PITTSBURGH — Despite a ceremony held in the center of wealth and power, Monday’s inauguration of President Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States was the people’s inauguration.
Erin Koper, a one-time Democrat who gave a speech about crime at the Republican National Convention last summer, said it was a day filled with history and emotion for her.
“Watching history today brought out emotions because, like Rev. Franklin Graham noted, we had fallen on dark times,” Koper explained over brunch and champagne with her girlfriends. “We can now move forward with the ‘America first’ agenda that will bring security and prosperity to our nation.”
In Cumberland County Pennsylvania, a longtime public affairs professional who was watching the inauguration with his family said that for someone who spends his professional life crafting messages for executives, he was struggling to find a way to express his own.
“I can’t even describe what I am feeling right now,” he said of Trump’s inaugural speech, “I think our country looked into the abyss and said, ‘Not today.’ I did not actually anticipate this opening, but holy crap, it is game on.”
Across the state in Chester County, Guy Ciarrocchi, a senior fellow at the Commonwealth Foundation, said his first reaction to Trump’s inauguration speech was, “Wow.”
Ciarrocchi added, “President Trump’s closing remarks are among the boldest and most uplifting since Ronald Reagan in 1980. His pledge to unity and a common future reminds me of Lincoln. His call to Mars harkens us to Kennedy’s call to the moon. It was quintessential Trump and thoroughly American.”
All across Pennsylvania in homes, pubs, restaurants, and hotel conference rooms, people were celebrating Trump’s return to the White House. The line that really emotionally affected people was eight simple words.
“In America, impossible is what we do best.”
Youngstown State University professor Paul Sracic said this was the people’s inauguration, “one that people in D.C. and New York City might not get.”
“In that speech, he was talking directly to the people of the country without the filter of the press or commentators to dilute or weigh in on what it meant,” Sracic said.
“Particularly the line about common sense, that was directed to the American people,” he said. “This was not a flowery address, this was telling America this is what we are going to do and it will be the golden age of America, and he told them directly that golden age is for them.”
Sracic said Trump knows the public. “He always had. This was stern. This was to the point. He was confident and in command and this is what they wanted.”
Even elected officials who disagreed politically with Trump welcomed the possibilities that he could deliver for their constituents in Pennsylvania.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), a Braddock Democrat attended the inauguration in his traditional hoodie and shorts. Western Pennsylvania Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA) joined Truth Social and said it was his job to work with Trump and that he was looking forward to working with him on rail safety.
“Making more stuff in Western Pennsylvania and across America,” Deluzio said in a statement. “Let’s put our country over party and deliver for the good people of Western Pennsylvania.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) said, “I believe there’s more that unites us as Americans than divides us — and as the Trump Administration begins its work, we must focus on the commonsense issues that bring people together to move our Commonwealth and our country forward.”
When an image appeared early in the day of a desk with the presidential seal on it sitting in the center of Capital One Arena in Washington, people across the state sent messages of relief and excitement to each other expressing relief that regulations hurting their industries were coming to an end.
During his speech, Trump said he would end the Green New Deal and revoke the electric vehicle mandate.
“Saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American auto workers,” he said. “In other words, you’ll be able to buy the car of your choice.”
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Trump also said he would declare a national energy emergency aimed at boosting U.S. oil and gas production and lowering costs for U.S. consumers.
One suburban mother who was with her friends in Pennsylvania said she also enjoyed some of the fun parts of the day, “I loved when Vice President Vance’s daughter was in her mom’s arms with Band-Aids on her fingers. I mean, what mom doesn’t have a kid who demands multiple Band-Aids?”