Jan.21

electoral-vote.com

Dem 47

   

GOP 53

The Trump Inauguration in Six Pictures

Let's look at the Trump inauguration in a different way, namely through pictures. Here are half a dozen images that speak to some of the big storylines of yesterday:

1. Hands Off: Donald Trump has a well-documented history of putting his hands where they do not belong. Yesterday, he made the opposite error, and neglected to put his hand on the Bible while being sworn in:
   
   
   
   This oversight has absolutely no legal significance, as there is (and can be) no religious test for office, and there is no requirement that someone taking the oath of office put their hand on a Bible or anything else.
   
   That said, there was much speculation yesterday as to what happened. The tongue-in-cheek answer is that Trump, despite what he was about to say in his inaugural address (see above), was worried that if he actually touched a Bible, it would burst into flames and burn his hand. Funny, perhaps, but not an actual answer to the question.
   
   The Occam's Razor explanation is that he just got caught up in the moment, and forgot about his left hand. We'd say that you're still in Occam's realm if you want to add to that the supposition that maybe he forgot because his mental sharpness is in decline.
   
   If you want to move beyond Occam, we can also offer two other possible explanations, though please note that they are just idle supposition. First, as some readers will know, when Napoleon was crowned emperor by Pope Pius VII, the Frenchman placed the crown on his own head, so as to make a statement about who was really in charge: God or Napoleon. It's not impossible there was a little messaging of that sort going on, though much of Trump's base would not be pleased if they caught on.
   
   The other explanation we came up with is that someone has gotten to Trump with a loony conspiracy theory, along the lines of "If you don't put your hand on the Bible, you can't be held legally responsible for violating the oath of office." There's a similar conspiracy theory that holds that you can lie in court, as long as you don't touch the Bible when you're sworn in as a witness. Needless to say, this is ridiculous, but with Team Trump, you never know.
   
   We will point out one other thing. If a Democrat's swearing-in was irregular, in any way, the right-wing media would be screaming bloody murder. We don't even have to guess about this; we know it's true. When Barack Obama was sworn in the first time, Chief Justice John Roberts got the words slightly out of order, and asked Obama to repeat "I will execute the office of president of the United States faithfully" instead of the correct "I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States." This does not change the meaning, at all, but because of carping from the right, Obama re-took the oath of office the next day, this time in the right order. We think it very unlikely that Trump will re-do his oath, with hand on Bible, because that would mean admitting he erred, and he does not often make such admissions, even with small things.
   
   
2. The First Lady: Melania Trump apparently put a great deal of thought into her inaugural outfit, consulting with several high-profile fashion designers. We could easily find the names, if we cared who they are, but we do not. Anyhow, here is what she ended up with:
   
   
   
   In general, we do not comment on women's fashion choices, as such commentary often veers into sexism. However, given that it's the First Lady, and that she put much time and thought into her presentation, and that her ultimate choice was so... distinctive, we think it's fair game, in this instance. Some people looked at her and saw the Quaker Oats guy, or maybe a mafioso circa 1935, or 1990s David Bowie, or any era Nick Cave. What's really worthy of notice, we think, is the extent to which the costume allows the First Lady to basically hide right out in the open. Is she embarrassed to be there? Or perhaps resentful? Or disinterested? Whatever is going on, it sends the message that you should definitely expect another 4 years of almost total absenteeism.
   
   
3. Feel the Bern: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has become an inauguration meme before, and he did it again yesterday:
   
   
   
   When he showed up in his puffy jacket and giant mittens in 2020, there were plenty of photographers there to capture the moment. Because yesterday's inaugural was in a small space, that was not true. So, the only "pictures" are screen captures from video footage. Nonetheless, even in this somewhat grainy format, you can tell how he feels about being there.
   
   
4. OK, John: Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) also engendered a fair bit of commentary yesterday:
   
   
   
   Presumably, this is part of the Senator's ongoing branding as a "salt of the earth, blue-collar" guy. Still, it is in very poor taste. If you're going to show up to an event like this, wear something appropriate to the occasion. There are relatively few people who dislike formal attire more than both of us do, but in this situation we'd either dress properly, or take a pass. It's also disrespectful to Donald Trump. Now, if you're Bernie Sanders or Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), "disrespectful to Donald Trump" is a feature, and not a bug. But everyone knows that, at the moment, Fetterman is trying to cozy up to the new president. This being the case, showing up to, and basically pi**ing on, the inauguration makes no sense.
   
   
5. The Moneyed Class: Meanwhile, as expected, the billionaires were front and center:
   
   
   
   

   Allow us to point out, first of all, that it is expected that, within the next decade, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk (all shown here) are expected to become the world's first trillionaires. Let us further point out that there are numerous politicians whose rise to power has been fueled by the money and support of the ultra-wealthy. However, as we've pointed out, those politicians usually keep the ultra-rich guys at arm's length (e.g., the presidents of the Gilded Age/Progressive eras and John D. Rockefeller/J.P. Morgan). Even Vlad Putin is happy to maintain tight relationships with rich Russians, but gets very angry if they insinuate themselves too directly into Russian politics. Trump, by contrast, hugs the billionaires (and future trillionaires) close.
   
   Note, incidentally, that our spell checker does not like "trillionaires." We don't like it either, although not for the same reasons.
   
   

6. THAT Salute: For all the wild and wooly things that Donald Trump said in his inaugural address, it may be Elon Musk that produced the biggest controversy of the day. After the inaugural, Musk was delivering a speech, and he did this:
   
   
   
   It's not so easy to capture in the form of a photograph, since he could plausibly be waving. However, if you watch the video, it's considerably less ambiguous. He clapped his hand to his chest, and then quickly extended his arm, hand out, palm down, holding it in that position for a second or two. Then... he did it again, for the benefit of the other half of the crowd.
   
   The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement and said that the gesture was "not a Nazi salute" and that people need to "take a breath." That said, the ADL is pretty pro-Trump, as they see him as an ally on Israel. Other Jewish leaders, particularly those outside the U.S. and so not likely to be targeted by Trump or his followers, disagreed.
   
   For our part, we can say three things. First, we know what a Nazi/fascist salute looks like, and that is it. If we walked into a classroom and did that, we would almost certainly be terminated. Second, the only thing that might save us is an immediate, and profuse, apology. Third, Musk has made no apology. And frankly, someone with his background (grew up during apartheid, owns a social media platform that tacitly—or maybe overtly—encourages racist behavior, etc.) is not entitled to the benefit of the doubt. Particularly when he does it twice.

And that's the big picture. Or, at least, six smaller pictures. (Z)