Americans divided over Trump inauguration
21/1/2025 10:24
U.S. President Donald Trump's supporters on Monday praised
his swift executive actions upon his return to the White House,
while critics derided his planned mass deportations and a
rollback in diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
Others said they tuned out the inauguration altogether.
More than a dozen interviews with Americans nationwide
indicated that the country remains polarized even as Trump in
his inaugural address sought to portray himself as a peacemaker
and unifier. Still, his speech was often sharply partisan as he
promised a crackdown on illegal immigration and plans to usher
in a sweeping agenda to reshape the federal government.
Trump, a Republican, lost to former President Joe Biden
in 2020 and then beat Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in
November 2024 on promises to strengthen the economy, tighten
immigration laws and curb regulations on business while slashing
the "deep state" federal bureaucracy.
The election was close, Republicans hold slim majorities
in Congress and many experts say Trump will have to struggle to
push through an agenda that could have an indelible impact on
millions of Americans.
In San Marcos, California, there were only two men
seeking work on Monday in a Home Depot parking lot where many
immigrant day laborers typically congregate. They expressed
concern that Trump's policies would disrupt the construction and
agriculture industries that depend on immigrant labor.
"Many of the guys who come here looking for work didn't show
because supposedly there was going to be a raid," said Baudelio
Victorio, 51, a legal U.S. resident, who has been in the country
for 12 years.
In Los Angeles, the second largest U.S. city where 24 people
have died in unprecedented wildfires, residents worried about
how Trump would respond to the blazes that have displaced
thousands and destroyed more than 10,000 structures.
"I would hope he would have sympathy for us dealing with
this situation," said Denise Jones, 61, a claims adjuster who
lost her house in Altadena. "Will he send resources? Do I
believe that he is going to? No."
Trump has criticized California's response to the wildfires
in Los Angeles and will visit the state on Friday to tour the
damage. He and Republican allies have spoken about possibly
withholding disaster aid and have accused Democratic state
officials of mismanaging water resources and forests.
Elementary school teacher Sandy Burch, who evacuated her
California home for 11 days due to the fire, said she voted for
Trump and was looking forward to his visit.
"He's a very clever man," Burch said. "I'm sure he will
think of something to help."
Trump settles into the Oval Office at a time of declining
interest rates and positive job growth. But many voters were
unhappy with the economy under Biden and business owners and
conservative voters expressed optimism about putting Trump back
at the helm of the world's largest economy.
Jamal Johnson, 59, a cryptocurrency enthusiast, said he
voted for Trump because the Republican has championed digital
currency. He said the economy has been a sore spot for
communities like Englewood, a predominately Black and
impoverished neighborhood on Chicago's Southside.
"Because of the economy and the state of things, people are
in fear," Johnson said.
In Texas, Jac Jones who lives outside of Houston and
installs museum exhibits, said she is “extremely nervous” about
women's rights. Jones, 39, said she worries that Trump "has
surrounded himself with soulless advisors and billionaires who
will try to crush us just to get richer."
Women's rights have been a concern for Trump critics since
the U.S. Supreme Court, with three justices appointed by Trump,
overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending the federal guarantee to
a woman's right to an abortion. On Saturday, thousands gathered
in Washington to protest Trump's inauguration and policies.
Still, the protest was far smaller than those during Trump's
first term in 2017. The U.S. women's rights movement now seems
more splintered.
Karla Miller is one of a handful of people Reuters spoke to
who did not tune into the inauguration. The pastor of First
Congregational Church in Hendersonville, North Carolina, instead
spent the day with her congregation to honor Martin Luther King,
Jr. on the national holiday in his honor.
“I preached on Grounding – how to move forward even
though we are feeling a sense of impending doom and chaos,” said
Miller, who voted for Harris.
With Trump's inauguration coinciding with the King
holiday, civil rights leaders called it ironic that Trump spoke
in his inaugural speech of being a "peacemaker" and "unifier".
"We know he's going to do exactly the opposite, in
particular making sure that he serves his conservative base,"
said Jamarr Brown, executive director of Color of Change PAC.
Paul Hambleton, a Democratic state party chair in St. Croix
County, Wisconsin, noted America is "still a democracy."
Hambleton called the King holiday “a much needed reminder
that our democracy has changed and adapted to new times in the
past, that we will again, and that human and civil rights remain
central to our nation."
|