UD Students Share Thoughts about Trump’s Second Inauguration
Reported by Contributors:
Logan Miller, Alexander Dufour, Trevor Nulph
With President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration scheduled for Jan. 20, students interviewed for FlyerNews.com said they have mixed feelings about how involved they will be in watching or paying attention to the event that signals the traditional, peaceful transference of governmental power.
“I’ll probably just watch the college football national championship and see the highlights on X,” junior offensive lineman Jack Plattner said, referring to the NCAA Division I National Championship pitting Ohio State against Notre Dame. The game is being played the night of Jan. 20, when inaugural parties are likely to be in full swing.
Students interviewed for this article agreed that they did not feel the need to watch the inauguration because they will most likely see it on social media. Senior Aiden McKinley, for one, does think he may watch some of the event if his roommates have it on the TV.
While students don’t plan on watching the inauguration live, they do hope to hear Trump say a few things about how he will govern.
McKinley said, “I hope Trump will say he will be a great leader and change some politics within the government.”
Change seemed to be a common thing students want to hear Trump talk about. Plattner wants to hear Trump talk about helping the less fortunate.
“I’m a Christian and I am hoping he says something about helping the less fortunate.” Plattner said.
As Trump takes back control of the White House, he will be busy tending to issues right away. Students shared what they felt were the most important issues to tackle right away.
Making sure TikTok is not banned in the United States was a popular one.
“I really hope he stops TikTok getting banned because it’s my favorite social media app,” said Mackenzi Zlotnik, also a senior. With TikTok being one of the main social media app’s students use, this decision could upset or bring relief to many. [The U.S. Supreme Court decided on Jan. 17 to allow the ban to take effect Jan. 19. Whether Trump signs an executive order to extend the deadline to shut down the popular social media platform remains to be seen, according to national news reports at the time this article was being written.]
Another issue students noted as important was the state of the economy.
“My parents want to move, but when Biden took office the housing market went out of control and house prices went through the roof,” Foody said. Other students talked about the prices of everything have made it harder as a college student to afford gas and food. Students interviewed for this article said they hope to feel relief in the near future.
Joey Giuliani, Class of 2026, said he would be watching the inauguration.
He said it is important to pay attention to politics and to know what is going on in the world, even if he just has the speech on in the background while working.
The others that said they wouldn’t watch it all had similar reasoning, and that was just that they had better things to do. Whether it is class, schoolwork, outside activities with on campus organizations, work, etc. they feel that they have more important things going on that directly impact their lives than watching the inauguration ceremony. They also mentioned that with social media like Twitter/X, Instagram, and TikTok, they will likely see a lot of clips from
the inauguration ceremony anyway.
Will DiPronio said he wants Trump to tackle public health, noting that he feels there are too many additives put in food and that makes the general public more unhealthy. If Trump can find a way to incentivize companies to make whole foods, this will lower the amount of additives found in the food, DiPronio said.
Joey Giuliani said he hopes Trump will address inflation.
“The cost of everyday goods is way too high, and hopefully Trump finds a way to lower inflation and stabilize the economy,” Giuliani said.
Jack Gleason’s goal is similar to Guiliani’s.
“As a college student, the price of living will be way too high coming out of college with
an entry-level job. I am excited to see how Trump handles this. I hope President Trump is able to bring stability to the political scene in the United States. For a number of years, it has felt like people pick a side and hate the other, like it’s a sport. The United States was built off of discourse, and hopefully that can make a return during President Trump’s term.”
Mark McQuade said illegal immigration should be at the top of the new president’s agenda, while Michael Drews thought economic policy needed immediate attention. Foreign policy was Jason Perry’s interest. Alex Clark stressed the necessity of taking steps to protect national security.