'With heavy heart I realised the Trump we had hoped might change was nothing more than a fantasy'
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It was 2017, and like many, I hoped that Donald Trump's lies and threats on the campaign trail were nothing more than political bluster designed to get him into the White House. After all, this was a man who had spent years in the public eye with no political experience, and the notion that his time in office would 'soften' him seemed plausible. Perhaps the weight of the office, the responsibilities of governance, would bring about a more tempered, even presidential, version of the man we'd seen campaigning. I was wrong.
Fast-forward eight years, and as I stood at the Capitol once again, freezing in the cold like an extra from The Revenant, I realised with a heavy heart that the Trump we had hoped time might change was nothing more than a fantasy. Instead, we saw the emergence of Trump Mark II - still as unhinged, more radical, and just as divisive, if not more so, than before.
As the ceremony unfolded, I looked around, surveying the crowd. Eight years ago, the atmosphere among those who showed up was electric with anticipation. There had been a palpable sense of excitement among his supporters, who flocked to Washington, D.C., to see the outsider take power.
But today, it felt different. The crowd was smaller, the enthusiasm more subdued, and the tension in the air thicker—maybe it was just the cold, but I could feel it. Still, Trump strode to the Rotunda's podium with his signature confidence, that characteristic swagger that has always defined him. As he raised his hand to take the oath of office again, it was impossible not to feel a sense of disbelief. Was this man really back for another four years?.
