Trump Supporters Who Descended On DC Aren’t Buying The Cold Weather Excuse For Moving Inauguration

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Trump stood inside the warm Capitol Rotunda to take his oath of office Monday. A few miles away, his supporters, gathered outside, are bundled up in fur hats and parkas. Some tried to get one of the 20,000 seats in Capital One Arena. Others packed bars and coffee shops.

Most, however, remained on the streets in the sub-freezing temperatures. Some of them watched on their phones as Trump was sworn in as the nation’s 47th president, while others had their faces pressed up against restaurant windows to catch a glimpse of the new president on the TV screen.

There was no disappointment among the crowd to not be in attendance at the inauguration, no sense of frustration or anger that it had been moved to the Capitol Rotunda.

That, in part, could be attributed to the fact that most Trump supporters don’t buy the cold weather excuse to move the inauguration inside. Of the dozen of supporters the Daily Caller spoke to, nearly all believe security was the main reason for switching up Monday’s plans.

“[It was] safety reasons. I knew right away,” Tony Lenten, a self described “American Patriot” from Tampa, Florida, told the Caller. 

“These men are our heroes, and they’re leading the movement right now, and they’re trying to kill him, and they’re going to continually try to kill him. It was a right call, and so I wouldn’t want to just have it for my own selfish reasons, to be outside,” Lenten continued. 

Just about 72 hours before he was sworn in as president, Trump announced via Truth Social that he had made the decision to move his swearing-in inside over weather concerns. Monday was projected to have a day low of 11 degrees and a high around 20 degrees.

Unable to get into Capitol One arena, droves of Trump supporters are posting up in bars and restaurants. Others have their face pressed to the windows just trying to catch a glance of Trump on the TV screen. @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/t0qefAQKmj

— Reagan Reese (@reaganreese_) January 20, 2025

“I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post about the weather.

With the move, the nearly quarter of a million tickets for the outdoors event became “commemorative.” Yet, Trump supporters still turned out in droves Monday just to be in somewhat of close proximity to the president as he was sworn in for the second time.

Despite the low chance of even seeing Trump’s motorcade dash by, MAGA supporters were gleeful because they felt the new arrangement kept the president safest.

“We love our president and we are very, very excited about the Golden Age coming,” Janine, a middle-aged woman from Boston, Massachusetts, told the Caller as she moved through the two mile line to get into Capitol One Arena. “It’s most important to keep our president safe. Though they said it was for the weather … I believe it’s more of a security issue.”

People queue in the snow at Capital One Arena for Donald Trump’s victory rally on January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will be sworn in on January 20. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

The Trump team previously referred the Caller to the president’s Truth Social post when asked about security concerns being a factor and insisted the weather was the real reason behind the switch-up. RealClearPolitics national political correspondent Susan Crabtree reported that most of her Secret Service sources reiterated the sentiment, though a well-positioned source told the reporter that there was concern among law enforcement officials over the security perimeter and which open areas would be accessible to the public. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Local Police Departments Are Refusing To Help DC Secure Trump’s Inauguration)

At the time of swearing in, the line to Capital One Arena (about half a mile away here) is still moving.

One Cap police officer tells me that at one point he believes the line was 2 miles long. At max capacity the arena holds 20,000. @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/URPDxTJnPi

— Reagan Reese (@reaganreese_) January 20, 2025

There was a general selflessness among the Trump supporters who spoke to the Caller. Many chose to go through with their travel from places like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City for a chance to experience a piece of history in the streets of D.C.

“It might be for some security reasons, might be some better reason. It doesn’t matter for the people like us,” Fred Ren, a Canadian Trump supporter who traveled ten hours to celebrate the United States’ new leader. “We want to be part of this one, the historical event, and the moment of that.”

People watch the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump from the Capital One Arenaon January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Supporters wait outside Capital One Arena ahead of the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

The gratitude for the president’s safety was comparable to how supporters felt at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just days after Trump was shot in the head in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“Obviously we were disappointed, but I think there’s so much that we don’t know. And if there was another concern aside from weather, then obviously putting the safety of himself and the American people is really important,” Kylie McEnroe, a 24-year-old who traveled down with her family from Los Angeles, California, told the Caller.

Even if MAGA supporters were unable to be in attendance for the 47th president’s swearing in, the streets of D.C. resembled that of one of Trump’s popular rallies. “USA” and “Trump” chants echoed throughout the streets. “YMCA” blasted from various car speakers while bystanders danced around. “Trump 2024, no more bullshit,” a jumbo flag read.

“I think they moved it inside because they want his head,” a street vendor told the Caller as he passed out MAGA beanies to shivering Trump supporters.