By Brianna Wallen
News Editor
The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States took place on Jan. 20.
Held within the U.S. Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C., this event signaled the commencement of Trump’s second non-consecutive term and JD Vance’s first term as vice president.
“From what I saw, it was just Trump trying to hype up the crowd and get them going,” psychology major Anstasia Anderson, a sophomore, said.
Trump’s inauguration brought many shockwaves to campus with viral clips that spiraled throughout social media platforms.
Whether it was the CEOs of Meta, X and Amazon having exclusive seats or Trump stating he will change the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” many students have mixed emotions on the political event.
After seeing the most powerful and rich men in the world sitting close to the president during the inauguration, Anderson could only call it one word: disappointing.
“The top richest white men are running our nation and it’s honestly sad to see,” Anderson said.
One of those reserved seats was occupied by Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, X and Tesla Motors.
After Musk delivered his speech, many social media users accussed the billionaire of signaling a fascist-style salute with a straight-arm gesture to the crowd.
“I’m pretty sure he did a Nazi salute,” Anderson said. “I feel like history is repeating itself.”
Another controversial moment was when the president did not place his hand on the Bible while being sworn in.
Even though there is no legal requirement, many viewers were puzzled by his decision to opt out.
“He promotes God and religious motives, so it seems disrespectful for him to not put his hand on the Bible,” exploratory major Cameron Parson, a freshman, said.
Exploratory major Cameron Parson, a freshman, in Neff Hall lobby on Jan. 31.
Parson said that he watched clips from the inauguration on TikTok. This was due to boycotting the inauguration.
Parson said that he also saw multiple videos on TikTok of people coming together to avoid watching the inauguration, with the intention to create a dip in viewership.
“Since I don’t support him, I didn’t want to boost his views,” Parson said.
According to Nielsen, the inauguration was broadcasted across 15 networks, reaching a peak viewership of 34.4 million viewers during the 12:15 p.m. quarter-hour.
As reported by Forbes.com, in 2021, President Joe Biden’s inauguration had approximately 33.8 million viewers while in 2017, around 31 million people tuned in to watch Trump’s first inauguration.
Psychology major Aryana Ali, a junior, also did not tune into the inauguration.
“I didn’t pay him or the inauguration any mind,” Ali said. “I feel like that says enough.”
Overall Trump’s 2025 inauguration was impacted as its viewership was lower compared to the previous two inaugurations.
After the inauguration, students said that they are anxious about what awaits them.
Anderson, who was in middle school when Trump became president for the first time, said she believes that he is not going to keep his promises that got him elected into the office.
“I feel like people have to learn their lesson. He was our president once and they saw what he put us through,” Anderson said. “Now they’re going to see the consequences of their actions by making him president again.”
