Donald Trump’s first inauguration was met with protests, bricks, and fires. For his second, eight years later, his opposition appears to have decided that the streets aren’t where they’ll fight. Downtown DC felt profoundly empty of anyone but Trump’s supporters and people who’d set up stalls to try to sell them merchandise.
Patrons at bars booed former President Biden, former Vice President Harris, and their families when they saw them onscreen. Four years ago, people at Black Lives Matter Plaza sang “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” when Trump’s helicopter left DC; on Monday people at Capital One sang the lyrics to Harris. Nearby, members of the Proud Boys carried a large banner that seemed to portend the end of far right groups’ fear of entering DC after January 6.
There were moments of weirdness, of course. A Washingtonian reporter saw someone holding a chair chase someone down the street WWE-style after they sent some sort of missile (word was, it was a snowball) through Union Pub’s patio barrier. There were pedicabs decked out in MAGA gear. There was Melania Trump’s hat.
There was, implicit in all this action, an opening argument that echoed Trump’s inaugural speech, that a new era had arrived in Washington. And today, those of us who live here all wait to see what will happen next.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
