< The Latest 2025-01-21T14:58:48+0000
The Pasadena Star-News | Mon 01/20 02:19pm PST | Kaitlyn Schallhorn
It was 3:30 a.m., the temperature hovering around 13 degrees Fahrenheit.
Brian Hall was in line with his son, Patton, for inauguration festivities at the Capitol One Arena early Monday morning, Jan. 20, some 500 people back, by his estimate.
The Halls, who had traveled to Washington, D.C., from Lake Arrowhead for President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, had missed the president’s rally at the indoor venue the previous day. They weren’t going to miss Monday’s events.
“It’s the most MAGA rally of all time,” Hall said later Monday afternoon from his seats just behind the stage in the arena, as tech billionaire and Trump confidant Elon Musk walked out to applause. “Everyone is just jubilant, celebratory, relieved, joyous. It’s one of the biggest days in human history.”
Waiting out in the cold for some five hours was worth it, Hall said. Besides, it wasn’t “too windy,” he said.
Hall was among several Southern Californians who made the trek to a bone-chilling cold Washington for the inauguration and accompanying parties throughout the weekend and into Monday, Jan. 20.
Some were happy that the traditional plans to hold the inauguration outside were scrapped at the last minute, moving inside to the Capitol Rotunda; others were disappointed but forgiving.
“I strongly preferred to be watching it in person outdoors, but I understand why they made the choice,” said Will O’Neill, the new chairman of the Republican Party of Orange County, adding that he was certainly warmer because of the venue change.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t personally a little disappointed, but given the history, and certainly over the past 12 months, keeping President Trump and his administration safe needs to be top priority, whether it’s because of the weather or security concerns,” said O’Neill.
Roxanne Hoge, along with LAGOP Chair Timothy O’Reilly and former Chair Mark Vafiades at a watch party for President Donald Trump’s inauguration in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo courtesy of Roxanne Hoge)
Riverside Councilmember Steven Robillard and his wife, Lexie Robillard, in front of the U.S. Capitol. (Photo courtesy of Steven Robillard)
A crowd waits in line to get into Capital One Arena for Donald Trump’s inauguration celebration on Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will be sworn in on Jan. 20 in an indoor ceremony in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol with a celebration at the Arena after. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
Former Sen. Jim Brulte, along with his wife, Kirsten Vital Brulte, and daughter, Ivy Vital, celebrating the inauguration of President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. (Photo courtesy of Jim Brulte)
Roxanne Hoge, along with LAGOP Chair Timothy O’Reilly and former Chair Mark Vafiades at a watch party for President Donald Trump’s inauguration in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo courtesy of Roxanne Hoge)
“We were not sure what to expect once we heard the inauguration wasn’t going to be outside anymore,” said Riverside Councilmember Steven Robillard. “We were kind of disappointed, but everything happens for a reason.”
Robillard, along with his wife and two young children, ended up at Rep. Jay Obernolte’s home on Capitol Hill for a watch party that included mimosas, fruit, coffee and a baked potato bar.
“Being inside a warm house was a lot better than being out in the cold,” Robillard said.
Robillard was part of a contingent of California Republicans who traveled across the country for a weekend of festivities, including tours of the Library of Congress and National Cathedral; dinner at Peking Gourmet Inn in Falls Church, Virginia; and a reception with Obernolte, R-Hesperia.
The Washington area had a “family-friendly” atmosphere throughout the weekend, Robillard said. People were excited, sure, but it wasn’t overwhelming, he said of his experience.
On Monday, Robillard and his family took the metro into D.C. from Bethesda. Many on the train wore MAGA hats, Robillard said, describing the atmosphere as “excited but not a mania.”
For Roxanne Hoge, the trip to Washington was a last-minute decision.
Her husband on Saturday convinced her to look up flights; by early Sunday morning, she was at the airport.
“It was really important to me to be with other like-minded folks, and I’m glad I did it,” said Hoge, a North Hollywood resident and spokesperson for the Republican Party of Los Angeles County.
Hoge joined a watch party at Mister Days, a sports bar in Arlington, Virginia, where she ran into the current and past chairs of the LAGOP — a completely coincidental meeting, she said.
At Mister Days, Hoge described the atmosphere as “incredibly happy” with “lots of strong reactions” to almost every line Trump delivered during his inauguration address.
“Everybody was thrilled, there was a real hushed appreciation for the prayers,” said Hoge, noting the weather was much colder than she’s used to as someone who is from Jamaica.
Meanwhile, back across the river at the U.S. Capitol, O’Neill, a former Newport Beach mayor, sat inside Rep. Young Kim’s office for the ceremony.
It wasn’t lost on him that the inauguration fell on Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year. “To celebrate and honor both events (in Washington) means a lot to me personally,” O’Neill said.
This was the first inauguration for O’Neill.
But for Jim Brulte, former chair of the California Republican Party, it was his sixth.
It’s the second-coldest inauguration Brulte’s gone to — former President Ronald Reagan’s 1985 inauguration was also moved indoors as temperatures hit 7 degrees Fahrenheit — but this was also the best one for Brulte.
That’s because it was the first one he attended alongside his wife and daughter.
Brulte, who watched the inauguration from Obernolte’s home, organized the special trip of Southern Californians that included the tours and Peking Gourmet and a California ball.
He enjoyed Trump’s address, he said Monday afternoon, because it sounded similar to what he had promised during the campaign.
“America is back, and I think that is a good thing,” Brulte said. “Strength matters.”
But it wasn’t just Republicans who attended the inauguration.
Among the elected officials gathered in the Capitol Rotunda where Trump was sworn into his second term was Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Los Angeles.
She attended the inauguration, she said, “to serve as a stark reminder of the human impact of delayed disaster relief for California.”
“The pain of this tragedy resonates deeply with my constituents and me — just as it does with so many others across the state,” Kamlager-Dove said, referencing the catastrophic firestorm that Los Angeles County is still reeling from.
Trump has threatened to withhold wildfire aid from Califonia. In his inauguration address Monday, the new president referenced the Los Angeles fires, saying there would be a “change” for how disasters are handled under his newer administration.
“No one is immune from the rippling effect this tragedy will have on our families, businesses and local economy for years to come,” she said.
But across Washington, Trump’s supporters celebrated.
“It’s so electric, such positive energy, cheering for everything,” said Newport Beach resident Kim Bagramian from inside the Capitol One Arena along with her mother, Shelly Arakelian from Newport Coast.
It was their first inauguration, and they were able to get seats near the stage inside the arena, where they arrived at 6:30 a.m. with a pass that expedited their entry.
“I will be just bumping into happy people all over the place,” said Hoge of her plans for the rest of Monday. “You never know who you’ll see or where you’ll go, but it’s nice to see the stench lifted from the swamp.”