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President Trump Returns to MAGA

Writer's picture: Lois WeissLois Weiss

Updated: 7 days ago


President Trump at Inauguration Eve Rally says,  "This nation belongs to you."
President Trump at Inauguration Eve Rally says, "This nation belongs to you."

By Lois Weiss


Two things were clear from spending time in Washington, D.C. for the Inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 47th President: We are, as he proclaimed, in “the dawn of a Golden Age of America” and son Barron is the next most popular Trump.  


This second inauguration of President Trump brought out a gaggle of real estate investors and longtime friends. Among those at various events were developers Richard LeFrak, Joe Moinian and wife Nazee, Harry Adjmi and his son Amin H. Adjmi and retail broker Joanne Podell.


Joanne Podell, Harry Ajmi and son Amin
Joanne Podell, Harry Ajmi and son Amin

The Turanli family, which runs the Turkish construction company, Taşyapi and built Trump Towers in Istanbul, told me they will soon be investing in the U.S.  


Charlie Kushner and wife, Seryl -- son Jared is married to First Daughter Ivanka -- will be heading to Paris as he’s been asked by the President to serve as the Ambassador to France.


Two casino owners, Miriam Adelson of the Las Vegas Sands as well as Tilman Fertitta of the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casinos -- who also owns Landry’s restaurants -- were at the Candelight Dinner and other events for the $1 million and up donors along with LVMH's head, Bernard Arnault and Ron Lauder. You could also attend if you had bundled $2 million in other people's money.

Nationwide home builder, Bill Pulte, has already been tapped by the President to head the Federal Housing Finance Administration while Cantor Fitzgerald's Howard Lutnick will serve as Commerce Secretary and also spoke at the arena. He's also supposed to supervise the ever enthusiastic Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency.


The most prominent of Trump’s real estate posse is now Steven Witkoff, who

Longtime Trump bud and golfing partner, Steven Witkoff speaks at rally on Inauguration Eve.
Longtime Trump bud and golfing partner, Steven Witkoff speaks at rally on Inauguration Eve.

pulled off the immediate rescue of three Hamas hostages and got both warring sides – each determined to destroy the other --  to agree on a framework for freeing dozens more hostages both alive and dead over the coming months.


Parents of hostages were even honored on the Capital One arena stage on Inauguration Day after the main parade of marching bands exited the arena.


Parents of Hamas hostages were honored on Inauguration Day as Steven Witkoff (center) reported three hostages had been released.
Parents of Hamas hostages were honored on Inauguration Day as Steven Witkoff (center) reported three hostages had been released.

Both Witkoff and Trump praised each other and the agreement – which is still tenuous until the various Middle East stakeholders and terrorists are sure the new sheriff is not the same as the old sheriff.


Wind back to Friday, January 27, when Trump announced he would cancel the outdoor ceremonies due to incoming arctic air. Within minutes, an aide in Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office exposed several hundred emails of New Yorkers who had been granted Inauguration credentials through his office.


The standing room tickets became worthless except as souvenirs which could be mailed or picked up in person – but became priceless for meeting like-minded MAGA souls.


“Someone is going to get fired,” over this, one recipient replied all. “Hopefully it’s Chuck Schumer,” replied another. A mom offered up her Jewish daughters as dates while others tried to meet up in D.C.  New Jersey comedian Victoria Arnstein replied she was seeking “maga themed and anti-woke comedians.”


By Monday, one Democrat was fed up with the dozens of reply-alls that had jammed her weekend inbox but in her own reply-all, exposed herself as an aide to New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, landing her in this reporter’s Page Six story.


The Arctic air did come. While many D.C. visitors sulked they would not get to watch the events in person, thousands stood on line anyway for five or more hours to get into the Capital One Arena on both Sunday for the MAGA rally and on Monday to watch the inauguration and parade indoors, and were therefore still subjected to the blast.


VIPs picking up credentials in the historical Decatur House by Lafayette Park had to snake through a People’s Protest march on Saturday that was peaceful compared to Antifa's car and shop window smashing and fires eight years ago.


 Peoples Protest in Washington D.C.
Peoples Protest in Washington D.C.

The Trump family's guests received a suite of red themed gifts ranging from a leather-bound journal and leather coin and watch holder embossed in gold leaf with a drawing of the Capitol to a large commemorative bronze coin embossed with silhouettes of the President and Vice President Vance.

A White House Christmas ornament and challenge coin were also tucked into the shopping bag along with a commemorative Diet Coke bottle as a salute to President Trump’s preferred drink. A similar bottle was presented to him as well. A sturdy white canvas bag with red handles adorned with a drawing of the Capitol on its side made it easy to take it all home.

For the big donor Cabinet cocktail party on Saturday evening at the National Gallery of Art, guests could be dropped off right outside but still joined a line that marched through a heated tent before reaching a coat check which quickly backed up into a long, cold line outside.


The future Cabinet members did appear – but two hours late and for mere minutes behind a rope line. Former Senator Kelly Loeffler who was co-chair of the Inaugural Committee with Witkoff, thanked the volunteers but never introduced the nominees by name. “We paid $250,000 and this was what we got,” fumed one New York couple who obviously did not want to be identified.


The Cabinet members were quickly ferried away to the adjoining but more exclusive sit down Vice President's dinner where presumably they mingled a bit more.

Cabinet members made a brief apperance
Cabinet members made a brief apperance

You would think women would have enough sense not to wear four-inch heels to walk for even a few blocks in sub-20 degree weather but no – and those blocks turned into miles and hours on their feet, waiting to get in and then waiting for something to happen in giant venues with – aside from the arena – very few seats.



Those in thin dresses heading to exclusive venues shivered as they waited or walked in the endless lines and complained about the poor planning -- likely mapped out by warmly dressed Secret Service and Capitol police in overheated rooms with no thought to others’ creature comforts.


The numerous guest and ball passes -- most were the same or similar colors and all had white backs with a small hologram -- were also rarely examined as thousands of people were being marched through even “expedited” and VIP lines.


“Expedited entry” was meaningless – and only meant one might get into the venue at some point in the far future. Even the 2,000 guests at the ultra-exclusive Candlelight Dinner at the National Building Museum on Sunday night were fuming some waited as long as 90 minutes to get inside only to discover earlier arrivals had swapped seating cards to garner better spots. This was billed as an "elegant and intimate dinner with President Donald J. Trump and Mrs. Melania Trump" with those giving $1 million to "receive preferred seating at this pinnacle event."


Here, Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan sat with Jared and Ivanka Trump while President Trump and the First Lady sat with Miriam Adelson and Elon Musk along with Amazon's Jeff Bezos and his fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, who was roundly criticized on Monday when she showed up in the Capitol Rotunda for the actual Inauguration in a white suit that purposefully exposed her matching fancy white bra.


Watching suited and ungloved Secret Service personnel flexing their hands as they stood next to vehicles and waited for protectees to arrive made it clear that President Trump made the right call to move everything indoors. If anyone in the Secret Service or other security personnel had to fumble just to pull a weapon and fire with frozen fingers, who knows where those shots would have gone?

Police ran security checkpoints and bag checks near venues after guests had walked many blocks from their cars.
Police ran security checkpoints and bag checks near venues after guests had walked many blocks from their cars.

National guard, homeland security and officers from many states were stationed around the city, guarding the high gates and giant dump trucks that blocked most cross streets as well as various far flung monuments and tourist attractions.


Due to the extraordinary security for a President who has already been nicked by an assassin’s bullet and had at least one other attempt on his life, tall, stiff metal fences were hooked together to block miles of city streets while intersections were controlled by huge dump and sanitation trucks.

All rise for the President and First Lady
All rise for the President and First Lady

During our travels we met two Los Angeles women who had lost everything when their homes were burned to the ground.  One said she had to run out and buy three gowns for her fancy scheduled events while the less affluent rally-goer came with just the sweatpants and clothes she got from Goodwill. Security also tossed both her lunch and bag, as they did with so many others. When folks left the arena on both days, scavengers were digging through piles of discarded items that even included a Louis Vuitton handbag.


The Sunday rally was a bit more casual and energized by sets from Kid Rock and the Village People along with numerous speakers, some of whom spoke on both days. Speakers included Megyn Kelly, Vivek Ramaswamy, Howard Lutnick, Steven Witkoff, Elon Musk, Pete Hegseth, Kelly Loeffler, Kash Patel, Stephen Miller and Dan Scavino as well as Lara, Eric, Don Jr. and Kai Trump and of course President Trump.


Lara, Carolina, Luke, Eric, Kai and Don, Jr. speak at Inauguration Eve Rally at the Capital One arena
Lara, Carolina, Luke, Eric, Kai and Don, Jr. speak at Inauguration Eve Rally at the Capital One arena

Crowds watching the Jumbotron at the Capital One arena on Inauguration Day
Crowds watching the Jumbotron at the Capital One arena on Inauguration Day
 Kash Patel at the Inauguration Parade
Kash Patel at the Inauguration Parade

Even VIP guests had to walk for several frigid blocks simply to cross a street to join more blocks of snaking security lines. Car drop offs were far from the arena for both the Sunday rally and Monday viewing party and parade as well as far from the convention center where both the Liberty and Commander-in-Chief balls were held.


The word “ball” conjures up an elegant evening but everyone was subjected to freezing in long lines before having small bags checked or chucked and walking through metal detectors.


Most of the time, the uber-donors of $1 million were, of course, treated a bit differently. They were pre-screened before being dropped off by buses a bit closer to the various venues, including the exclusive Starlight Ball at Union Station. Some like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and other high tech, finance and investment banking folks were at Trump’s side for the swearing in at the Capitol Rotunda.

On Inauguration morning, cheers rose from those filling the rafters at the Capital One arena whenever President Trump and the family appeared on the Jumbotron.


There were, however, prolonged boos for former First Lady Hilary Clinton and those considered MAGA turncoats like former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Mitch McConnell.


“Pillow man” Mike Lindell, whose company has been struggling, was at the arena for the rally and we found him again leaning on the guardrail by the Liberty Ball stage. He told me he will be meeting with Trump soon to work on election integrity.


Kid Rock and the Village People performed at the rally and at the balls along with Jason Aldean, Gavin DeGraw, Rascal Flatts, Nelly and others.


After a handful of tunes, Aldean was even booed when he relayed he'd been asked to play longer since the President was running late. During what became an hour-long set, he performed, “Try That In A Small Town,” telling the crowd, “You guys ended up making this little big hit for us.”  


The Trump and Vance families took their first dance at the Commander-in-Chief Ball for the military on another floor of the convention center where actor Jon Voight was among the guests. They didn’t come on stage at the Liberty Ball until after 11 p.m. – held up as a woman close to the stage had a medical emergency.


Don Jr. with Kai Trump, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Lara and Eric Trump walk into Liberty Ball
Don Jr. with Kai Trump, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Lara and Eric Trump walk into Liberty Ball
Jason Aldean played at the Liberty Ball where twinkling lights were disorienting
Jason Aldean played at the Liberty Ball where twinkling lights were disorienting

The Village People closed out both the Sunday rally and various balls with their tune, "YMCA" as the Trump and Vance families ended their celebratory dances.


After the Liberty Ball, the first couple and entourage traveled to Union Station for the more exclusive Starlight Ball for top donors and bigwigs where the last song was “My Way.”

President Trump and the First Lady were relaxed and had fun during their dance
President Trump and the First Lady were relaxed and had fun during their dance
Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance showed a deep connection
Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance showed a deep connection

President Trump loves the Village People and their song, "YMCA."
President Trump loves the Village People and their song, "YMCA."

Despite President Trump’s calling out the “Fake News” at almost every rally, the press was treated with respect by the Trump reps – even when faced with photographers and writers whose credentials were not approved for lack of riser and desk space but still managed to work their way through multiple security and bag checks with just their own media IDs. Oddly enough, troops with tactical rifles were barely checked as they entered the arena.


Troops with tactical rifles were barely checked as they entered the arena.
Troops with tactical rifles were barely checked as they entered the arena.

Minutes after being sworn in President Trump also started signing executive orders, some of which will affect real estate investment and development by cutting regulations.

President Trump holds up the file with an executive order he later signed
President Trump holds up the file with an executive order he later signed

Among other items, as Trump looks to take back the Panama Canal from Chinese oversight, think about what the Chinese are doing around the world.


A source who is a former advisor to a global organization, was tasked with overseeing the adherence to the environmental regulations that were required as part of getting the cash for projects in foreign countries.


He told me projects overseen by China rarely complied with any regulations.


“Not even one,” he said of their compliance on one African project. He also told me that in some third world spots, the Chinese overseers used natives or imported others as "slave" labor who were barely paid. He had been also shocked to learn local bird populations had been decimated because those "slaves" were also not fed and had to fend for themselves.


Those wary of Trump should recognize he often says he wants to keep our water and land safe. While it may not be what the most stringent environmental regulations now require – think of the smelt saving in California that resulted in 10,000 homes destroyed by Los Angeles fires -- but Trump's regulations will certainly far exceed those of the couldn’t care less Chinese overseers.

 

When leaving town late Tuesday morning, I pulled over on the Arlington Memorial Bridge -- where someone had the common sense to create legal parking spaces -- to fix an iced in place side mirror. There were few cars on the road and the only other person around turned out not to be homeless but instead, a lonely and bored Miami officer, encased against the cold in his all-black uniform, wool hat and mask.


He was taking selfies on the bridge which sits just below the rear of the Lincoln Memorial in a spot where you can also see the Washington Monument.


After a long weekend of rushing, it was a special, quiet moment to share and embrace our history.  

  #

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