(AFP) – With glacial temperatures forcing US President-elect Donald Trump’s swearing in indoors, the National Mall, normally jam-packed for inaugurations with hundreds of thousands of revelers, was eerily dead on Monday.
“We’re ‘winging it,'” Trump supporters Lorri Williams and Ellie Hymes told AFP from the mall. The pair, who traveled to Washington from Michigan and Missouri respectively, were standing in front of the looming Washington Monument obelisk, but were only there to take in the sights before heading indoors to watch the inauguration on television.
Law enforcement prepared security checkpoints to let people onto the grassy lawn, but no one waited to get in. Only the occasional jogger broke the emptiness. Despite their shift in plans, the pair remained undeterred in their dedication to celebrating Trump’s return to the White House. Hymes, 69, was buoyant: “We’re celebrating, all the MAGA fans, the American people, with our very favorite president, Donald Trump.”
Some 220,000 tickets had been distributed to watch the ceremony live from the Mall, with even more people able to watch from further back on the grassy lawn on big screens. Now, the closest thing to a traditional crowd will be a live viewing party at the nearby Capital One Arena, where Trump has promised to make an appearance. The sporting facility has a capacity of only 20,000.
Seats in the arena were filling up quickly, as spectators scanned an enormous screen in the middle of the room to catch a glimpse of Trump as he prepared for his swearing-in, applauding and chanting “USA, USA” whenever he appeared. “I am here because I love Donald J. Trump, and he loves America,” 32-year-old Alexx Rouse from Texas told AFP.
“He is the perfect man for this job. I could not be more excited to be here in this moment, because this is history.” Back on the Mall, members of the Fairchild family visiting from Michigan were wearing red beanies and wrapped in Trump blankets as they stood before the Lincoln Monument.
“Ecstatic,” grandmother Barb told AFP when asked how they were feeling. Despite the bitter cold, they said they were still expecting a festive atmosphere and would watch it on TV later. As they left, she turned back to look up at Lincoln’s marble visage, exclaiming gleefully: “Aren’t you so proud?” – Emma LACOSTE, Sarah TITTERTON
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