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Inauguration Day’s range of emotions

Donald Trump is just the second American president in history to score another term after losing his first reelection attempt. On the cusp of Inauguration Day, one thing is clear: the Trump era is far from over.

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Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters
A gift shop displays items to mark the U.S. presidential inauguration of Donald Trump in Washington, Jan. 4.

Inauguration Day, every four years, is like no other in the U.S. capital. Even in the winter chill, the crowds on the National Mall can number in the hundreds of thousands – or more. Anticipation is in the air. People from all over have come to witness the launch of a new presidential term, promptly at noon on Jan. 20.

I’ve seen my share of inaugurations over the years, sometimes from the viewing stands right below the Capitol Building, sometimes from the fringes of the Mall, sometimes on TV. It’s always exciting, especially when a new party takes over and a hallmark of American democracy goes on full display: the peaceful transfer of power.

Often, the most memorable aspect of an inauguration isn’t the actual swearing-in or the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue or the celebratory balls. When Donald Trump took office the first time, in January 2017, he delivered an inaugural address that veered into dark territory, as he spoke of “American carnage” – a sharp departure from the usual unifying rhetoric.

The next day, press secretary Sean Spicer insisted that President Trump’s crowd on the Mall was “the largest audience to ever witness the inauguration, period” – bigger than the million-plus people who had gathered for President Barack Obama’s first inauguration eight years earlier.

Mr. Spicer’s statement was demonstrably false, as photo comparisons showed. That episode also gave birth to Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway’s infamous assertion of “alternative facts” that she said would prove the spokesman correct. Months later, after Mr. Spicer had resigned, he expressed regret over his handling of the matter.

Now, on the cusp of Trump 2.0, the nation is once again experiencing a range of emotions – from excitement to dread. Trump supporters will come to Washington for an inauguration-eve rally in the city’s biggest sports arena, and then crowd the Mall the next day. Will anti-Trump forces show up to counter them? It’s unclear. But security will be extra tight. In any case, many dispirited Trump opponents plan to be out of town that day. There’s also no plan for a big women’s march the day after Mr. Trump’s second inauguration, as there was after the first.

Jan. 20 is also a federal holiday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, honoring the slain civil rights leader. It’s a coincidence that presents its own ironies. Mr. Trump made gains among Black voters last November, particularly men, but the vast majority still voted Democratic.

Still, the most remarkable aspect of Inauguration Day 2025 is that it features Mr. Trump, again. He’s just the second American president in history, after Grover Cleveland in 1892, to score another term after losing his first reelection attempt. As I explore in my cover story in the Jan. 20 issue of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly, the Trump era is far from over. “Trump, unfinished” is an apt way of putting it.

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