My Experience at the 60th Presidential Inauguration

After several inquiries about my experiences, I have constructed this diary of my trip to Washington during a very historic weekend in January.

The thought of attending something as historic as a Presidential Inauguration has been in my mind since I was a small Presidential-History obsessed child. That same child that liked to play President by sitting at a makeshift piano-bench, "Resolute desk", and regularly fantasized about his own Inaugural Address and Swearing-In Ceremony; would've jumped at any chance to see a real-live U.S. President in Person.

Now I will admit, I was very a very politically active 11 year old in 2015, who boldly opposed Donald Trump's 2016 Presidential Bid, hoping to see now Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Oval instead. I have never been a huge fan of Donald J. Trump, I believe in civility, love, and politeness, and his rhetoric has never really rubbed me the right way. While I would have voted for him if I could have in 2016 and 2020, and did in 2024, that doesn't change the fact that I have never been overjoyed seeing him sit in the Oval Office. Most of Trump's policies have made our country better, and will likely continue to do so. Our economy is better, the cost of living is more manageable for middle class families like the one I grew up in, and our position in World Politics is more reflective of our economic, military, and state interests. Trump is not my favorite President, he doesn't even break my "starting 5." But I do find myself more aligned with him on major political issues than I did any of the three candidates he ran against. So when the opportunity to attend his Inauguration arose, I took it.

About two weeks before Trump was to be sworn-in, I made a call to the Congressional Office that I used to intern in. I had been monitoring their website for information about Congressional tickets to the Inaugural festivities since November and nothing had been posted. They informed me that all the tickets had been given out, and I could toss my name on a waitlist that I was led to believe already consisted of around 600 names. That is why, a little over a week before Donald Trump became the 47th U.S. President, I was shocked to receive a phone call saying the tickets were mine. I booked a cheap hotel room, and made my plans to get to D.C. with my much more MAGA father; and by the 18th of January, we were in route. Unfortunately, a day before my drive to Washington began, the then President-Elect announced on his "Truth Social" platform that the Inaugural festivities had been moved in-doors to an invite-only ceremony in the Capitol rotunda. My Congressional tickets, which at one time would make me less than a football field away from every living U.S. President, were now worthless. I was rather heart-broken, but it was suggested by the Congressional Office I should still make the journey and see what happens. So I trucked on, as planned. We made a pit-stop in Pennsylvania at the crash site of the United 93 Airplane, which was taken back from Al-Qaeda terrorists by brave passengers who prevented further tragic loss on the already catastrophic day that was September 11th, 2001. We trucked through the snow at this tragic site, and were able to pay our respects to the 41 innocent lives lost that day. You can read more about this and more experiences from the trip on the Elect Samuel Adams Facebook Page.

When we checked into our hotel, it became clear why it was so much more affordable than its neighbors. I'll spare you the details, but it's safe to say I won't be staying there again, even though the staff was rather friendly. The next day, we went to Washington National Cathedral, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and The People's House (a new interactive museum opened by the White House Historical Association which features a full and current replica of the Oval Office.) We walked several miles around the Washington Mall, became increasingly familiar with the DC Metro system and noticed a military and police presence all over the city, making it nothing like my two previous ventures in the city. We finished the day walking in the cold and sleety rain to a building near the Capitol to visit the Congressional Office where I could pick up my beautifully crafted and useless tickets. That day I got an email detailing how to attempt to attend the now indoor Inaugural Parade at Capital One Arena, and my father an I made a plan to do so, to still participate in the historic day.

The next morning we got up at 6:00 AM, rather than 3:00 AM which is when our day would have started had the festivities remained outdoors. We put on our suits and ties (my tie featured the signatures of 46 U.S. Presidents that I have been waiting for an occasion to wear for five years), and hopped aboard the metro. We arrived and got in the incredibly lengthy line at about 7:30, to begin what would become 5-6 Hours of waiting. We slowly inched forward in a line that zigzagged all around the arena for a radius of about a block in every direction. The part of the trip I may never forget will be the different sorts of folks I encountered in that line. The media characterizes the MAGA crowd a certain way, and it did NOT fit my experience at all. This was by far the most diverse crowd I have ever seen in a political setting. People of every race, gender, creed and religion were in attendance. I saw one gentleman with a MAGA themed piece of Islamic headwear. That's not to say this crowd was moderate. This was definitely a passionate MAGA group. They love their President, and they were decked out head to toe There were serious moments of love in this crowd, but also negativity. People attempting to cut the line were often berated in angry and violent ways. One young man and his father in particular were overly unkind to the folks around them, and made remarks I would characterize as bigoted. When statements were made of that nature, they were shut down quickly by folks of all colors, who were much more focused on spreading love than hate. Many folks were making friends with folks from across the country. My father and I connected with an East Asian-American couple who were in front of us for several hours, and heard them describe their passions for Trump and his policies. During this trip, we also overheard some MAGA ladies from Canada expressing their desire for Trump's statements about making it the 51st state to become true. It was an eye-opening experience. While I may not agree with Trump's rhetoric, his political mobilization is unrivaled in today's climate; and historians will spend years trying to better understand how he so effectively emboldens the passions within these folks.

When the 5-hour line experience was over, we made it through a TSA style security checkpoint, and got to our seats just in time to watch the Inauguration ceremony begin on a jumbo tron. We would later find out we were among the last folks to be allowed in. We were in the arena to hear the roar of the crowd when the 47th President was sworn in, and their cheers throughout his inaugural. Then we heard from speakers who came to the arena live. The list included Peter Navarro, Kellyanne Conway, Congressman Ronnie Jackson, AR Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, RNC Chair Michael Wheatley, Congressman Byron Donalds, Charlie Kirk, Commerce Nominee Howard Lutnik, VA Governor Glenn Youngkin, Elon Musk (who made headlines during his appearance), FBI Director Nominee Kash Patel, and Dan Scavino.

Then the new President, Vice President, and their families arrived for the parade. I was quite excited to see Donald Trump who was now the first sitting President I have ever seen in person. He then made a lengthy address to the crowd before signing several Executive Orders live in front of us. Admittedly, I was less than enthusiastic about some of his first Executive actions, while others had me on my feet applauding.

Now his Presidency is much underway, and I was incredibly grateful for the opportunity to get to see something so historic in-person, and I learned a great deal about what MAGA actually means to his supporters. I am more sympathetic now to both his supporters and critics alike. After spending a long-time feeling stranded in the middle of two radical entities, I now better understand their human passions and emotions. I'm now grateful for my "useless" tickets, as they will commemorate a part of history I was there to witness, and the trip will forever be apart of the story of my Presidential dream.

My father and I sitting in the Arena, where we witnessed history.