Charles Borsos
BU News Service
Washington — “He looked right at us, man,” said Kyle Voigt.
He took out his phone and showed the picture to his brother, William Voigt. It was a shot of President Donald Trump waving at the parade crowd.
The brothers traveled from Long Island, New York, with their father Greg Voigt to witness their first inauguration on Friday. “It was amazing, man,” said William.
“Like nothing else,” added his brother, Kyle.
Allan Ingraham of Lynchburg, Virginia, said that seeing Trump as he rolled past in the parade was exciting and gave him hope. Matthew Goldammer of Salina, Kansas, said he thought it was a “great day of tremendous unity” and that it won’t be “as corrupt now that there is an outsider” in the White House.
Trisha Meehan of Florida said she felt “real good” and that it was “absolutely a great time for a change.”
“Not just change — good change,” she said.
Pam Price of Los Angeles, California, had supported Hillary Clinton but was at the parade as a spectator. She had rented an Airbnb in Washington for the weekend, expecting Clinton to win. She wore a Nasty Woman pin. “I had already gotten an Airbnb for Hillary so I decided to come for the protest,” she said, referring to the Women’s March on Saturday.
“I like the excitement,” she said, referring to the parade. She admitted that Obama’s 2009 inauguration, which she also attended, was much more exciting.
Russell Chin watched the parade with his niece Lexi Padre on his shoulders. Although he was also not a Trump supporter, Chin said he was proud of the peaceful transition.
He said that it was important for young kids like his niece to be part of history like this and that coming out to the parade helped burst his East Coast bubble.
“The election exposed the disparity,” he said. “It’s difficult, but maybe it’s a necessary thing.”
