Thurs. Jan. 19: Pre-Inaugural Concert

On the day prior to the inauguration was the pre-inaugural concert held at Lincoln Memorial. A multitude of artists who were approached by Trump’s administration to perform refused including Celine Dion, Sir Elton John, Justin Timberlake and The Chainsmokers. Even those rumored to have agreed to perform like Andrea Bocelli backed out after receiving immense backlash. In the end, the concert, entitled “Make America Great Again! A Welcome Celebration”  was headlined by smaller predominantly country and rock acts like 3 Doors Down, The Piano Guys and Lee Greenwood.

Fri. Jan. 20: Inauguration Day

President-elect Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States. In his inaugural address, Trump painted a picture of a decrepit, deteriorated America and emphasized his intent to end “this American carnage” and “make America great again.” Following the inauguration was the inaugural ball, in which Trump cut a cake purposefully commissioned by his administration to be an exact replica of the cake baked by pastry chef Duff Goldman for Obama’s inaugural ball in 2013.

Sat. Jan. 21: The Women’s March

The day after Trump was sworn into office, the Women’s March, a nationwide protest championing equality for all, ensued as a response to Trump’s derogatory rhetoric regarding females during this election cycle. Citizens marched at 526 different locations across the US including downtown Dallas, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Phoenix and more in a show of solidarity.  Quickly proclaimed the largest protest in US history, the March was composed of an estimated 3.65 million citizens and attracted a multitude of celebrity participants including Katy Perry, Gina Rodriguez, John Legend, Nick Offerman and several others. They held signs reading empowering phrases like “Girls just want to have fun-damental rights” and “A woman’s place is in the resistance” which became popular images, proliferating social media and the news. Comedian Aziz Ansari hosted Saturday Night Live (SNL) that night and during his monologue, he praised the fact that “an entire gender” rose up to defend their rights. He also encouraged the new president to foster a more unifying voice in the future by discouraging acts of blatant racism and Islamophobia in his rhetoric.