‘Trumpalooza’ Takes Over Washington

WASHINGTON, D.C. —High-top, golden Trump-branded sneakers. American flag-patterned tuxedos. Signed Bibles (with color options in pink or camouflage) on sale for $1,000 and an unsigned Donald Trump jukebox worth $2,500 at the merch table. Bejeweled “MAGA” clutches. The lobby of Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill  was packed with “merch” for the  2025 All-American Inaugural Ball on January 18.

MAGA supporters from around the country and beyond  attended events in Washington, DC, celebrating the 47th U.S. president’s ascent to power the weekend preceding the inauguration.

Among the All-American Inaugural Ball attendees were long-time Trump supporters like a couple that creates MAGA-themed hammocks featuring slogans such as “deplorables,” a nod to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 reference to Trump supporters being a “basket of deplorables,” as well as other phrases like “Let’s Go Brandon,” a political slogan insulting Joe Biden from 2021.

Credit: Emilie Matthews

Celebrities, business people and political figures like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Javier Gerardo Milei, Amber Rose, Miriam Adelson, Brock Pierce, and Mac Abrams attended other inaugural balls throughout the weekend along with  journalism graduate students there for observational purposes.

Washington wasn’t exclusively a hub for pro-Trump celebrations over the weekend. On Saturday, the People’s March on Washington, organized by Women’s March, Planned Parenthood, ACLU, Abortion Rights Now and the National Women’s Law Center, drew around 50,000 attendees, a far cry from the 2017 Women’s March, which featured more than 470,000 participants.

However, many weekend visitors continued their pre-inauguration celebrations by attending Trump’s victory rally at Capital One Arena on Sunday, Jan. 19, where he discussed his agenda, addressing topics ranging from the rebuilding of Los Angeles to suggesting he was responsible for organizing an “epic ceasefire agreement” between Hamas and Israel.

Throughout the weekend, attendees received many rally and inauguration reminder texts featuring the following excerpts: “I AM DONALD TRUMP / Here are 5 reasons to give $5 / I love you, [insert attendee name] / I AM THE PRESIDENT NOW”.

Credit: Emilie Matthews

The Monday, Jan. 20 inauguration, originally planned to take place outdoors, was moved indoors , due to predicted frigid temperatures. This marked the first indoor inauguration since Ronald Reagan’s in 1985. Despite the change in venue, the cold didn’t stop crowds from showing up to protest or support the new president.

Trump started his inaugural speech by portraying himself as America’s savior, affirming he had been “saved by God to make America great again” about the assassination attempt that resulted in a wounded ear.

The attendees of the indoor inauguration included a concentrated mix of billionaires and top executives, such as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Tesla chief executive and U.S. “Department of Government Efficiency” leader Elon Musk, TikTok CEO Shou Zi, and LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault.

Democratic Senator from Hawaii Brian Schatzshared a video on Instagram, noting that these wealthy individuals were seated at the very front, a symbolically significant seating arrangement that emphasized Trump’s focus on initiating the “largest tax cut in history” before any other priority.

The inaugural parade was subsequently canceled, and Trump instead appeared at the Capital One Arena following his swearing-in. Both in-person attendees and television viewers witnessed Trump outline his priorities, including affirming that the United States would recognize only two genders—male and female—and declaring a national emergency at the southern border, emphasizing the need to “repel the invasion.”

Trump wasn’t the sole focus of attention during the inauguration. In the final minutes of his presidency, Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons for Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and five of his family members, an unprecedented move that drew criticism from both Trump and Biden supporters, who viewed it as an affront to the American judicial system. Meanwhile, Donald Trump pardoned around 1,500 individuals charged in connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Elon Musk also made his way into the spotlight after making a hand gesture identical to the Nazi salute, twice. The gesture obviously sparked outrage because of its abhorrent origin and Musk’s recent support for Germany’s far-right party, AfD, as well as the inauguration of a president whose immigration rhetoric has been likened to Hitler’s.

Celebrations finally came to a halt after a multitude of inauguration afterparties on Monday, Jan. 20.