Skip to content
Sign up to receive our free weekday morning edition, and you'll never miss a scoop.
Trump inaugurated

What we saw at the inauguration

Donald J. Trump is once again the president of the United States.

If you’re reading this newsletter, you probably watched the speech and the proceedings in the Capitol Rotunda. We’re hoping to bring you a little bit behind the scenes of what was going on.

Seating at the inauguration was extraordinarily limited after the event was moved from the West Front of the Capitol to the Rotunda. Governors and other dignitaries — Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis and Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp — were seated in an overflow room in the Capitol Visitor Center’s Emancipation Hall. Meanwhile, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Charlie Kirk, Tucker Carlson, Joe Rogan and Rupert Murdoch all got prime seats in the Rotunda – even in front of Trump’s Cabinet nominees. Welcome to Trump’s Washington.

There were only around 600 seats inside the Rotunda, most of which were occupied by members and senators. Just 20 reporters were allowed inside, and we were lucky to have one of those slots.

With now former President Joe Biden and ex-Vice President Kamala Harris sitting just a few feet away, Trump blasted the Biden-Harris administration’s record on everything from inflation to energy policies. He went on to tout his election victory, noting his sweep of the swing states and the fact that he won the popular vote.

There were bizarre moments. Trump said he’d seek to rename Alaska’s Denali Mountain to Mount McKinley. Alaska GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan have long opposed this.

Trump also went on an extended riff about the Panama Canal and vowed to rename the Gulf of Mexico. And when Trump declared Jan. 20 to be “Liberation Day,” Biden smirked.

One particularly interesting moment was when Trump vowed to impose tariffs on foreign imports, which many Republicans think is a bad idea. The applause was noticeably muted compared to Trump’s other promises, which triggered ovations from Republicans.

Ahead of the speech, the incoming administration circulated a memo to congressional Republicans detailing Trump’s plans for immediate action on border security and immigration, energy policy and government reform. Many of them mirrored the executive orders that Trump has promised to roll out on Day One. We scooped that for you on Sunday.

Some of the huge changes at the U.S.-Mexico border that Trump has vowed to enact are already having an impact. For instance, Trump officials shut down use of “CBP One,” an app used by migrants to schedule an appointment to gain legal entry to the United States through a port of entry. Potentially as many as one million migrants had their appointments wiped out. Democrats suggested this could force those migrants to cross the border illegally.

Also: Trump signed several documents in the Capitol, including the acting leaders of Cabinet departments and a proclamation that the U.S. flag should fly at full staff on Inauguration Day.

Presented by Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance

Americans know who to blame for rising drug prices: Big Pharma. A majority of Republicans, Democrats, & Independents all believe Big Pharma’s focus on profits keeps drug prices high. Let’s hold Big Pharma accountable – it’s an issue we’re united on.

Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. Political ads courtesy of AdImpact.