On a brisk day on the morning of Friday, Jan. 20, American businessman Donald J. Trump officially accepted the Office of President of the United States. The inauguration, held in front of The Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was screened in the Collins Room, and several Marlborough students watched as the President gave his first speech. Trump spoke at length about rebuilding the country and reducing the disparities between socioeconomic classes.
Many conservatives saw Trump’s speech as an attempt to bridge the gap between political parties. Joseph Touma, a student at Huntington High School in West Virginia who identifies as conservative, attended the inauguration and said that he felt Trump’s words unified the country.
“From instilling a new national pride to acknowledging the significance of open and honest debate, Trump’s first speech as President of the United States brought our nation one step closer to the unity and solidarity we critically need,” Touma said.
According to The Washington Post, Trump used 27 words that had never before been said in an inaugural speech. The list included words such as “bleed,” “carnage,” “tombstones,” “ripped” and “sad.”
Kate ’18, who grew up in Washington D.C. and previously volunteered with the Clinton campaign, said that Trump’s oratory marked a new kind of presidency.
“It shows that a lot of his rhetoric is totally new to the American presidency and that the words he chose…were chosen with the intent to strike fear into the hearts of the people, and that rule by fear is something we can expect to see in the next 4 years.” Kate said.
In the days following his inauguration, Trump immediately acted on the policies he spoke about during his campaign by issuing several executive orders.
Trump’s first week as president witnessed several changes, but protests erupted over the executive order, enacted on Friday, Jan. 27, prohibiting travel from seven Muslim majority countries and suspended refugee admission into the US for 120 days.
California Senator Kamala Harris, who vowed to fight against Trump’s policies with all of her power, responded to the ban with a tweet.
“On #HolocaustMemorialDay, Trump restricted refugees from Muslim-majority countries. Make no mistake—this is a Muslim ban,” Harris tweeted.
