Snubbing the little guys

Trump’s inauguration yesterday looked like a debutante ball for billionaires. It featured so many rich and powerful men that it left no room for ordinary Americans — the little guys. There was not a firefighter, police officer, or construction worker in sight.

Frankly, you’d think Trump owes his victory not to the 77 million MAGA faithful who voted for him, but to a handful of tech billionaires who rigged the election. That’s the only way to explain Trump snubbing his MAGA pawns to hobnob with these johnnies-come-lately tech oligarchs.

Promises, promises, but not a one that mattered

Trump delivered speech after speech yesterday, each brimming with outlandish promises: taking back the Panama Canal, ending birthright citizenship, withdrawing from the Paris climate treaty, and pardoning the January 6 criminals he incited, to list just a few. Yet amid all the bravado, he never mentioned his cornerstone campaign promise — lowering inflation to make homes, cars, food, healthcare, and gasoline more affordable.

For the MAGA faithful struggling to make ends meet, this omission should have felt like both an insult and a betrayal. But the way organizers treated them at the Capital One Arena for the inaugural parade was a fitting metaphor for what Trump really thinks of them.

After waiting 10 hours in the cold to be herded in, they were told to leave all handbags on the sidewalk for security. Bags, backpacks, and purses weren’t allowed inside. Only wallet-sized clutches no larger than 5″ x 7″, medical bags, and parenting bags no larger than 14″ x 14″ x 6″ were permitted — and even those faced security screening. Two assassination attempts on Trump’s life in one summer will make the Secret Service paranoid like that.

Attendees duly complied, leaving pricey handbags on the sidewalk. But when they returned to retrieve them, city dump trucks had already scooped everything up as trash for landfills.

Yet their cult-like worship of Trump meant they left that indoor MAGA parade feeling as inspired as evangelicals leaving a Billy Graham crusade.

DEI bogeyman meant no minority or Muslim welcomed?

It was all too noticeable that the only Black faces seen throughout the day were providing protection, hospitality, or entertainment. Most notably, a Black pastor delivered the benediction at Trump’s swearing-in ceremony with over-the-top theatrics that could only appeal to White supremacists. But members of the Mississippi State marching band were the only Black faces even among the 20,000 at the Capitol One Arena. Well, that’s besides Trump’s token African American seated in the Soviet-style viewing stand.

I repeatedly decried how candidate Trump paid Black wranglers to recruit Blacks for political optics at his campaign rallies. But yesterday’s events made one thing clear: President Trump no longer thinks he needs them.

Meanwhile, Muslims who voted for Trump or refused to vote for Kamala should beware. Because his complete snub of their religion during the inauguration is a harbinger of how he’ll treat them over the next four years. But, given the infamous Muslim travel ban he implemented last time, no Muslim should be surprised.

Trump’s Bible-free oath and Melania’s fashionable revenge

Much was made about Trump’s refusal to place his hand on the Bible wife Melania held as he took the oath of office. I submit that his intentions are so diabolical, he did it subconsciously. That way, when he inevitably commits crimes, no one can accuse him of betraying both the Constitution and God.

Meanwhile, Melania Trump looked like she stepped out of a fashion magazine yesterday. Think what you will of her, but she sealed her status as the most fashionable and photogenic first lady in US history.

But this wasn’t just about fashion. It was a calculated snub to magazines like Vogue and Vanity Fair that refused to feature her during Trump’s first term. Here’s to her snubbing them when they come begging this term.

Buckle up, America

Trump made clear his intent to lord over a tenure of chaos, cronyism, and chastisement. Yesterday’s inauguration set the tone for a presidency that will deport the huddled masses, enrich the upper class, ignore the working class, and turn America’s diversity into a dystopian joke.