Two-termed President Barack Obama retired as Commander in Chief of the United States, making room for President Donald Trump who moved into the White House on Jan. 20. Students shared mixed opinions about the presidential inauguration and transition of power.
Some promises proclaimed by Trump in his inauguration speech include: “We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams. We will build new roads and highways and bridges and airports and tunnels and railways all across our wonderful nation. We will get our people off of welfare and back to work, rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor. We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example. We will shine for everyone to follow. We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth.”
Preston Coleman, a political science major and American citizen from Canada, said, “I don't think we know what to expect under a Donald Trump presidency, and quite frankly I don't even think Mr. Trump himself knows what to expect.”
After watching Trump’s inauguration speech, Sable Thompson, a sophomore studying exercise science and bio-med from Colorado, explained her thoughts on the change in power, “I think that Trump has a great way to get the whole country excited for a change. There sure were a lot of promises made in his inauguration speech, and I’m excited to see how he goes about achieving them. I think that this change is necessary in regards to bettering the country as a whole.”
“Even though I might have some mixed feelings about Obama and his administration leaving the [oval] office, I think overall change is always good and necessary in life. I’m positive and hopeful to see where America’s future goes under the direction of our new president,” Thompson added.
About the change in leadership, Coleman shared, “I'm sad to see Obama go. I know he's been there for 8 years now, and he's definitely looking forward to relaxing a little bit, but I'm sure he was hoping to hand the keys over to someone that had not run a campaign infected with hucksterism, misogyny, narcissism and latent despotism.” Coleman also felt some of what he heard about Trump in the media leading up to the election gives Trump the appearance of being a “racist, a bigot, and vulgar.”
During the inauguration ceremony, the Mormon Tabernacle choir was accompanied by the United States Marine Band to perform the song America the Beautiful. As reported on the official Mormon Tabernacle Choir website, Trump’s inauguration marks the seventh time the choir has performed during a presidential inauguration ceremony. Previous ingurgitation performances include singing for George W. Bush, and George H.W. Bush, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, and Ronald W. Reagan.
Jashon Fabio, a Music and Psychology major from the Philippines, was able to watch the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform during the ceremony. “As an international student, I think it was a good choice for church to have the choir perform for the ceremony. It shows that the church does not choose its leader but rather supports the United States as a whole. A lot of [LDS church] members are saying that it is a bad thing the church is supporting the president, but they don’t see how they’re supporting the country really and not the leader.”
With future promises mingled amongst Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” throughout his campaign website, www.donaldjtrump.com, Coleman, questioned the legitimacy the president’s slogan and said, “As far as Trump ‘Making America Great Again,’ I personally think that America is already great. There are plenty of things that need to be addressed, but that's always been true. That’s the part of the slogan I never understood, the ‘again’ part. What point of time is he trying to take us back to?”
Writer: Gabe Fryar