Trump inauguration: Idahoans here, in D.C. pause to witness transfer of power

Idahoans in Boise and Washington, D.C., following inaugural events:

From Bill Roberts, Idaho Statesman:

Grace Hill, a 17-year-old senior at Mountain View High School in Meridian, isn’t a fan of Donald Trump. She came into Mike Dawley’s American government class Friday to watch the inauguration prepared not to like what President Trump was gong to say.

“I thought Trump was going to talk about himself,” she said. “I thought he was a little egotistical.”

But that’s not what she heard. “The fact that he talked about us and made the speech more about people instead of more centralizing his power, his status as a president shows that maybe his attitude had changed,” she said.

Hill was one of nearly 40 students who watched Trump’s speech. She not in the Trump column, but keeping an open mind.

“After giving his speech, I respect him a little bit more,” she said. “I will give him time. I will give him a chance.”

From Carolyn Cakir, Medill News Service:

Idaho GOP Chairman Steve Yates was in Washington for the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting, which was scheduled so that members also could attend the inauguration.

The process of transferring power, he said, is “what makes the U.S. special.”

“Just the pomp and circumstance of being at the United States capitol, seeing several former presidents there in person, who’ve gone through this process, it’s just a really amazing ceremony to witness,” the Idaho Falls resident said.

Trump’s inauguration, he said, was particularly “fun and interesting,” because the 45th president’s campaign was “a very populist movement.”

“It brought a lot of grassroots activists to the campaign, and a whole lot of those activists were there (Friday),” he said. “(They) reacted extremely positively and enthusiastically to(Trump’s) speech.”

Yates said inaugural addresses are “meant to give a very clear indication of the highest priorities and principles that are gonna guide an incoming president.”

He thought Trump clearly summarized his motivations: “helping the American worker,” making “better trade agreements” and returning to a “America first approach.”

“That’s a lot to accomplish in a short speech,” Yates said. “I think he did it very well.”

“He clearly set a tone for his brand of engagement with the world,” Yates said.

The address proves that Trump will get to work on Day 1.

“I think it’s gonna be ambitious, in the sense of getting under way as soon as possible,” Yates said. Fast confirmations of Trump cabinet nominees will be “a good sign” that the administration is ready to move forward on its campaign promises, he said.

From Carolyn Cakir, Medill News Service:

Maya Pickens, 12, attended the inauguration with her mother Terri, father Mark and cousin Theressa Schiers. The four wore hand-decorated scarves that said “Not my president.”

They traveled to Washington for Saturday’s Women’s March, but got tickets to the swearing-in through Sen. Crapo’s office.

Maya and her family expressed disappointment in the behavior of fellow attendees.

“They were rowdy, annoying and mean,” she said of the Trump supporters near her. “I didn’t want to raise up my scarf, because I felt someone was going to hurt me.”

As soon as the family arrived, they felt the “bad energy” of the crowd and made a safety plan for quick escape.

This is the first inauguration Maya attended, and she said she found it to be both dangerous and a good experience.

The four retreated to the 21st Amendment Bar and Grill after Trump’s address. “I need a drink,” Terri texted.

Terri said she had several “profound moments” during the ceremony. One was when the crowd around her booed Hillary Clinton, which she called “rude and disrespectful.”

Another was right before the newly sworn-in president gave his address.

“As soon as Trump took the stage to start speaking, it started raining,” Terri said. “I said, ‘this was the point that earth started crying.’ That moment when he stood forward, that moment became reality.”

From Bill Dentzer, Idaho Statesman:

Members of Idaho’s Republican-majority Legislature paused to watch Donald Trump’s inauguration in private offices and in the House lounge.

“I feel optimistic. I really do,” House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, said after watching the inauguration in his office. “I think there’s going to be a bigger role for the states going forward, and that’s an exciting challenge here. I’m kind of excited.”

From Rocky Barker, Idaho Statesman:

Former Idaho Republican Sen. Rod Beck, who was one of Trump’s earliest and strongest Idaho supporters, is in Washington, D.C., for the inaugural festivities. He was Idaho chairman for the Trump campaign

He said he was moved by the inauguration and the orderly transfer of power. “Some countries don’t have this,” Beck said. “They just shoot the opposition.”

He said he loved how country singer Toby Keith thanked both former President Obama and incoming President Trump at the Lincoln Memorial concert Thursday. He and his family will attend the inaugural ball Friday night.

From Kyle Green, Idaho Statesman:

Two perspectives Friday morning from two customers at the ABC Laundry on Overland Road in Boise, where Trump’s inauguration played on a TV in the background.

Kris Van Pelt voted for Clinton last year. “I think Trump’s presidency will be like all the others,” she said. “Everyone will get all worried about what he will do, kind of like when everyone thought Obama would impose Sharia law and take their guns, but in the end not much will happen.”

Trump supporter Ernest Diaz said in 2012, “I probably would have voted for Barack Obama. I voted for Trump this election. I think it is great that a businessman will take over the country. This is America. It will be great.”

From Carolyn Cakir, Medill News Service:

Teacher Gretchen Spooner is in Washington with four of her students from Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind in Gooding.

“The message that ‘we need to be united’ is very typical of any president starting out, and that is the goal,” she said. “Even though we have divisions all over the place, it is important that we pull together for the good of the country.”

Her group is among students, decked in matching navy and yellow scarves, in Washington thanks to the Envision Experience.

“The goal of the summit is to engage students to be active participants,” she said. “Teaching students to be involved.”

Trump’s checkered history talking about disabled communities, Spooner said, is “a great area of concern for the entire area of special education in the nation.”

“So far it appears that there’s just a lack of awareness,” she said. “I’m just gonna have to wait and see how the chips fall.”

“I know he’s got big ideas, we’ll just see how much of it follows through,” she said, listening to Trump’s speech. “What impacts they have, we don’t know.”

From Carolyn Cakir, Medill News Service:

The line for general admission to The Mall was orderly, friendly almost. Strangers talked with others in line about policy and the future Trump administration. Protesters in pink “pussy” hats — knitted beanies that have become emblems of the Women’s March on Washington — waited alongside Trump supporters sporting Make America Great Again baseball caps.

From Carolyn Cakir, Medill News Service:

Terri Pickens, a Boise attorney who voted for Hillary Clinton, was planning to bring her 12-year-old daughter, Maya, to the inauguration. Her main reason for coming to Washington is to participate in Saturday’s Women’s March on Washington, an event expected to draw 200,000 protesters.

After seeing an ad in the Idaho Statesman, Pickens said she decided to apply for tickets to the swearing-in ceremony as well because she wanted “to show my daughter the smooth transition of power.”

“(My daughter) and I were both terribly heartbroken about the election, but frankly when is this going to come up again for us?” she said. “I want to give my daughter the opportunity to hopefully see democracy work.”

From Rob Hotakeinen, McClatchy News Service

Idaho Republican Party Chairman Steve Yates, of Idaho Falls, planned to be up early Friday to make sure he got a good view of the swearing-in.

“It’s definitely going to be exciting, historic and hopefully not too wet,” said Yates, referring to the weather forecast that calls for rain on Friday.

Yates said he recalled being in Washington, D.C., in January of 2009 and watching people hug and cry in a hotel lobby as they celebrated the inauguration of President Barack Obama. He said it made him feel happy, even though he didn’t support Obama.

“It’s good for people to be able to celebrate these important transitions,” Yates said. “It’s probably optimistic to believe that’s the way the city will be on Friday, but it is the spirit in which I think we should approach it.”

CORRECTION: This article originally gave the wrong name for the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind.

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 10:12 AM with the headline "Trump inauguration: Idahoans here, in D.C. pause to witness transfer of power."