Photos: Missouri and Illinois residents sound off as Trump returns to the White House

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republicans and Democrats from across the U.S. packed the nation’s capital to celebrate and protest President Donald Trump’s second inauguration on Monday.

Although weather forecasters anticipated several inches of snow, the precipitation totals didn’t materialize as predicted. But the cold was enough for the incoming Trump administration to scrap the outdoor swearing-in and move the ceremony inside the U.S. Capitol’s rotunda, followed later in the day by a rally at Capital One Arena.

Tink Bechtol, 58, made the trip from Florida with her friend Peggy Wiseman, 70. The pair didn’t let the snow stop them from attempting to get into Trump’s Sunday afternoon pre-inauguration rally.

“We’re going to celebrate making America great again with President Trump,” Bechtol said. “We suffered the last four years. Where we were prior to that is where we’re going to be again — and it’s only going to be better.”

Bechtol hopes the new administration can emphasize helping middle-class, working families — including tackling strains on Americans’ pocketbooks. Patti Lechner, a 62-year-old from Northbrook, Illinois, shared similar sentiments while waiting in line to get into a rally early on Sunday morning.

“I’m excited [for Trump] to lift all the obstacles of the government bureaucracy and lower taxes and this whole [immigration] program,” she said. “I mean, can’t wait for that. You can’t [have] the economics of overtaxing people and then letting other people in.”

The 2024 election demonstrated that Trump built a broad coalition of support that included young Latino and Black men who propelled him into the White House.

Belio Martínez, a Dominican American voter from New York City, said Trump’s stances on crime and economic issues appealed to him and ultimately led him to swing from voting Democratic in the past.

“[Latinos] get Democrats into office, and then they promise all these things. At the end of the day, they don’t do much for us,” he said, adding the debate over abortion access also weighed heavily in his community. “They took for granted the fact that Latinos, the vast majority, are heavy Christians. There’s just a lot of things they’re pushing that we don’t get along with.”

In Missouri, the Latino voter base is becoming an influential force that some political operatives say could one day hold the key to the state’s political future.

Just hours after taking the oath of office, Trump issued a series of executive orders around the economy and immigration — actions some Republicans see as the president delivering on his campaign promises.

But the president’s second inauguration didn’t mark a time of festivity for all. The days leading up to the start of his second term were filled with demonstrations.

Thousands of people funneled into Washington streets on Saturday with signs, banners and bullhorns on their way to the National Mall as part of the People’s March, a mobilization put together by a coalition of organizations opposing Trump’s agenda.

“I’m here to fight for not only my future but for everybody else’s,” said protester Dallon Fontana, an 18-year-old transgender man from Creve Coeur. “I think that it’s very important to recognize what’s going on in the world and seeing that the only way that we can really make a change is by showing people that we’re here.”

Susan Ray, 59, made the trek to the march from Lisbon, New Hampshire, alongside her 19-year-old daughter Amy Wall, to fight for reproductive health care rights.

“I am just appalled by the state of our society and that women’s rights are in danger,” Ray said. “It’s just appalling that rights are being taken away — that women are dying — because they can’t get the necessary health care that they need. It’s not about being pro-abortion, it’s about being pro-choice and allowing women to make the decisions that are right for them.”

Looking back at Trump’s first term, Ray said her strategy around protesting has changed, especially as some Democratic voters speak about feeling tired or knowing others in their community who felt resigned following Trump’s decisive win.

“I was mostly quiet, having conversations just with my own group of people, not outwardly outraged. Then when his reelection came along, I felt I needed to do whatever I could to prevent him from going into office,” she said. “This time around, the election result […] was just devastating, and I just can’t sit down and not do something.”

See photos from President Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington below.

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