Severe cold weather in Washington, D.C., forced President Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony to the Capitol rotunda, which prevented thousands from attending the main event. In lieu of congregating on the National Mall to witness Trump’s second inauguration firsthand, the majority of ticketed guests waited for hours in the bitter cold to attend a watch party and rally.
Among those huddled in a line that stretched around the Capital One Arena was Joelle Webb, a Drake University student who received a ticket for her work on U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn’s, R-Iowa, campaign.
The public relations director for the federation of Iowa Young Republicans, Webb received an email Thursday night informing her she would be unable to attend the inauguration in person but could attend a watch party and post-inauguration rally in the Capital One Arena.
“The ticket had become a keepsake, but that’s it,” Webb said.
Webb waited in line for almost five hours in the frigid temperatures. Some supporters started lining up at 4 a.m., she said, even though the doors to the Capital One Arena did not open until 8 a.m.
“The atmosphere was really positive,” Webb said. “Even though it was freezing cold, everyone was really excited to be there.”
Webb made it into the arena minutes before Trump was sworn in.
She and thousands of others watched the inauguration from a livestream feed on the arena’s jumbotron. Later in the day, speakers took to the stage, including billionaire Elon Musk and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and the inaugural parade lapped around the stage.
Eventually, Trump arrived and addressed the crowd.
“You’re witnessing the dawn of the golden age of America,” Trump said as he looked to the audience.
Signing a stack of executive orders in front of the crowd, Trump stuck to his promise of enforcing broad executive actions on day one of his administration. He signed nine documents while on the stage, including freezing federal hiring, ending remote work for federal workers, rescinding 78 — almost half — of former President Joe Biden’s executive actions, removing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, and instructing federal agencies to look into lowering the cost of living.
“Could you imagine Biden doing this?” Trump said to the crowd as he signed the directives, making a point to show his signature on each document. “I don’t think so.”
Webb said watching Trump sign the orders made her feel like she was directly part of the process.
“To be there with him, as if we were in the Oval Office, watching him sign these executive orders really made me feel like as Americans, we were being heard,” Webb said. “Finally, after four years of an administration that we didn’t feel we were being heard.”
Elon Musk’s controversial arm gesture
People were really excited to see the president, Webb said, but they were also interested in hearing what Musk had to say. She said Republicans may still be unsure of Musk, as he hasn’t had much political involvement up until the past year and that she didn’t know what to expect from him.
In November, Trump named Musk and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — whom the Associated Press has reported as turning down the position and signaling interest in pursuing the Ohio governorship — to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a special commission tasked with slashing federal spending.
Webb said supporters are not sure of whether the billionaire tycoon will clash heads with Trump and were eager to hear his plans. Musk’s speech has since been clouded with controversy over a gesture he made, which has been compared to a fascist salute.
Musk thanked Trump’s supporters: “This was no ordinary victory. This was a fork in the road of human civilization,” he said. “This one really mattered. Thank you for making it happen. Thank you.”
He then thumped his right hand against his chest, and extended it out at an upward angle, his palm down and fingers together. Musk turned and made the same hand gesture to those behind him.
The gesture raised international concern, media criticism, and was embraced by right-wing extremists.
Musk dismissed the claims hours after he left the stage, posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, “The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”
The Anti-Defamation League, an organization dedicated to confronting and combating antisemitism, described the movement as “an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute.”
RELATED: Trump’s inauguration sparks advocacy, excitement
“In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath,” the ADL said in a statement.
Webb, who was in the arena during Musk’s speech, said the billionaire was very excited and flailing his arms everywhere the whole time, and noted the media only showed a snapshot of what appears to be him doing the salute.
“That’s not what happened. He didn’t directly do that,” Webb said. “I think that was unfortunate that that was a little blown out of proportion, but especially just because people at the rally were like, that didn’t happen, I don’t know where this is coming from.”
Webb returned to Iowa Wednesday night, and said she felt hopeful and optimistic after attending Trump’s inauguration events.
She said she originally began following Trump because her parents supported him when she was younger, but in college she was able to research and test her political values and opinions.
Webb said she then decided to do her own research so she could articulate why she believes conservative values are what work best for her life. Webb plans to attend law school after graduating from Drake, and was recently offered an internship with the Communications & External Affairs team at the Iowa Secretary of State’s office.
She said Trump’s second term is a chance to “fix the disaster of the last four years.”
“He now has the opportunity to fulfill the promises and fix the mistakes he’s made and potentially make his second term even greater than his first term,” Webb said.