Inauguration Assignment

I wasn't entirely sure what topic I wanted to choose for this assignment. So many to choose from all with their own interesting facts and angles. However, what I was the most curious about was the perspective of those on the outside. Disagreements about the election this year date back to when Donald Trump first announced his campaign and continued all the way through his inauguration. Opinions vary and emotions are high on both sides of the political spectrum here in America, but others around the world are just as afraid - or thrilled - about the future of our nation under President Trump.

A protest in Mexico City, Mexico
Photo from Sputnik News, http://sptnkne.ws/dthy

Dating back to his now-famous remarks on Mexican immigrants, Mexico has not been Trump's biggest fan. Following his inauguration, citizens in Mexico City took to the streets to protest the now-swown in President Trump. Trump's tough talk on illegal immigration, jobs and trade relating to Mexico have been ongoing throughout his campaign, and many fear his upcoming agenda on those issues. Azteca Noticias, a Mexico City-based news outlet, published a story calling Trump's inauguration speech a "demagogue, egocentric, and excluding" message to the people of America and the world. Diana Marenco, a professor of political and social science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, or UNAM by its Spanish acronym, said that a newly elected democratic president should issue a message of support for the people, not a message of everything he believes is wrong with the country.

"It is he, the great man, that will give America back to Americans," said Marenco in an interview with Azteca Noticias. "Except that means give America back to WASPs, not Latinos and other minorities, that he seems to dislike."

Azteca Noticias went as far as to say that Trump's message was argumentative and lacked factual information, calling it ignorant and a declaration of war against his adversaries, warning the world as to what can happen under Trump's "America first" administration.


While it may have seemed like it was Trump against the world leading up to and following his inauguration, Russians took to the streets to celebrate the official beginning of Trump's presidency. As described by the EveningStandard, a UK-based news agency, Russian citizens attended inaugration parties and even dubbed it "a holiday."

Photo from New York Daily News

The celebrations drew large crowds of ordinary citizens, reporters and government officials. One attendee, who showed up several hours early to ensure a good spot for viewing the inauguration live as it unfolded, Dmitry Rode, told the EveningStandard that he hopes "relations between our countries and, more importantly, between our peoples will help to develop our economy." What was perhaps more astounding is that this is the first time an inauguration party had been held anywhere in the world other than at an American embassy. That, to me, paints a perfect portrait of what this election has done here at home and all over the globe as part of a changing worldwide perspective on politics. One Russian political analyst, Stanislav Byshok, said in an interview that "for the first time ever Russians are applauding the victory of a US presidential candidate, it's a sign of the times."

Adding to the good vides that were going around Russia at the time, an 82-year-old Russian music legend, Willi Tokarev, contributed to the celebrations by writing a personal song, Trumplissimo America! to President Trump:

Photo from RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty

(Video link found on tom balmforth's Twitter account, @BalmforthTom, posted in hyperlink)

"Trump, Trump, symbol of America. Trump, Trump, he's really president!"

Across the Atlantic Ocean in the U.K., the BBC covered the inauguration from an entirely different angle - a more centered approach.

It was great to see that this reporter - rightly so - questioned whether or not President Trump could actually fulfill all of the items he has on his agenda, while focusing just as much on the message itself, calling it "not a message for the American people as a whole - many of whom likely feel the past resident of the White House, Barack Obama, reflected their beliefs and their diversity."

Though these interviews were conducted in America, I thought it was innovative for the BBC to go out and ask American kids, the future of America, for their personal thoughts on Trump.

An America under President Trump, and his "America first" approach, will be great to follow over the next four years. It's obvious that Trump will run the White House the same way he ran his campaign - with tough words and, at times, brash action. His message has divided the nation and sprung the beginning of a political movement for both the left and the right here at home and across oceans.

An interesting read from a Russian far-right news agency!

Some photos I thought were interesting from around the web and Twitter-sphere:

Photo courtesy of Lilly Ligia
Protest in London, England