Why Trump’s second inauguration isn’t like the first
It’s a very cold day in the District of Columbia. The frigid temperatures have prompted the inauguration of Donald Trump and JD Vance to be moved into the US Capitol Rotunda.
But that’s not all that’s changed between this day and Trump’s inauguration eight years ago.
Trump’s Electoral College victory in 2016 shocked many, including the winner himself, according to many of his campaign staffers.
Washington DC’s elected officials and political insiders, Democrats and Republicans alike, were still reeling in January 2017 as Trump laid his hand on a Bible and solemnly swore to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Now, in 2025, things have changed considerably.
The Supreme Court has granted the president broad immunity from criminal prosecution. Trump has vowed to exact retribution against his political adversaries. While his team was unprepared to assume office the first time, now his staff has reportedly prepared more than 100 executive orders to be signed on Day 1. Organized resistance to Trump is muted this time around, the guardrails protecting democracy are weaker, and many Democrats in Congress say they are willing to work with him.
Today, Explained host Noel King spoke with Susan B. Glasser, staff writer and a columnist for the New Yorker, about her memories of Trump’s first inauguration and how he’s being received differently this time. Glasser is the author, with Peter Baker, her husband and the chief White House correspondent for the New York Times, of the 2022 book The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021.
Below is an excerpt of their conversation, edited for length and clarity. There’s much more in the full podcast, so listen to Today, Explained wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Spotify.
Susan B. Glasser
I’ve been to a lot of different inaugurations here in Washington, going back to Bill Clinton’s. And 2016 was like nothing I’ve ever seen in Washington DC. It was almost like an alien invasion.
The streets were deserted. Definitely not........
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