At Trump's Inauguration, Criticism of the Biden Administration
Democrats Respond with Silence and Pursed Lips
A Stark Contrast to Applauding and Cheering Republicans
At the inauguration ceremony held on the 20th (local time), President Donald Trump directly criticized the Biden administration, to which the Democrats present responded with silence.
At the inauguration held in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., President Trump criticized former President Biden, who had offered congratulations, showing a stance far from unity. Trump stated during the ceremony, "Our government is facing a crisis of trust," pointing out that "for a long time, the corrupt establishment has exploited the people's power and wealth, and the social foundation has collapsed and become desolate."
Trump also criticized the government for failing to properly manage domestic issues and being shaken by a series of disastrous events abroad, condemning the Biden administration's border policies. As Trump directly pointed out the Biden administration, the expressions of former President Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris soon hardened.
The Washington Post (WS) reported that Democrats attending the presidential inauguration sat with pursed lips and vacant eyes while Trump delivered a speech claiming that Democratic rule over the past four years had been destructive to America. Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat, described the atmosphere at the time as "very dark."
Democrats consistently responded with silence to Trump's partisan speech. When Trump emphasized his policy goals, Republicans applauded and stood up, but Democrats quietly sat with their hands folded. Former President Biden and his wife, former President Bill Clinton and his wife, and former Presidents Obama and Bush, who sat directly behind Trump, remained motionless. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton even burst out laughing when Trump said he would rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America."
Democratic election strategist and pollster Celinda Lake said, "Not reacting to any of Trump's remarks could be the Democrats' greatest weapon this time," adding, "Let Trump do things his way. We must let his plans fail."
Democratic lawmakers who did not attend the inauguration poured criticism on President Trump. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York) made a somewhat provocative statement to her social media followers, saying, "Let me be clear. I do not praise rapists." Last month, the federal appellate court in Manhattan, New York, upheld a ruling ordering Trump to pay $5 million (about 7.4 billion won) in damages in a sexual assault lawsuit filed by fashion columnist E. Jean Carroll. Trump denied all allegations after accusations surfaced that he sexually assaulted or harassed dozens of other women.
Representative Ilhan Omar (Minnesota), who has called Trump a "threat to democracy" for years, criticized her Democratic colleagues who attended the inauguration. Some lawmakers were reportedly shocked by the sight of tech billionaire magnates sitting in seats higher than Supreme Court justices, highlighting that they were treated better than cabinet members. Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on social media, "Tech billionaires took front-row seats at Trump's inauguration. They even had better seats than Trump's cabinet nominees. That says it all."
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