Davis residents and organizations take on the recent presidential inauguration and resulting policy changes
By GIA LOOMIS — city@theaggie.org
On Jan. 20, 2025, Donald Trump was sworn into office, an action marking the beginning of his second non-consecutive term as president. From cold weather pushing the event inside for the first time since 1985 to Trump signing a high number of executive orders on the first day, this inauguration day was significant.
At his inauguration, Trump was flanked by the biggest names in tech, including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, who occupied some of the most exclusive seats at the event. On Inauguration Day in the Oval Office, Trump issued a few statements regarding his connections to executives and companies.
“They were all with him, every one of them, and now they are all with me,” Trump said. “They’re not going to get anything from me. I don’t need money, but I do want the nation to do well, and they’re smart people and they create a lot of jobs.”
Davis resident Hazel Hillenburg viewed Trump’s decision as one meant to demonstrate his growing influence in the nation.
“I think it was a power move on Trump’s part to show the control he has over the country and its most affluent,” Hillenburg said. “He is acting as though this is a petty feud between politicians and not an outright warning of Biden’s forewarning devastating implications of these billionaires for the future of the country.”
In his recent outgoing address, former President Joe Biden issued warnings to the United States people.
“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that really threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedom,” Biden said.
Trump also made a declaration that the United States government will henceforth only recognize two genders: male and female. The Davis Phoenix Coalition, a local organization that focuses on awareness, community engagement, advocacy and education in support of the LGBTQ+ community, was particularly affected by this declaration.
“The mission of the Phoenix Coalition is to engage the community to eliminate intolerance for the purpose of preventing hate motivated violence and cultivate a broader civic culture that embraces and promotes a diverse community,” the website’s mission statement reads.
Chair of the Davis Phoenix Coalition Anoosh Jorjorian took a strong stance against Trump’s two-gender proclamation.
“How many genders there are is not up to Trump,” Jorjorian said. “Gender is something defined at the level of the individual. There’s nothing biological about gender — it’s socially and culturally determined. So, despite whatever Trump says in terms of how many genders there are, there will continue to be trans and non-conforming people, and whether the government recognizes that or not is something most of us have been dealing with all our lives, and we will continue to fight for our rights.”
Another aspect of Trump’s Inauguration Day came following his swearing-in and inaugural address. After attending the Capital One Arena filled with his supporters, Trump quickly moved on to his desk, ready to sign executive orders and pardons and combat Biden’s previous actions by rescinding 78 executive orders. The president signed an additional 26 executive orders on Jan. 20 alone.
While the amount of executive orders signed on Trump’s first day in office was viewed as extreme by some, it was also viewed as Trump taking quick action to follow through on promises by others. Davis resident Joshua Malvitz believes that this is a sign of Trump coming through on getting things done while in office.
“I do believe that Trump is just delivering as he promised,” Malvitz said. “As Trump said that he would get a lot of things done the moment he came into office, […] he has delivered on his word. For the future, I would expect the same pacing. Yet I believe that this flurry of executive orders is not too different from President [Barack] Obama’s second term, the Republican party had an outroar during his term, and now Democrats are doing the same to Trump.”
Many in Davis held varying opinions on Jan. 20 and its events, but regardless of differences in perspectives, the event was seemingly very polarizing — particularly so for those directly affected by the executive actions Trump has already taken. Stay up to date with the Trump Administration’s most recent presidential actions at whitehouse.gov.
Written By: Gia Loomis — city@theaggie.org
