US media adored the Trump family, until he defeated Hillary in 2016, and now weary citizens are hoping they’ll finally drop the Trump Derangement Syndrome.
New York: On Monday, 20 January, Donald J. Trump and J.D. Vance were sworn in as the new President and Vice President of the United States. The Washington weather was bitterly cold, and threats of violence loomed from Antifa and various anti-Israel agitators. Last week the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced that they were removing some sort of a shield so they could strike US government buildings with drones, so the Trump team made a last-minute decision to move the ceremonies indoors and it was a triumph.
My first inaugural parade was in 1961 for President John F. Kennedy. I could never forget the excitement and patriotism of the crowds. People cheered with heartfelt joy for President Eisenhower, the valorous WW2 general who liberated the Nazi death camps, smiling as decorated WW2 veteran Kennedy took his oath, despite Kennedy having defeated Eisenhower’s vice president Nixon in the 1960 campaign.
My parents had an apartment on Pennsylvania Avenue with a splendid view, so every 4 years they held an inaugural parade viewing party, where friends would come and go for hours to see the marching bands, high school cheerleaders, buoyant crowds with US flags and Uncle Sam hats. While it was surely disappointing for viewers and the bands that the parade was moved into the Capital One arena, the Trump team did an excellent job with a small parade, starting with firefighters and first responders of Butler PA, honouring fireman Corey Compatore, killed on July 13, 2024, the day Trump dodged an assassin’s bullet.
The Butler delegation was followed by the NYPD Pipe and Drum Society, founded in 1913, with kilts and bagpipes, which warmed my New York Irish heart. J.D. Vance’s hometown of Middletown OH, sent their high school cheerleaders and baton twirlers, who were delightful, conjuring the grand Pennsylvania Avenue parades of yore, with thousands of talented, jubilant young people in marching bands from all 50 states.
During Reagan’s 1981 Inaugural, Washington was filled with excitement, but defeated incumbent Jimmy Carter was sour and rude, which tainted the occasion. The Clinton speeches were so dull I saw people nodding off in the VIP section. The Reagan balls were elegant, but Clinton balls were garish, with lousy music, poor lighting, your high school prom was way better.
The 20 January swearing-in ceremony in the Capitol rotunda was a beautiful setting, and I was thrilled to see India’s distinguished Foreign Minister Dr Jaishankar seated in the front row, after the disgraceful treatment he endured from the Biden team for 4 long years. The Trump family gleamed with grace and dignity, Biden slumped in his chair, mouth agape, Kamala glowered in a tacky zipper style pantsuit, and Barack Obama looked 50 years older than he did 3 months ago.
But no outside agitators ruined the day. A small band of Antifa employees built a guillotine and beheaded dummies of Trump, his family and cabinet, but citizens filled the Capital One arena for the Inaugural Eve rally and the Parade, which millions of Americans watched on TV, and after 900 or so rallies since 2015, the Trump Team knows how to put on a show like nothing else. When the Village People sang YMCA live at the Inaugural Eve rally, Woke Showbiz melted like the Wicked Witch of the West.
At the Commander-in-Chief Ball, military men and women joined the 1st and 2nd couples to dance with upon the Great Seal, this was a first and veterans nationwide expressed gratitude and delight. The Liberty Ball had “A Day in the Life of Trump” with sets of Trump’s MacDonald’s shift, mug shot and garbage truck for guests to take photos. The Starlight Ball was the final event, where the crowds danced long into the night with Snoop Dog, Nelly, and other rappers who played at multiple events, pouring more cold water on Woke Showbiz.
Ivanka, Lara, Tiffany and Melania Trump were so exquisitely poised and dressed. Social media is blowing up with posts about partisan and petty Anna Wintour, who broke tradition by never putting First Lady Melania on the cover of Vogue, along with videos of Wintour gushing over the Trumps at her Met Costume Gala, where the Trumps were red carpet superstars for years. Liberals are howling over Ivanka Trump looking gorgeous in an Oscar de la Renta for the candlelight dinner and threatening to boycott the fashion house, tales are pouring forth about high fashion brands refusing Melania’s cash for expensive couture “on principle” which is risible, because before Ms Wintour banished the Trumps from her red carpets, the first principle of fashion brands was selling merchandise to anyone whose money was good at the bank.
America has fallen in love with Second Lady Usha Vance, who exuded glamour and charm in a black velvet Oscar de la Renta evening gown and an elegant pink coat for the swearing-in, and a luscious violet robe by Indian designer Gaurav Gupta. Kirsten Fleming wrote in the New York Post, “I would like to issue a challenge to Anna Wintour: Put Usha Vance on a cover. The 39-year-old is everything Vogue claims to champion. She’s the first Indian-American second lady. She has effortless personal style. She is incredibly accomplished. Her best accessory, though, was the thousand-watt smile she directed at her husband, with whom she shares 3 kids. But I’m betting it won’t happen. Vogue under the stewardship of Dem fundraiser Wintour isn’t about American fashion or excellence. It’s still about naked partisanship.”
US media adored the Trump family for decades, until he defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016, and now weary citizens are hoping they’ll finally drop the TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome), admit that our First and Second Ladies are admirable role models, that Americans gave our new President a landslide victory and they like him more than the fake news, and be thankful for a peaceful and memorable Inauguration Day, 2025.
* Maura Moynihan is a New York-based journalist and author. Her website is: mauramoynihan.net.