The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States on 20 January 2025 was marked by extravagant multi-events, even as tens of thousands of working people across the country braved the biting cold to come out on the streets against his anti-people agenda.
The multi-events lasted four days with a parade, three inaugural balls that included a fireworks display at Trump’s golf club in Sterling, Virginia, and a campaign-style “MAGA Victory” (Make America Great Again) rally. The events were attended by the wealthiest in the world including the heads of X and Tesla, Meta, Amazon, Google. They were given pride of place at the inauguration. Anil Ambani and his wife were among them. It is reported that the big tech companies vied with each other to fund the events, with Google, Amazon and Meta donating $1 million each to Trump’s inaugural fund.
Even as this was going on, militant protest rallies were held in more than 80 U.S. cities in over 40 states on the occasion of the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States. Starting with the mass protest rally held in Washington DC on January 18, the Saturday before the inauguration, people’s marches and inauguration day protests were also held in New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Atlanta, Charlotte, Montgomery, Chicago, Houston and New Orleans as well as in other places.
The mass protests were against the policies that Trump had already been speaking of since his victory. Thousands of U.S. workers and people from all fields of life, clearly expressed their vehement condemnation of the continued military support being provided to the Israeli state. They unequivocally rejected the anti-immigrants measures Donald Trump was proposing. The protestors also spoke out against the state-organised racist attacks on US workers. Through speeches, slogans and placards, they upheld the cause of peace and the right of all people to have a say in how the country is run. Many demanded a new system which will put the demands of the people in first place, not those of the monopoly capitalists.
One of the speakers at the protest in Washington called out to the people to stand up and fight the attacks on all working people. “Trump is a billionaire, was elected with the help of other billionaires, and runs the government on behalf of the billionaire class. All working people, no matter where you were born, should stand together in solidarity against the billionaire class that wants to rob and exploit us.”