration before Trump moved the ceremony inside. The National Mall was a sea of mud.

Al Sharpton’s Inauguration Day March and Service. The Reverend Al Sharpton scheduled a march and non-denominational service for Inauguration Day. Before the inauguration was moved indoors, I was conflicted. I wanted to see what Sharpton would do, but the National Mall was where I needed to be.

On Sunday, I was told that the National Mall would be empty because it would be locked down now that the ceremony was indoors. With my conflict eliminated, I headed to Farragut Square, the starting point for Sharpton’s 10:00 AM march. Not surprisingly, Sharpton had canceled the march, so I headed directly to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, which is a historic Black church. The funerals for Frederick Douglas and Rosa Parks were held there, and President Obama attended prayer services at the church before his second inauguration.

When I entered, I immediately headed to the pulpit for some establishing shots. While I was standing next to the front row pew, someone introduced me to Korey Wise, one of the members of the Central Park Five. Seated in the prime position, Wise would play an instrumental part in today’s service.

For those who have forgotten, on April 19, 1989, Trisha Meili, a 28-year-old woman who was running in New York’s Central Park was brutally assaulted and raped. Six teenagers were subsequently indicted and convicted for their involvement in the incident—Wise being one of them.

The case grabbed national headlines. Donald Trump, then simply a New York City real estate developer, purchased a full-page ad in the New York Daily News (and three other newspapers) calling for New York to bring back the death penalty. Fortunately, the defendants were not executed, because in 2001, Matias Reyes admitted to Wise that Reyes had committed the assault and rape. The veracity of Reyes’ confession was confirmed through DNA evidence. Wise subsequently received a $12.2 million settlement after serving close to 14 years in prison.

Sharpton has had a long running relationship with Donald Trump, so I knew Sharpton would eventually point to Wise as Exhibit A when Sharpton condemned Trump and his policies, which is exactly what happened during Sharpton’s 53 minute speech, which can be seen here.

Over the years, I have heard many speakers. Sharpton’s performance was one of the best I’ve ever seen, if not the best. This Al Sharpton was different from the one who appears regularly on MSNBC as a commentator. This Al Sharpton spoke with passion and emotion. He did so without notes, pauses, or ‘ahems.’ Several times during the speech, an aide handed him a note, presumably reporting something that Trump had said during his inaugural address. Sharpton seemingly incorporated the notes into his speech on the fly.

During the speech, Sharpton recalled the Central Park Five incident, discussed DEI, hyped a planned boycott of corporations that eliminate DEI policies, spoke about Trump’s racism, lionized the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rosa Parks, lauded Martin Luther King, Jr., called out the fallacy underlying a color-free society, and addressed several other topics. Probably the funniest line came when Sharpton said the only King that Donald Trump knows is Don King.

Sharpton’s speech was punctuated with shouts and cheers from congregation and strategic chords from the church’s organ. As Sharpton finished, the gospel choir broke into a rousing rendition of We Shall Overcome.

In sum, anyone who was depressed by the events happening in the Capitol rotunda surely was inspired after sitting through Sharpton’s service. While my colleagues agreed that the entire weekend had been a bit of a bust, we all agreed that we had witnessed a masterful performance.

Outside the Capital One Arena. After Reverend Sharpton wrapped up the service, I headed back to the area surrounding the Capital One arena, figuring that the people who did not get into the auxiliary inauguration site would gather on the street. While there were people milling about, there were not large crowds. I spent an hour taking some photographs and then called it an inauguration.

I do have one regret. I gave some thought to heading to the D.C. jail, but was talked out of doing so because the jail is located in a bad neighborhood. I would have liked to have captured images of the family members of the January 6 insurrectionists standing outside the jail. Trump had pardoned the insurrectionists earlier in the day.

Copyright 2025, Jack B. Siegel. All Rights Reserved. Do Not Alter, Copy, Display, Distribute, Download, Duplicate, or Reproduce Without the Prior Written Consent of the Copyright Holder.