Donald Trump, now 47th President of the United States, takes office with Americans still deeply divided in their opinions of him and the agenda he’s promised.
PORTLAND, Ore. — In a nigh-unprecedented political comeback, President Donald Trump was sworn in for a second nonconsecutive term on Monday, becoming the 47th President of the United States.
“The golden age of America begins right now,” Trump said in his remarks. “From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world.”
But Trump takes office over an America still deeply divided, a sentiment that was palpable on the streets of Portland this Inauguration Day morning.
“Very disappointed, disheartened and demotivated,” Kirsten Boggs, a resident of downtown Portland, said of her feelings about Trump’s second term.
“Today, we’re just not really focusing on it, it’s just too hard,” echoed Melissa. “We’ve been through this before, and we feel like this go-around, at least for me, I’ve got to just distance myself from the news.”
Les Doty, who lives in Southeast Portland, said he was optimistic.
“I’m feeling good,” Doty said. “He said a lot, you know, and he did a lot of good stuff when he was in office the four years that he was, and we need him to do what he’s saying he’s going to do.”
During his historic indoor inaugural address, Trump said that he would “completely and totally reverse” the actions of his predecessor, now-former President Joe Biden.
“Our sovereignty will be reclaimed; our safety will be restored; the scales of justice will be rebalanced; the vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department of our government will end,” he said.
In winning the 2024 election, Trump overcame the headwinds of past impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts. He’s expected to act quickly on some of the priorities on which he campaigned, particularly a crackdown on immigration, efforts to increase fossil fuel development, and rolling back diversity and inclusion programs.
“I really trust in Trump to get everything down to a substantial living cost so we can actually live comfortably from here on out,” said Doty.
Party politics
The Story reached out to Oregon political leaders, some of whom were in Washington, D.C. on Monday. Their plans and outlooks largely broke along party lines.
“We are getting ready to go to one of the many balls happening this evening to celebrate this amazing day,” said Oregon Rep. Vikki Breese Iverson (R-District 59) said.
Congresswoman Andrea Salinas, a Democrat representing Oregon’s 6th District, said she had no plans to attend any parties or balls.
Breese-Iverson, alongside Oregon GOP Chair Justin Hwang, said she expects that a second Trump presidency will strengthen Oregon’s economy.
“He’s going to open up some regulations and we’re going to be able to get the economy started again, businesses are going to do business,” she said. “Hopefully we’ll watch some of those businesses stay in Oregon with some of these new Trump administration rules.”
“I’m a small business owner and there’s so many red tapes and getting involved with so many small business owners in Oregon,” Hwang agreed. “I look forward to have President Trump have new policies to help Oregonians and small business owners as well.”
Salinas, on the other hand, believes that Trump’s talk of tariffs — which he repeated during his inauguration speech — will only make life harder for Oregonians.
“He talked a bit of tariffs, and Oregon is a trade-dependent state,” Salinas said. “So even though we may have we have Nike, Columbia and Intel, oftentimes they rely on different supplies from those countries where it could cost us more as consumers once those extra tariffs get tacked on.”
One of Trump’s executive orders would declare a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, part of a broader effort to stop illegal immigration — and to curb many forms of legal immigration.
“Oh, I think it will be wonderful when he closes that border, which he’s actually already started, and we start to see some of those immigrants that have been flowing into Oregon and using our services for Oregonians, we’re going to see some of that slow down,” Breese-Iverson said.
“I know that our immigrant communities really work hard in Oregon,” Salinas countered. “They pay taxes, their kids go to school, they work hard to make a good life … but I understand that we all want our communities to be safe, so I agree with Trump that we need to crack down on these drug cartels coming across the border.”
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