On Monday morning, Washington, DC, was red hot despite the freezing temps.
I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to get into the Capital One Arena, where Donald Trump supporters were diverted due to plunging temps. But I hit pause after turning on the local news and seeing the seemingly endless line of people already there. Some had camped out overnight.
Among those interviewed: A college student who had fallen down stairs at a Metro station that morning and split her head open.
She even had one of those bandages wrapped around her head like you see in cartoons. Still, she persisted and remained on line — concussions be damned. The criminal justice major from Arlington, Va., wanted to see DJT 47.
Head wounds, knee replacements, bitter cold. Nothing was stopping these MAGA-ites, not even the fact that they wouldn’t get to see Trump in person, since the parade was canceled. They are like the Deadheads of the political world: They’ll follow this man anywhere and dress the part.
At 8 o’clock, I discovered an arena line so long I walked for nearly an hour before giving up on finding the end. Instead I chatted with hardy folks — some dressed like Trump in suits and red ties and hats, others in head-to-toe camo. There were elegant minks too. Everyone with their own bit of MAGA flair.
Jake Dee from Boston wore a custom red sequined blazer embroidered with some of his favorite Trump tweets on the sleeve. He was disappointed but undeterred by the events being moved inside.
“It is what it is, but we are here to celebrate and support. We’re here to have some fun. I feel positive. We are here because we are more optimistic than we were four years ago,” said Dee, adding he appreciates Trump’s “directness” and his America-first policies.
His friend Cole, from Philly, had his own white blazer emblazoned with the words “Fight Fight Fight” on the back, “Unburdened” on one sleeve and “Maga Since Day One”on the other.
Lee Edwards from Birmingham, Ala., wore his new pair of golden Trump hightops.
He’s not a fancy sneaker guy, nor has he ever considered himself political. But Edwards, who is in the auto biz, thinks Trump is “going to bring vitality and bring back the automotive business.” He, too, had to be here.
Me? I usually won’t go anywhere near a crowd unless there is a ball involved, but Trump supporters are wildly entertaining. They’re patient, friendly — and they’ve been regularly maligned by the media as Nazis or bigots, as we saw after Trump’s big MSG rally in October.
One fan I talked to was Jiale Zhu, a Chinese-born Texan who came solo from Dallas on his 25th birthday — without gloves. “I felt like this date was destiny,” he said of the timing. “Everyone here is so happy.”
The thing that surprised him? “I expected to see protesters, but I guess they couldn’t withstand the cold.”
He was right. I saw no resistance.
I did see a group of Pakistani-American men from Scarsdale, NY. One of them, Muhammad Nizami, said he was emboldened to stand in the streets — despite a real-feel temperature in the teens —because Trump “is a New Yorker like us. He is giving us energy.” That and his four layers helped him through.
Canadians Scott and Lori Earle came from Alberta with a specially made flag depicting both the stars-and-stripes and a maple leaf.
“This is the 51st state flag,” said Scott. Sure, this weather is nothing to our neighbors to the north — but why travel for such misery when you can have it in your own backyard?
“It’s history in the making. Trump is the greatest president of all time. He’s the GOAT,” Scott said, adding that a strong US helps Canada.
Lori has another reason to love Trump: “I think he got Justin Trudeau to quit.”
Finally, watching the ceremony in the lobby of the Washington Hilton, I sat next to a dude named Dan from Wisconsin. He had a knee replacement three weeks ago and was planning on standing on the parade route with a walker. Instead, he watched inside with crutches and his giant scar, as big as his cowboy hat.
“There was no way I was missing this. It’s history,” he told me. Sure, but so was the feeling in my fingers after spending too much time outside.
Edwards summed up the day’s appeal for a lot of people.
“The whole country is experiencing a cold spell. But it’s about to warm up.”
Metaphorically or literally?
He grinned as he said, “Everything is about to get very exciting and very warm.”
