Trump's 'golden day of America' electrifies Washington with fervour

Washington, DC, — January 20. A day that bit with the chill of history. Bells tolled across Washington, DC, their solemn chimes swallowed by an endless expanse of grey skies.

Snow flurries swept through the air like scattered confetti, a bitter adornment to what Donald Trump dubbed a "Liberation Day" in his inauguration speech.

This was no ordinary inauguration. It was the dawn of Trump's second act, cloaked in drama, ambition, and the national capital holding its breath.

Nearly 25,000 law enforcement and military personnel filled the streets of Washington, DC, their presence a reminder that this was no ordinary day.

Uniforms stretched like a tide through the city, a living, breathing wall of authority. Temporary fencing loomed, stark and unyielding, carving up the heart of Washington, DC, — the White House, the Capitol, and every crucial intersection wrapped in cold steel.

Dump trucks and black SUVs formed imposing barricades, their hulking forms an unspoken warning. Police units prowled the alleyways, and surveillance drones buzzed like angry hornets overhead.

Washington, DC, looked less like a celebratory hub and more like a city preparing for a siege.

"It feels like we're in some kind of dystopian movie," Maria Gonzalez, a small business owner watching from behind the barricades near Pennsylvania Avenue, told TRT World. Her scarf was pulled tight against the biting cold, her breath forming small clouds that dissolved into the frigid air.

"Even during his first inauguration, it wasn't like this. This... this is something else entirely."

Cold and disappointment

Record-breaking cold accompanied the fanfare, as though nature itself sought to underscore the weight of the moment. Wind chills dipped into the single digits, forcing the ceremony indoors to the Capitol Rotunda.

What had once been an open, public display was now a contained, carefully curated affair. Crowds that would typically flood the National Mall were redirected to watch from Washington's Capitol One Arena, many of them disappointed.

Shirley Collier, 54, who had come all the way from San Diego in the country's West Coast, expressed her frustration to TRT World.

"I couldn't do it in 2021 because of COVID, and 2029 is too far away, so I had to do it (this year). I've been planning on it since October," Collier said.

She said it was important to witness the moment "because it's history and it was on my bucket list."

Collier, who had come with her relatives and friends added, "We knew about the weather for like three weeks and I prepared for it, buying extra thermals, warmers, gloves, jackets, and the thing that disappointed me the most yesterday was the fact that I was in line for six hours and still couldn't get in."

Yet the streets outside the arena bore their own electric energy. Vendors lined the sidewalks, their stalls overflowing with an avalanche of merchandise: "Trump 47" hats, gilded banners proclaiming "The Golden Day of America," and t-shirts emblazoned with the president’s unmistakable profile.

The atmosphere was part carnival, part crusade, a strange brew of defiance and devotion.

"People say he's divisive," said Alan Cooper, a retiree from Kentucky wrapped in a thick parka. He clutched a coffee cup like it was his last link to warmth.

"But today? Today, he's a unifier. The folks who believe in him are here because they're tired of the same old. And the folks who don't? Well, they’re watching too, whether they like it or not. That's the power he has — like it or hate it."

Amid the buzz, a new question circulated among the crowd: How do they feel about Trump and the First Lady launching their cryptocurrencies?

Alan grinned, his frostbitten lips curling upwards.

"It's genius," he told TRT World without hesitation. "It's like everything else he does: forward-thinking, bold, and about putting America first. I am getting my MAGA coin," he added with a laugh.

"What other president is doing this? None. That's the difference."

Celebration and siege

Trump's inauguration speech, carried live on screens and phones across the nation, was pure theatre — equal parts defiance and hope, his voice cutting through the icy air like a blade.

"The golden day of America begins now," he declared, his words sharp, deliberate, and unyielding.

Each sentence landed like a knockout punch, a mix of promise and provocation. The cheers inside the Capitol erupted like thunder, but outside, in the streets, it was different. The city seemed to pause, its pulse steady but wary.

For some, the spectacle was overwhelming.

Ella Cheng, a student from New York who had travelled down to "witness history," found herself torn. "It's surreal," she told TRT World, standing near a temporary barricade. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold, her voice tinged with uncertainty.

"On one hand, you see all this celebration, people waving flags and cheering. On the other, you've got military trucks on every corner. It's like two different worlds colliding, and you're caught in the middle."

'One hell of a statement'

The Bidens, meanwhile, exited the US capital, their exit marking the end of Joe Biden's five-decade-long career in public service. It is a quiet departure, almost understated compared to the spectacle unfolding around them.

In many ways, it symbolises the shift in eras.

"This isn't just an inauguration," said Marcus Hill, a security contractor leaning against a barricade. His face was weathered, his eyes sharp, scanning the crowd.

"It's a statement. Everything here — the fences, the troops, the cold — it's all part of the message. And whether you like him or not, you've got to admit: the man knows how to make one hell of a statement."

Snowflakes drifted steadily, blanketing the city in a soft, pale hush. Yet beneath the tranquil cover, Washington, DC, throbbed with a restless energy, a city holding its breath for what lay ahead. The snow dusting, gentle and tranquil, felt like a metaphor for the moment — a quiet storm in the history of this nation that would not be ignored.

"Liberation Day," Trump called it. By the time the bells tolled again, signalling the end of the inauguration, the golden day, as he promised, was just beginning for many — but for others, the story is far from over.