Clown! Scenes from the Trump Inauguration
Incensed and dispirited, I hurried away from the Trump supporters bottlenecked at the barricades. My original idea had been to stand at the National Mall for the inauguration, but the poor management of this event helped me realize that I needed a new plan.
I passed hundreds of police who awaited word from above to manage the crowd, but no one seemed to be in charge. We would learn soon enough that the biggest lie Candidate Trump told us was “I have the best people.” What he had was incompetent cronies and ideologues. This was my first taste of what was to come.
I walked in a daze until I spied this cardboard beacon of hope.
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Photo: Sign reads “This pussy grabs back”
While that slogan in its many forms would dot the landscape of the massive crowds at the Woman’s March the following day, I had never seen it before that moment. The relief I felt was palpable. Here was a fellow American not inclined to lie back and take it.
Even better, the farther I walked, the more Trump resistance I saw. Soon I approached a massive protest occupying the US Navy Memorial Plaza and spilling out in all directions. Protestors surrounded me, waving signs and making their voices heard. I had stumbled upon my people and stayed with them for the remainder of the day.
I saw angry signs:
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Photo: 3 protestors hold signs that read “Unfit” “Unfit” and “Trump Racist in Chief”
Super angry signs:
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Photo: Sign reads “Kick Trump in the rump” with a drawing of Trump’s rump (technically his face, but let’s not split hairs)
Artistic signs:
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Photo: A print of a Muslim woman with American flag hijab that reads “We the people are greater than fear.”
Subtle signs:
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Photo: Sign reads “Did you remember to set your clocks back 60 years when you woke up this morning?”
Considerably less subtle signs:
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Photo: Sign reads “CrazyMotherFucker”
Not even remotely subtle signs:
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Photo: a Trump head sign speckled with swastikas
Funny signs:
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Photo: A man holds a sign of a shirtless Putin and Trump together on horseback that reads “Comrade Trump: the best president the Russian ruble can buy!”
Funny (but not so funny if you really think about it) signs:
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Photo: A woman holds a sign that reads “In your guts, you know he’s nuts.”
Not even remotely funny signs:
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Photo: Sign shows a nuclear explosion that reads “Someone should let Trump know that bombs go both ways.”
Wordy signs:
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Photo: A man holds a sign that reads “Trumpocalypse Now! Greed. Violence. Racism. Scapegoating. Lies. Corporate Capitalism. Prejudice. Islamophobia. Torture. Misogyny. Threats. Anti-Semitism. Rape. Insults. Conflict of interest. Pride. Climate Change Denial. Hypocrisy. False Promises. Etcetera”
And less wordy signs that get right to the point:
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Photo: A man holds a sign that reads “Fuck”
By the way, you know that guy with the wordy sign only wrote “Etcetera” because he ran out of space. I have no doubt that he could have filled a billboard with concerns.
I would be remiss if I did not point out a couple of shirts. A blue-hatted Trump supporter sported my favorite shirt of the day, albeit unintentionally. The shirt shows Donald Trump standing tall and proud, tie askew, while the United States of America explodes into a fireball behind him.
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Photo: The Wall Against Racism & Bigotry and one fashion-forward Trump supporter
I’m fairly certain this was not the intent of the shirt designers. I think the shirt production meeting went something like this: Let’s put cool USA stuff on a shirt with Donald Trump. We’ll have a bald eagle. Yes! Fireworks. Yes! An American flag. Yes! Oooh, and an explosion. Explosions are cool!
Explosions are cool. And it gives the shirt an appropriate Nero-fiddled-while-Rome-burned look. Let’s hope this shirt is not prophetic. I prefer my USA not incinerated, thank you very much.
On a lighter note, here’s my second favorite shirt:
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Photo: Trump as a turd with flies
A series of orators rallied the crowd but as noon approached, a shrill voice on massive speakers cut through the commotion to update us on the impending inauguration. I positioned myself near the speakers by the barricades on Pennsylvania Avenue, which afforded me a great view of the pandemonium to come.
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Want to read from the beginning? Go to Sad! Scenes from the Trump Inauguration
About me: I am a Maryland-based physician that writes under the pen name David Z Hirsch. Check out my YouTube channel for videos on common medical conditions
and my best-selling novel, Didn’t Get Frazzled, a provocative story about life and love in medical school
