January 24, 2024/Midnight 

Erie, Pa.—On Monday, the country came together to witness the 60th Presidential Inauguration Ceremony. President–elect Donald Trump took his oath and officially began his reign as the 47th President of the United States.

Proceedings took place inside the U.S. Capitol building this year instead of the usual setting, outdoors on the front steps, due to the frigid temperatures and severe weather that struck much of the country.

The ceremony was full of familiar faces, including many former presidents like Bill Clinton and
George Bush with a number of prominent CEOs and company founders in attendance, such as Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta.

Even watching from home, one could feel the anticipation in the air as the room filled up with a number of politicians and other major playmakers. Once the president–elect made his way to his seat, reality finally began to kick in that the country was officially about to witness this historic moment.

What I found particularly amusing about the inauguration was Trump’s speech.

He walked up to the podium with a smile on his face accompanied by cheers and a standing ovation. I made sure to turn up the volume, so that I did not miss a word. I knew whatever was to come out of his mouth would be something that every citizen should hear.

He started off hopeful, saying the Trump administration will always “put America first.”

He mentioned the current state of the country, shouting out those affected by wildfires that have wreaked havoc on the Los Angeles area. Trump also mentioned the people still rebuilding from hurricanes that came through years ago.

Trump even mentioned his assassination attempt back in July of last year, saying he was “…saved by God to make America great again!”

The president commented on the possibility of going to the planet Mars, which got a pleased reaction from Tesla CEO and owner of X (formerly known as Twitter) Elon Musk who gave a big thumbs up to the camera.

He further addressed the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, which will be initially led by Musk.

We also heard the common remarks that Trump has been saying since his initial presidential term about the southern border, saying he will declare it a national emergency. He also talked about the name change of the Gulf of Mexico to be the Gulf of America and retrieving the Panama Canal.

Trump emphasized that he wants to be a “peacemaker and a unifier” during his time as president, mentioning the issues in the Middle East and bringing the hostages back home to their families.

The new president ended his speech claiming the “golden age” of the country “has just begun.”

These final remarks made me sit back and think over for a while. Why the “golden age”? What changes will this incoming administration make in order to achieve this? What does this mean for the country right now? And most importantly, should we be worried?

I guess only time will tell. 

Looking at the speech itself, I think there are definitely some good sentiments and it did leave me feeling hopeful. 

Trump’s remarks regarding gender and saying he wants to “…bring law and order back to our cities,”  worried me in terms of backlash to these statements and the way in which the Trump Administration plans to execute these policies.

Regardless of the one’s feelings about the speech and the current administration, one thing most Americans can agree with is that there is always room for improvement in the country.

As we are all still healing from the effects of the worldwide Covid–19 pandemic, along with the natural disasters and different economic issues, we can all safely say that coming together in this time is much better than dividing ourselves.

Some Americans may not agree with the election results, but we should encourage peaceful and understanding dialogue, while trying to remain united regardless of political ties.

As Trump stated within his speech, “If we work together, there is nothing we cannot do and no dream we cannot achieve.”

Despite our own political leanings and other convictions, we should come together over the span of the next four years to focus on building a country and a society we would be proud to leave behind for future generations. That is what would make our country truly “great again.”