A Trump supporter showed off his Trump-Vance championship belt hours before the inauguration ceremony began being broadcast inside Capital One Arena on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta VoiceWASHINGTON, D.C. – United States President Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as the 47th Commander in Chief on Monday afternoon. This marked the beginning of Trump’s second term as President of the United States after having been elected as the country’s 45th in 2016.Trump said his overall message to Americans was to be great again. “America’s decline is over,” he said. “The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward our country will flourish and once again be respected all over the world,” said Trump. “There’s no nation like our nation.”The extreme cold temperatures and weather conditions in Washington, D.C. led the Trump-Vance Administration to make the decision to move the Presidential Inauguration ceremony and Inaugural Parade inside Capital One Arena, which is located downtown and is the home to the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals. The last time a Presidential Inauguration took place indoors was when the late Ronald Reagan’s second term was made official in 1985. The weather conditions on that day, Jan. 20, 1985, were also dangerously low due to a cold snap making its way through the East Coast. There have been cold temperature inaugurations, including when two-term President of the United States Barack Obama and then Vice President Joe Biden had theirs in 2009. Photos of the large crowds on the National Mall that day have been making their way across social media this week in lue of Trump and Vance’s decision to bring the inauguration indoors.United States President Donald J. Trump (on screen at the Capital One Center in Washington, D.C.) during the country’s 60th Presidential Inauguration. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta VoiceMonday marked the end of several days of celebrations for Trump-Vance administration supporters and staffers. On Sunday, Jan. 19, a “Make America Great Again” rally took place inside Capital One Arena. On Monday morning some of those same partygoers and Trump supporters came back to Capital One Arena to witness the inauguration from afar. The big screen above the floor at Capital One Arena displayed a live feed from the actual Capital where Trump and his Vice President-to-be Senator J.D. Vance was going to be inaugurated.The inauguration, as to be expected, made traveling by public transportation and by car more difficult than it usually is in gridlock-choked Washington, D.C. Mt. Vernon Square metro station, the equivalent of Atlanta’s Five Points station, was closed so visitors to the city that wanted to attend the virtual inauguration, that’s if they even had a ticket, had an interesting time getting to the arena. On the streets outside the arena vendors, both with and without permits, sold commemorative inauguration scarves, hats, programs, and Trump fake gold chains. “Get your Trump chains here” and “Five dollar Trump hats here” could be heard up and down Massachusetts Avenue and blocks north and south of the arena. Equidistant from the vendors were people handing out fake Presidential Inauguration programs masked as Biblical chapters from the Books of John and the Romans. This inauguration would be like no other before it. When a video of former United States President Barack Obama came on screen booing began. Street signs pointing towards where the Presidential Inauguration parade route would have been before it was moved indoors. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice c When a video of current Georgia Congresswoman Majorie Taylor Greene (GA-14) came on screen there was the opposite reaction. This was a pro-Republican crowd similar to what would be seen at a Trump-Vance rally or what took place during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in summer 2024. Former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush did receive an ovation when they appeared on screen. Former President Bill Clinton and First Lady and former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton did not.At the time of the start of the inauguration the temperature in Washington, D.C. was 27 degrees. In 1961 and in 2009 when Obama was inaugurated for the first of his two terms as President, the temperature was 22 and 28 degrees, respectively. Prior to the singing of “Glory, Glory Hallelujah”, United States Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, a long- time Trump ally, administered the Presidential Oath of Office. During Trump’s post-inauguration speech shouts of “USA, USA, USA” made its way around the arena.During his speech he touched on a similar talking point: illegal immigration. Trump said all illegal entry into this country will be halted, calling it his “Remain in Mexico” policy. “All of this will change starting today,” he said. Trump said he will give Americans back their freedom. He added that he had been tested more than any president in the history of this country, re-telling the story of being shot in the ear in Butler, Pennsylvania. He called Monday, January 20, “Liberation Day.”The 45th and 47th President of the United States also thanked this country’s Black voters for helping him secure the election. On Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Today, Trump said “we will make his dream come true.”The oft-used phrase of “Drill baby, drill” also made an appearance during his speech as well as a promise to “bring prices down.” Trump neglected to explain how his administration is planning to do that, but it didn’t matter to the crowd inside the arena. They clapped as loud as they had at any point of the speech. Street vendors were set up all across downtown Washington on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo by Donell Suggs/The Atlanta VoiceWhen he said he would bring back free speech to America, that too elicited large rounds of applause from the crowd in the arena and a standing ovation from within the Rotunda. The speech sounded similar to the ones he gave during his campaign for the presidency. Promises were being made during the speech in a way that sounded less like he won the election and was being inaugurated on this day.He closed by saying with the help of all Americans his administration can restore this country. “We are going to win like never before,” said Trump. “America will be respected again, and admired again. We will be strong and we will win like never before.”‘“The future is ours and our golden age has just begun.”Following the President’s speech chants of “Free Palestine” began in the upper rafters but were shouted down by people yelling “USA, USA, USA” and “Kick her out.” Welcome to Trump era 2.0.The post “The golden age of America begins right now’: second Trump administration begins with promised-filled speech appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.