© 2024 WUKY
background_fid.jpg
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Kentuckians Journey To D.C. To Witness History, Protest

AP Photo/John Minchillo
Crowds walk toward Capitol Building in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, as preparations continue for Friday's presidential inauguration.

Kentuckians are traveling to the nation’s capital Friday, both to observe the inauguration of Donald Trump and to demonstrate against the incoming Republican commander-in-chief.

Kim McCann took off work to join a bus trip to Washington, D.C. organized by 5th District Kentucky Congressman Hal Rogers’ office. Friday morning starts bright and early as her crew boards the shuttle to Capitol Hill at 6:30 a.m.

"I think that it's an important part of the process, sort of the changing of the guard," she says. "It's an opportunity that makes you really feel like you live in America."

A Trump supporter who wants to see GOP leaders deliver on pledges to revive jobs, especially in Kentucky’s hard-hit coal and manufacturing regions, McCann anticipates new economic strategies that will benefit the commonwealth and the country.

"I think that [Trump] has some ideas to try to bring the right people to the table to see if he can make some changes and get people working again," she explains.

The inaugural experience won't be altogether new for McCann – she attended the first swearing-in ceremony for George W. Bush in 2001 – but security appears far tighter as Trump prepares to take the oath. She noted a heavy police and military presence during her trips into the city. 

"I've been to D.C. many, many times, and I haven't seen it exactly like this," she says.

While McCann relishes her role as spectator, another attendee, Mary Hoffmann, plans to speak out by adding her voice to the Women’s March on Washington, an event the Lexington nurse hopes will prove impossible for the new president to ignore.

"He doesn't accept anything that resembles criticism and I feel like when all of these people show up on his doorstep and tell him that his words and actions are not OK, he cannot as easily brush us aside," Hoffman says. "A lot of us are just wanting to send the message that we're watching. We've got both eyes on him and his administration, and we're going to hold him accountable from day one."

Hoffmann fears civil rights will be rolled back under the Trump administration. She sees the president-elect as a clear danger to a host of groups, including women, immigrants and refugees, and the LGBTQ community, and joins Georgia Rep. John Lewis in questioning Trump's legitimacy.

"I think he spins things however he wants because he dismisses facts and statistics and basic definitions of words," Hoffman adds. "I believe he is the worst kind of hypocrite."

Hoffmann applauds politicians and celebrities who have declined to attend or dropped commitments to perform for the inauguration. She considers the march a way to galvanize Trump opponents who may be feeling demoralized by the election results. Women's March organizers agree, as they set their sights on an ambitious goal – outdrawing the inauguration itself.

Protest coordinators hope to attract 200,000 people.

Notes: WUKY will be airing and streaming NPR coverage of the inauguration live from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday. For real time updates online, visit NPR'slive blog and inaugural address fact-checker.

Josh James fell in love with college radio at Western Kentucky University's student station, New Rock 92 (now Revolution 91.7). After working as a DJ and program director, he knew he wanted to come home to Lexington and try his hand in public radio.
Related Content