“We’re all one USA now, and that’s not just a political statement,” he said. “Right now, we’re more divided than ever and it’s really sad.”
Magvas is one of thousands of Ohioans descending on Washington, D.C., this weekend to witness history or protest it. On Saturday, hundreds of thousands are expected to make a statement of unity against the new president at the so-called women’s march.
Just behind Magvas, Lee Houskeeper of San Francisco held a bobblehead of a naked Trump.
Houskeeper, a Democrat, said he has attended nearly every inauguration since 1969, when he walked out of his door in New York City and a “pretty young girl said, ‘wanna go protest Nixon?’ and I said, ‘sure,’” he said.
“It was a great party,” he said of the anti-Nixon gathering.
Houskeeper said he got along fine in the overwhelmingly pro-Trump crowd. In fact, he said he was shocked by how many people wearing ‘Make America Great Again” hats wanted to take a photo of his bobblehead.
Christian Palich, president of the Ohio Coal Association, was one of those cheering on the new president.
“I thought it was a fantastic speech,” he said. “It was like a pregame football speech. But now the hard work starts.”
Palich and his wife watched the speech near people from Pennsylvania, Texas and Alaska. “We were all supporters,” he said. “It was very nice to be around people who think America is heading in the right direction finally.”
Ohio Rep. Niraj Antani, R-Miamisburg, said the populist themes peppered throughout Trump’s speech were reminiscent of the campaign.
“In the crowd, you could tell when he talked about making America great again….is really when the crowd got engaged,” he said. “Those are the themes that hit home right now with people back in Ohio.”
During the campaign, Youngstown State University student Justis Harrison knocked on doors, attended rallies and made phone calls in hopes of helping Trump get elected.
“We need change,” she said. “I just wanted to end it all with the inauguration. So here I am.”
Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis said he was impressed that Trump stood in front of the political establishment and told the world that it had failed them. He watched the speech next to former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway.
“He didn’t mince words,” Gonidakis said of Trump. “Most politicians would’ve sugar-coated it, but he went right for the jugular.”
Magvas said he voted for Trump — his first vote for president — because he wanted to be “even prouder” of his country.
His father is a bricklayer, he said, and his father’s fellow bricklayers all worry about their jobs. Trump, he said, “gives them hope.”
“We want to restore the American dream,” he said.
INAUGURATION COVERAGE