The weather in Washington, D.C., has plunged into the 20s, with a 40 percent chance of snow showers—and a 100 percent chance of bumping into someone who voted for Donald Trump. Our D.C. bureau chief, David Corn, bundled up against the chill, braved the slushy queues to speak with ecstatic Trump supporters who began attending a series of celebrations in the capital yesterday. The events were moved indoors to protect against the extreme cold.
Last night, thousands of MAGA faithful packed into the Capital One Arena for an inauguration-eve event. David joined the lines.
.@DavidCornDC has been braving the chaos and the slushy weather in DC with thousands of the MAGA faithful to get into the Capital One Arena for Trump’s inauguration eve “victory rally”. We’ll update here with his video dispatches. pic.twitter.com/pG8bOiTV1n
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) January 19, 2025
While in line, David interviewed die-hard Trump supporters about their reasons for backing the president-to-be. Among them was Andrew Williams, who praised Trump for not being like the other GOP war hawks. But what about Trump’s proposed military annexation of Greenland? Corn asked.
–”Should he cut off aid to Ukraine?”
–”Absolutely.”
–”Tomorrow?”
–”Tomorrow.”Our DC bureau boss @DavidCornDC talks to Trump voters on the eve of Trump 2.0 about what they want most dearly—while they wait to get into his rally. pic.twitter.com/QrnkjV76aF
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) January 20, 2025
Corn also watched—and recapped—Trump’s “victory rally,” which included a long segment about Jesus from a duo of women who call themselves “Girls Gone Bible.”
You may want to ask, “Why is it fun to stay the YMCA?” That’s the question they never entertain at these rallies.
Kicking the victory rally off with Christian nationalism and ending it with a gay anthem, that’s a Trump event alright. pic.twitter.com/cUcbp2juJb
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) January 20, 2025
This post will be updated with dispatches from the day. Stay tuned.
