I've come around to this slowly,

[speak easy]

Last edited Sat Jan 25, 2025, 04:37 AM - Edit history (2)

but I believe no Democrats should have attended Trump's second Inauguration. It makes a mockery of the Constitution to have The Felon who tried to overthrow our democracy, swear to uphold it.

No half measures can suffice; this is not in any way normal. If Democrats truly believed a Trump second term was an existential threat to the Republic, and The Felon would perjure himself taking Oath of Office, they should not have been there to lend a sheen of legitimacy to the desecration of our Constitution and all that it stands for.

EDIT: To all who hold public office - You have a duty to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Silence is consent. All on the Inauguration stage gave their consent to a manifest domestic enemy of the Constitution, taking the Oath with malice aforethought, defiling the Republic and the traditions we hold most dear.

If you revere the duty to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic show it Silence is consent; When good men do nothing....

[Think. Again.]

1. I agree...

No nazi Sympathizers Allowed.

[4catsmom]

38. Michelle had the right idea

[Think. Again.]

39. Yes.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. Not to mention his constant egregious attacks on both Biden and Obama

[SamKnause]

3. That is exactly how I feel and I posted about it.

Tradition and civility should have been the least of our worries during this dangerous time.

Our party should have ignored the inauguration.

Our party should vote against anyone in alignment with trump or his maga cult.

I no longer question how Hitler came to power.

[speak easy]

4. "I no longer question how Hitler came to power."

Hitler came to power with 30% unemployment and a Republic which was 14 years old, born in the humiliation of losing WW1.

What is our excuse?

[SamKnause]

5. I was referring to the stupidity of the masses.

I was referring to the criminality of one party.

I was referring to the cult like behavior.

I was referring to the media supporting trump.

Apparently the price of eggs was more important than anything else.

As the price of eggs skyrocket, because of bird flu raging across the country, I'm curious as to what the cult and media will come up with next.

[speak easy]

6. Yes. I wa talking about how flimsy the excuses

are for what happened in 2024, compared with the fate of an infant Republic in 1933.

[sop]

27. That's how Trump portrayed America to his ignorant, moronic followers.

Trump painted a picture of an America in crisis, he told stories of murderous brown-skinned illegals streaming across the borders to rape our white women, and convinced his MAGA idiots America's economy was in ruins. And he told them only he could fix it.

[tulipsandroses]

53. Yet he could only come up with a handful of murders by migrants. He says there are millions of dangerous folks

and his cult ate it up. Ignoring facts. He pardoned Ross Ulbricht - At least 6 people died as a result of drugs they bought on Silk Road. I believe the numbers are higher, when someone overdoses and dies, we don't always know where the drugs came from. There is documented evidence of Ulbricht trying put a hit on someone. White American Male -Ross Ulbricht is responsible for more deaths, but is AOK in trump's eyes.

[kkmarie]

59. Our excuse?

Actually I believe our reason is that trumpfuck was able to convince his voters that they were suffering. Even though we were in the middle of a booming economy and these magas had money to travel to rallies and purchase all trumpfuck merch.

Not sure why over 90 million chose not to vote. I tend to put the blame more heavily on those that sat it out.
There was no way we were going to ever get through the maga cultists.

[orangecrush]

48. I got reamed on DU

For saying rhis.

I still believe it.

[Martin Eden]

7. Absolutely, do NOT put a stamp of normalcy on the fascist criminal

Perhaps the worst optics was Obama chatting amiably with Trump during Carter's wake.

[MayReasonRule]

16. I Imagine Obama Trolled The Shit Out Of Him...

So Donald, what are you going to do about the Deep State operating the Jewish Space Lasers?

Will Space Force defend against it?

And more importantly... are you concerned at all about provoking a Martian invasion?
You have seen the documentary films haven't you?

[malaise]

8. That effin simple

Meanwhile the coup king violates every rule, norm, law, precedent, refuses to swear on the Bible and is currently attempting to tear up the constitution with assistance from people who like to preach to other countries about democracy and the rule of law.

Wake the fuck up Americans.

[Blue_Roses]

61. Then why is Franklin Graham

defending him if he didn’t put his hand on the Bible!?! This, THIS, just blows my mind and then F. Graham has the audacity to bitch out Rev. Mariann Budde for being disrespectful?????!!!!

Franklin Graham is such a fraud. He is nothing like his father was.

[Mike 03]

9. Totally agree with this! NT

[malaise]

10. Let me add that he did not take the oath

That is all

[Skittles]

11. to be fair

A FELON WHO TRIED TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE IN JAIL, NOT THE WHITE HOUSE

WTF IS WRONG THAT ALLOWS THIS KIND OF FUCKING BULLSHIT

[malaise]

12. That is the issue

Rec

[Skittles]

13. this is someone who literally could not pass a BASIC BACKGROUND CHECK for most jobs

HOW AND WHY THE FUCK IS ALLOWED TO BE PRESIDENT

[rubbersole]

22. The same kind of bullshit that let W beat Gore.

It's so much easier when ALL the media is owned by like minded untaxed billionaires.

[TBF]

35. We don't always agree - but 100% on this. Nailed it. nt

[returnee]

43. And stole top secret documents.... n/t.

[Skittles]

44. RIGHT?

WTF, I cannot understand how someone who is CLEARLY A THREAT to national security CAN BE PRESIDENT

I DON'T GET IT

[returnee]

45. A sizable section of the population is...

…stupid, mentally ill, mean, or rich and mean.

[quakerboy]

46. Because those with the authority to do so

never bothered to go to the mat about seeing that adjudicated in a court of law.

[johnnyfins]

14. Sooner or later all of the dems that

Attended the innauguration are going to have to choose a side. TSF is forcing this contest.

[themaguffin]

15. There are much more bigger fish to fry

[Ponietz]

20. The only fish bigger than stripping the felon of legitimacy is climate change

Attending that inauguration is like Gandalf inviting the Balrog to cross the bridge at Khazad Dum.

[themaguffin]

23. The only bigger fish than whether to sit in that crowd is the 10,000 other fish in the water right now from that POS

[Scrivener7]

17. Totally agree.

[Buddyzbuddy]

18. I agree with you.

[highplainsdem]

19. I agree.

[lostnfound]

21. Find the right angles in Dali's Hallucinogenic Toreador

Seems to me that there aren’t any. It’s similarly pointless, in my opinion, to nitpick choices made by politicians over whether or not to attend Trump’s inauguration. Reasons for: Represent the 40% or more of your constituents who voted that way. Force tangerine man to remember that you (democrats) exist and you are not afraid of him. Use it to engrave in your memory just how god-awful-stupid it is that the country allowed this to happen. Fantasize about a Canadian cavalry swooping in. Prevent tangelo from thinking that he is surrounded by a country full of hero-worshippers. Whatever.
Whether you attend or don’t attend has no bearing on whether orange jello is sworn in.

In some other world, symbolic gestures matter. Not in this world, not in this time. We need leadership, practical tactics, strategies, protection, proactive actions.

[Midwestern Democrat]

24. Unfortunately, the Democrats are politicians in a country that elected Donald Trump president.

They don't really have the option to openly hold every single Trump voter in contempt - some of these voters voted for THEM in 2024 and in the past and hopefully in the future.

[Think. Again.]

41. They would not be holding any voters in contempt...

...by opposing anti-Democracy figures.

[Wuddles440]

25. Totally agree!

[choie]

26. Could not agree more.

It just provided an imprimatur on the orange bastard's presidency. I'm so damn sick and tired of this bowing down to "institutions" and tradition instead of demonstrating for what we know to be true.

[Timeflyer]

28. Agree.

[flashman13]

29. Not attending is a passive act that could be interpreted in multiple ways.

To really show your opposition to, and disdain for, Trump would be to show up. At the moment Trump and Roberts step to the podium for the oath, the Democrats should all turn around and show Trump their backs. That is how men and women of courage make it clear that Trump is illegitimate. That is what real protest looks like. Anything less is one more form of capitulation.

To do anything less is to disrespect every American that has fought and sacrificed and died to defend our country.

Let the record show that so far Bishop Budde is the only person that has showed the necessary courage.

[La Coliniere]

33. Turning their backs on the felon

would’ve shown a unified front and a true act of defiance in the face of his dishonorable inauguration. It could have sucked the oxygen out of the event and given a boost to our demoralized Democratic base. That said, the lesser act of protest would’ve been to simply not show up. When will the Democratic caucus show some true fighting spirit in the face of the fascists? I’m waiting.

[RicROC]

50. Turning their backs on Trump as he stood up for the Oath would have been rich. I'd be so proud of them.

BUT...didn't happen.

So we continue to be discouraged by our Dem friends who do nothing, say nothing and hold their hands out for more $$$

[LetMyPeopleVote]

30. Television audience for Trump inauguration was smallest in decades

I did not watch this sham event and a good number of other people ignored this event

Link to tweet

NEW YORK — An estimated 24.6 million television viewers watched President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, the smallest audience for the quadrennial ceremony since Barack Obama’s second inauguration in 2013.

The Nielsen Co. said viewership was down from Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration, which reached 33.8 million, and Trump’s first move into the White House, seen by 30.6 million in 2017.

Inauguration viewership has varied widely over the past half-century, from a high of 41.8 million when Ronald Reagan came into office in 1981 to a low of 15.5 million for the start of George W. Bush’s second term in 2004.

The length of Trump’s inauguration coverage may have hurt him in bragging rights. The 24.6 million figure represents the average number of people tuning in to coverage on one of 15 networks between 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. In past years, the coverage didn’t go on for so long, which meant the averages were likely higher because people tune away as the day goes on.

[SWBTATTReg]

37. Idiot was on the air for virtually the entire year prior to stealing this 2024 election, so voters are turned off by

his way too many appearances yet again, on TV. Americans are, I suspect, sick and tired of his BS and his fat face, as well as his moronic mutterings. I know that I am.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

31. Yes!

100%!

[malthaussen]

32. If the Democrats truly believed their rhetoric, they didn't act like it...

... during the election, or indeed any time since 2021. The Government and Party cried "The Sky is Falling!" yet did not act at all like it was an emergency, or anything other than business as usual. I'm convinced that the tired old panic-rhetoric that was being used in the election was tuned out by a great many people as just more of the same. That it happened to be true is incidental.

At the least, the President should have acted like the attempted coup and continued agitation by DJT was the threat the Party claimed it was, and instructed the AG (who is a member of his Cabinet, after all) to expedite the case against the insurrectionist leaders from Day One. None of this "The AG is separate from the Administration and serves the Nation, not the President" bull puckey. If the AG did not act with dispatch, it was incumbent upon his boss to fire his sorry ass and appoint someone who would.

Showing up for the inauguration and stoically participating in the orderly transfer of power is another example of the Democrats pretending all is well in the best of all possible worlds, while at the same time claiming that le Patrie est en Danger. It is difficult to see how the man in the street would not see this as just politics as usual, and discount the real and present threat.

-- Mal

[drmeow]

36. I agree

And this is how I think they should have announced it:

In keeping with the precedent set by President and Mrs. Trump in 2020, [Democrat] will not be attending the inauguration.

Then when people bitch say "Hey, we're just doing what the president to be inaugurated prefers."

[bigtree]

40. the number of people who believe they're expressing opposition to Trump

...by criticizing Democrats is stunning.

There's always this talk about what's politically imperative, without a wit of self-awareness about the influencing resulting from publicly lecturing the party on an internet forum.

The only effect of this is cynicism in what these public officials are doing, which has nothing at all to do with attending an inaugural to represent their party in the continuation of our democratic process of elections.

Protesting elections and the transfer of power is what republicans do, not Democrats.

[Think. Again.]

42. Criticizing a lack of opposition to trump...

...is the epitome of expressing opposition to trump.

[speak easy]

49. "..by criticizing Democrats is stunning."

Last edited Fri Jan 24, 2025, 10:59 PM - Edit history (1)

This is not about party politics.

[Baron2024]

54. We Need To Be Able To

We need to be able to criticize ourselves and find out where went went wrong or where we went right. A Party that can not examine itself critically is doomed to perpetual failure. "We're great and you suck" is not an effective strategy. We have to honestly assess our own strengths and weaknesses and assess the strengths and weaknesses of our opponents.

[Baron2024]

55. Also

This entire DU Community was established out of protest an election that was stolen from Gore by Bush and his operatives and the courts. Democrats can dispute an election. We just do not break the law when we do it. More and better democracy is usually the remedy that we apply. Trump and MAGA do it by committing crimes.

[Hotler]

51. No one tried to pushed the domestic enemy issue.

[Horse with no Name]

52. We're trying to pretend this is normal business

And patting ourselves on the back because we showed those republicans how to have a peaceful transition! Go us!

[MissouriDem47]

56. The 2nd Trump Inauguration

Democrats should have given the 2nd Trump Inauguration the same respect that he gave the Biden inauguration four years ago. If you remember Trump, like a child that didn't get his way, refused to attend and left town. No Democrat should have showed up for his inauguration.

[benfranklin1776]

57. I wholly agree ✊🏼

Our leaders need to reread that oath each and every day and then fight like hell. This moment of democracy’s peril demands Churchillian leadership not Chamberlain style appeasement. 👊🏼

[AdamGG]

58. I guess they were hoping to mollify him slightly

Since he was going to take office anyway, try to sway him slightly in any way possible. It's not in any way possible and they shouldn't have lent credibility to the occasion.

[Emile]

60. Pissed me off to see Hillary and Bill there. They should have gave

the same respect TSF gave Joe Biden during his inauguration.

[Patton French]

62. They certainly succeeded in legitimizing him.

NT

[Festivito]

63. Is law more important that votes, or are votes more important than law?

In America, we the people, our votes, are more important than the laws and the constitution we made earlier.

I do not like the way he won, but he did win legally. Sometimes what is legal is amoral.

Showing up to acknowledge the vote is one thing. Going to lunch with him, another.

[Elessar Zappa]

64. Trump was elected democratically (in a flawed electoral system but he also won the popular vote).

Democrats believe in the peaceful transition of power.