Trump's time: South Shore residents attend inauguration

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Atlantic Beach Mayor George Pappas and his children, George III, 13, and Mia, 11, made their way past the barricades and crowds that surrounded the Capitol early on Jan. 20 and staked out a position in front of the towering podium on which Donald J. Trump, 45th president of the United States, delivered his inaugural address.

“We were standing in the center, and we were able to see it live as well as on the big screens,” Pappas said. “The atmosphere was very positive and upbeat.”

The three were among numerous South Shore residents in the crowd to hear Trump speak for the first time as president, including U.S. Rep. Peter King, a Republican from Seaford and a Trump supporter, and his daughter, Hempstead Town Councilwoman Erin King Sweeney, a Republican from Wantagh.

“The ceremony went absolutely perfectly,” King said. “Everyone was extremely respectful. There was no partisanship, no over-celebrating by Republicans ... Democrats and Republicans all sat intermixed.”

In Trump’s 16-minute address — among the shortest in presidential inaugural history —he laid out his vision to attack what he sees as Washington’s inertia and ineffectiveness, while rebuilding America’s aging infrastructure.

State Assemblyman Ed Ra, a Republican from Franklin Square, did not attend, but said he was swept up by the occasion’s magnitude. “On this historic day in our nation’s history,” he said, “let us please remember that this day and this process are larger than any one of us.”

Ra also had high praise for the Obamas. “I would like to thank President Obama and his family for their dedicated service to our nation and their unwavering vision of hope that has inspired millions across the country,” he said.

And he wished Trump well. “I would also like to wish President Trump, first lady Melania Trump and the entire Trump family the best of success, strength and wisdom,” he said.

Hempstead Town Councilman Anthony D’Esposito, a Republican from Island Park, was similarly awed by the inauguration. “It’s not about Republicans. It’s not about Democrats. It’s really about America,” he said.

At times, Trump’s rhetoric soared. “Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families and good jobs for themselves,” the president said. “These are the just and reasonable demands of a righteous public.”

At other points in his address, Trump painted a darker picture of the country. “One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions upon millions of American workers left behind,” he said. “The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed across the entire

world.”

The president pledged to return jobs to the United States; rebuild roads, highways, bridges, tunnels and airports; and move people from welfare to work.

“We will follow two simple rules,” he noted. “Buy American and hire American.”

Sixty-five to 70 Democratic members of Congress boycotted the inauguration. King had harsh words for them. The “members of Congress boycotting [the] inauguration resemble Southern secessionists,” King wrote on Twitter, adding that their protest “is undermining [the] fabric of [the] Union.”

For King Sweeney, last Friday’s ceremony was her third inauguration — she had previously attended George W. Bush’s and Barack Obama’s. This time was different for her because protesters accosted her, according to a Facebook post that she wrote over the weekend.

“As my husband and I and our two young children exited the Inaugural Ball,” she said, “my 8- and 12-year-old children were confronted by about 20 people wearing black masks and hurling grotesque insults at them. I have taught my kids to always stand up for [themselves] and fight back when attacked. Perhaps it was that mother instinct in me, but I confidently confronted the protesters and shared a piece of my mind. I never felt more satisfied.”

At the same time, though, King Sweeney said, “I fully respect the right to free speech, even when that speech can challenge your core beliefs. We are better as a nation when we not only allow, but also encourage, dissent.”

Protesters also confronted Pappas and his children. “Unfortunately, we came across some unruly protesters who were blocking traffic and destroying property,” he said. “The law enforcement officials did an outstanding job in keeping people safe and controlling the riots.”  

Ben Strack contributed to this story.