Jan. 17—More than a thousand Washingtonians will be traveling to the other Washington this weekend to watch the swearing in of President-elect Donald Trump, including upwards of 200 invited by the office of freshman congressman Rep. Michael Baumgartner.
More than 220,000 tickets will be distributed for the Monday inauguration, primarily by members of Congress, who each receive an allotment to send to their constituents. Different members of Congress had different systems for choosing who would receive their limited tickets, and Baumgartner was among those who primarily used a lottery .
The swearing-in ceremony will begin at noon Eastern Time — 9 a.m. in Spokane — and will be held indoors at the Capitol Rotunda in a rare move, due to the freezing weather expected at the time. Most guests with tickets, therefore, will not be able to attend the ceremony in person, ABC News reported Friday, though they may be able to attend the Presidential Parade in the Capital One Arena following the inauguration.
Still, for many attending, it’s an opportunity to be a first-hand witness to national history and a moment of patriotic pride.
Natalie Poulson, a member of the Spokane County GOP’s executive board who ran unsuccessfully in 2022 for state Representative and recently put her name forward for possible appointment as county treasurer, said she’s always been fascinated by the history of presidents and is honored to take part.
“I love this country, and as a teacher I love teaching about it,” Poulson said. “This is an opportunity to participate in something I often just see in history books or on TV.”
Kellie Rizzi, state committeewoman for the Spokane County GOP, has never been to Washington D.C. before, and hopes to take in some of the memorials and historic places in the nation’s capital while she’s there. Primarily, though, she said she feels honored to be able to celebrate the man she voted for taking office as the 47th President of the United States.
“It reminds me — it’s on par with Kennedy getting shot,” Rizzi said. “Everybody knows where they were. I looked at Natalie (Poulson) at one point and said, our grandkids will talk about this. It’s that kind of historic moment.”
Given the assassination attempts on Trump last year, Rizzi said that she has heard concerns about security at the inauguration.
“My feeling is, I’m almost 60 years old, and I’m going to support the person I voted for come hell or high water,” Rizzi said. “It’s an outward statement, saying I will not be afraid.”
Amanda McFarland, a precinct committee officer in Spokane and member of the Young Republicans of Spokane County was ready to pay for her own tickets to the inauguration if it came to it, but said she ran into a consultant that put in a good word for her with Baumgartner.
She said that Trump has seriously shifted her perspective on the country and on himself over the last eight years.
“I used to hate America and the idea of America, always just pointed out all the negative stuff of society,” McFarland said. “I wasn’t a huge fan of him either, initially — eight to ten years ago, I hated him. But now I admire him and his goals, and he’s not as bad of a guy as everyone says.”
McFarland flew out earlier than Rizzi or Poulson, hoping to squeeze in tours of D.C. memorials and monuments, though she joked that she’d spend most of the time in long lines.
“(Trump’s) having a rally on the 19th, and I feel like it’s going to be so packed, I might just have to stand there for 12 hours to get in the doors,” she laughed.