My Inauguration Dream and the Republican Party’s Melting Pot for Donald Trump

On January 20th, 2025, I got to check an item off of my bucket list that has been on my list for decades. Yes, decades even though I am freshly 39 years old. To give you a little context, I’ve been a conservative since the beginning. I turned 18 in 2004 so the first time I was able to vote was for George W. Bush’s second term, post 9/11, when the Republican party was riding the patriotic wave born out of tragedy that brought our country together for a moment. I had been looking forward to that election for years, since watching the 2000 election finish so closely, and cast that first vote with pride. When Dubya was inaugurated, I watched from California and promised myself to be there in person one day. 

Fast forward to November 5, 2024, a day that marked 20 years since voting in my very first election. For many of us, the last four years have been incredibly heavy because reason and common sense seemed to be completely lost to the voices of a very loud minority who hijacked the White House. I didn’t realize just how much of that I had been carrying with me until Pennsylvania was called for Trump. We all knew, at that moment, that he was going to be our 47th president. I breathed out a huge sigh of relief, shed some tears, thanked God and then turned to my husband and said, “I’m going to DC!”. I secured a friend to go with me (she jumped at the chance - thanks, Ashley!), booked our flights and hotel, and assembled our inaugural outfits - a fleece American flag onesie and MAGA hats. LFG!

And then, as we made final preparations to head to the inauguration, two figurative bombs went off. First, we were notified that we did not receive tickets to the ticketed portion of the inauguration from our state senator. I am not exaggerating when I say I was the first person in the state of Utah to apply for these tickets so I was pretty shocked to hear we didn’t get them. But, the show must go on and we were still going. And then, we found out the ceremony was to be moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda with a public watch party at the Capital One Arena. To say I was bummed out is an understatement. Watching that historic ceremony with the Capitol building as a backdrop was all part of my bucket list plan. But again, the show must go on. We were still going. This pivot in the plans would ultimately give us an experience that was truly unforgettable. 

When the time came to head to DC, we left our houses in Utah at 4:30am, endured a 17+ hour travel day and arrived at our hotel at 11:00pm in DC. I’d been monitoring social media posts from the Trump’s final rally earlier that day where the lines had gotten crazy, with people standing in them for 8+ hours without getting in, so I threw out the crazy idea to head to the Capital One Arena right then, instead of early the next morning as originally planned. We would have to stand in line all night to try to secure our spot. Ashley was in! So we bundled up and hopped in an Uber to the arena. After a 25-minute Uber ride and a 1.7 mile walk through streets of DC, due to closed roads and heightened security, we arrived at the arena at 1:30am. We were ecstatic to find only about 200 people already in line. Not only did this mean we were definitely getting in but we were also going to get incredible seats!

During the 7 hours we stood in that line, we enjoyed a camaraderie that is honestly hard to put into words. We met people from CA, TX, GA, SC, OK, NY, PA, IL, MA, CO, WY, ID, AZ. I met a woman who had flown all the way from Tokyo for the inauguration and was desperate to ensure she would be part of the event inside the arena. We met a man who had been a refugee who fled communist China and was so excited for Trump to be president again. Another Asian man was walking up and down the line in a custom Trump inauguration-inspired military outfit, waving an American flag, hyping up the crowd with chants and songs. A black couple in front of me in line wore shirts that said “I’m voting for the convicted felon”. The actual best! Every time I got out of line to use the bathroom, I surveyed the people lined up behind us. I saw people of every race and culture, men, women and children, old and young, immigrants and citizens, all singing songs of freedom and celebrating America together. I heard accents from all over the world. We shared stories and agreed on how great it was to be surrounded by “our people”, because of shared values, priorities, and a love for our country. I saw people buying coffees and handing them out to strangers, sharing snacks and blankets. No one cared about what anyone else looked like, we were just so happy to finally be rid of an administration who had forgotten us and to be experiencing an incredible moment in our nation’s history. 

Once inside, we found our seats and were incredibly just 10 rows away from the stage. We heard some great speakers like Charlie Kirk, Elon Musk (and no, that wasn’t a Nazi salute), and Sarah Huckabee Sanders. We cheered, we cried, we prayed together, we celebrated. Every time an image of Biden or Harris came on the massive screens inside the arena, the entire arena booed loudly and the entire arena broke out in a farewell song as he flew away in his helicopter. Conversely, every time Donald Trump or JD Vance made an appearance, the crowd roared, chanting “U-S-A”. And when they finally joined us in the arena in person, we all lost our minds with pride. We saw a parade filled with first responders and marching bands, all made up of the same groups of people I described above. It truly was an incredible melting pot of people, a perfect representation of the America we all know and love, not at all the racists and bigots the media claims makes up our party. There were no Nazis or fascists in sight when the standing ovation was given by every single person in that arena, with many tears flowing, as families of Jewish men and women who were either murdered or taken hostage on October 7 joined President Trump on stage. 

There were many moments throughout the day where I found myself in true disbelief that I was actually there experiencing everything around me, everything I knew was true about our party. I have never felt so grateful and proud to be an American, which is a bold statement if you know me in real life. I have never felt so proud of myself for remaining steadfast in my beliefs, keeping true to myself and my convictions and I know every single person in that room felt the same. It was truly one of the most incredible days I’ve ever had and I’m so grateful to have been a part of it.

Xoxo,

Julie

By Julie Cremata

I am a wife, mother, and CA refugee now living in the free state of Utah.