The Trump Transition
By Margaret Hicks
Staff Writer
On Friday, January 20, 2017, on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, President Barack Hussein Obama will officially transfer the presidential power of the United States of America (USA) to President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States in what will be the country’s 58th inauguration ceremony. This will happen at noon, when Trump will be sworn in by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. The vice presidential oath of office will be administered to Mike Pence by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. It has been estimated that two million plus people will flood the nation’s capital this weekend; some to perform, some to party and others to protest.
The Function At The Junction
Black folks are up in arms about black folks who plan to participate in the inauguration, by being in attendance or performing.
The Talladega College Marching Tornadoes band were ridiculed for agreeing to perform in the inaugural parade. The small, historically black college (HBCU) in Alabama set out to raise $75,000 to cover their expense to travel to Washington, D.C., and raised a whopping $333,000 by the evening of Friday, Jan. 13. There are no other HBCUs performing as of date.
Of the prime 1,600 guests who will be in attendance are the Speaker of the House, cabinet members and nominees, congressmen and women, governors, the joint chief of staff, and past presidents. Past presidents will include Barack Obama, George W. Bush, who Trump accused of lying about Iraq, Bill Clinton, who he called “the worst abuser of women in U.S. political history,” and a rare public appearance since her defeat, former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, dubbed “crooked Hillary” by Trump during the bitter election campaign.
You Can Count Me Out
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), a top candidate to chair the Democratic National Committee, announced Monday, Jan. 16, that he will not attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Ellison in a tweet Monday cited not wanting to “celebrate a man who preaches a politics of division and hate.”
He joins a growing list of Democrats who have refused to attend Trump’s inauguration, a list that has expanded since Trump attacked Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) over the weekend.
Trump called Lewis “all talk” and “no action” after the civil rights icon said he did not view Trump as a “legitimate president.”
Just like there were Republicans who didn’t show up for Barack Obama’s inauguration, there will be Democrats who will be boycotting Trump’s inauguration on Friday.
Here’s a look at the growing number of politicians who’ve said they won’t attend: Texas Rep. Al Green, California Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, Georgia Rep. John Lewis, Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen, California Rep. Mark Takano, New York Rep. Yvette Clarke, California Rep. Ted Lieu, New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Arizona Rep. Raul Rosalva, Michigan Rep. John Conyers, California Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, New York Rep. Nydia Velazquez, Oregon Rep. Kurt Schrader, Missouri Rep. William Lacy Clay, California Rep. Barbara Lee, New York Rep. Jose Serrano, California Rep. Judy Chu, Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez, California Rep. Jared Huffman, Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark, Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer, New York Rep. Adriano Espaillat, Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan, Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge, California Rep. Maxine Waters, New Jersey Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Maryland Rep. Anthony Brown, Virginia Rep. Don Beyer, Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree, Kentucky Rep. John Yarmouth, California Rep. Karen Bass, Pennsylvania Rep. Dwight Evans, California Rep. Zoe Lofgren, California Rep. Grace Napolitano, Washington Rep. Adam Smith, and Florida Rep. Darren Soto.
The former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will not be present to witness his former rival being sworn into office, a Bush spokeswoman told the Tampa Bay Times.
Bush faced off against Trump for the Republican nomination during an often bitter and contentious primary.
Former President George H.W. Bush said and his wife, Barbara, are bowing out of attending Donald Trump’s inauguration, saying in a note to the president-elect that he might not survive it.
“My doctor says if I sit outside in January, it will likely put me six feet under,” Bush said in the letter, which was released by his office. “So I guess we’re stuck in Texas.”
Former President George H.W. Bush was admitted to an intensive care unit over the weekend, and his wife, Barbara, has also been hospitalized as a precaution, according to his spokesman.
You Can Count Me Out Too
Jennifer Holliday, the original Essie from Dream Girls, agreed to perform, however dropped out. Holliday, whose name has been out of the limelight for a while, became a household word overnight. She was being called the n-word and receiving many death threats.
Snoop Dogg made a video which was posted on Facebook where he threatened to “roast” any black performer who took the stage at Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The Women’s March
On the day after Trump’s inauguration about 200 women groups will come together to protest the then president. Kaylin Whittingham, president of the association of black women attorneys, said, “We all have to stand together as a force no one can ignore.” June Barrett, a domestic worker in Miami, said she was moved to travel to Washington by Trump’s leaked tape in which he boasted of accosting women and “grabbing them by the p*&$y”. Barrett had been sexually assaulted by an elderly man in her professional career, who grabbed her genitals, she said.
Passing Of The Baton
The late Ronald Reagan had this to say about the presidential transferring of power: “This every-four-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.”
To the next President of the United States, “We stand next to you in prayer.”
