Months ago, GW students — many of us first-time voters — grappled over selecting a presidential candidate who reflected our view for the direction of our country. And now, with the election results certified and President-elect Donald Trump gearing up to return to the White House, the community is faced with the question of whether or not to attend next week’s presidential inauguration.
For many, the inauguration offers a front-row seat to history. It’s the second time in American history that a former president will re-enter the Oval Office. But, to me, attending next week’s ceremony is a tangible symbol of support for a man who would never support my identity, pitting my values against the prospect of witnessing something momentous.
I did at one point consider attending the ceremony. I realized the event would happen with or without me, so why not observe history? But then I thought about what I was taught as a child about one’s physical presence is a sign of support in and of itself.
Trump has encouraged racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia and other forms of hatred, shedding light on the prejudiced beliefs that some of our peers, neighbors and family members apparently also embrace by supporting for him. His language toward immigrants, who come to this country in hopes of a better life, is deplorable, violent and threatening, and he has repeatedly failed to respect communities of color during his first presidency and on the campaign trail this year.
In showing up for Trump at the inauguration, you show publicly that you stand with hateful policies, like his attempt to terminate Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which serves as temporary protection for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children, or his termination of temporary U.S. protection for Haitians after an earthquake caused them to leave their country. Attending his inauguration tells fellow Americans that you are in agreement with the ideas and values that got Trump to the steps of the Capitol building, taking his oath of office for the second time.
The president-elect is a civilly liable sexual abuser, as was found in Trump’s case against novelist E. Jean Carroll. There are at least 26 additional women who have come forward publicly claiming he sexually assaulted them, too. Attending an inauguration of a man who doesn’t agree that I should possess the rights to my own bodily autonomy feels like I’ve lost something larger than the presidency, be it my reproductive freedom or my sense of safety in this country.
This conflict in whether or not to attend Trump’s inauguration is not about his actual politics but instead that his legislation and stances come from a place of prejudice. Whether or not someone attends this ceremony should come down to if you want to support a man who has driven a wedge into the soul of this country. What message does it send to my loved ones that I, a queer, assigned female at birth, Jewish and disabled person, will attend the inauguration of someone who opposes all of my identities and experiences?
Many will say attending Trump’s inauguration is a rare opportunity and that its historic value outweighs the character of the president that is being inaugurated. There is value in witnessing history but that value is negated by the fact that you tarnish your conscience in the process by supporting someone who, in all likelihood, wouldn’t support you back. Trump has even used crowd sizes as a metric of his success, mostly in the context of rallies.
As college students, we are all young, newly anointed adults, and every action we take from here on out tells the rest of the world what kind of priorities we hold for ourselves and the world around us. If we begin to make certain choices now, they will shape the people we are in a permanent way, either reinforcing what we do or showing us that something is wrong. Attending this inauguration is wrong for the kind of person I want to be: someone with integrity, compassion and empathy for those like and unlike myself.
Inaugurations are infrequent, but they are not once in a lifetime. I understand that living in D.C. for an inauguration may be much rarer, an “only at GW” opportunity, but there will be many more in our lifetimes to see. But if you aren’t okay with the moral implications of aligning yourself with Trump, then sit this one out.
Mara Riegel, a first-year majoring in political science, is an opinions writer.