Here’s a short note and a few pictures after one week of the Trump 2.0 administration - if only to serve as an “end note” to the sequence of letters during the campaign.
Since I attended the re-inauguration protest of George W. Bush 20 years ago I decided to return to be present at the re-inauguration of the felon president.
There was a vibrant People’s March on 1/18 with some excellent signs covering many different issues:
One sign I didn’t get a picture of simply said “Make Lying Wrong Again”.
On Inauguration Day I made a sign and did an “individual protest” by standing in a busy Metro station for 3+ hours as the many Trumpers streamed by. Many people took pictures and I had some good conversations. See the fine print on the sign. I thought it was important to thank Biden for all he did for the nation over many many years.
I added “Value the labor of immigrants” on the bottom of the sign.
As symbolic ritual I did a triple circumnavigation of the White House (15th St, Lafayette Sq, 17th St, Ellipse) and left my sign at the Ellipse viewing point where tourists like to take pictures:
I’m now in New York City. Yesterday I decided to visit the New York State Supreme Court - the courthouse where the felon was prosecuted. And then I took a boat tour to see the Statue of Liberty - a beacon for immigrants - including my ancestors.
Here’s a short video (1:15) of the courthouse and the statue:
Tonight I fly to Iceland and then Europe. It seems a good time to be out of the country for a little while. I’m also curious to see how the U.S. is perceived by other nations. I’ll be back!
Jon
P.S. Again, I highly recommend the daily substack letter from Heather Cox Richardson as an excellent source of sanity and informed history.