This morning, Republican Donald Trump officially became the 45th President of the United States. KLCC’s Brian Bull gathered local reaction.
At the Keg Tavern in Eugene, dozens of Lane County Republicans gathered to watch the inauguration on TV.
Summer Knowlton, Dan Wheeler, and Dave McLean share their hopes for the new administration:
“I hope this president will surround himself with very knowledgeable people and make good decisions so that we can move forward and be a prosperous, unified country,” says Knowlton.
“Well, secure the border, that’s number one," began Wheeler. " We’ve got to get a handle on who’s coming into the country. We also need to get a handle on taxes. We have factories and jobs exiting our country because we don’t have enough of a business friendly environment.”
“His business acumen is what appealed to me," McLean tells KLCC. "I think he’s going to bring people together. That’s how he was successful in business, I feel that he’ll be a successful president that way too.”
In downtown Eugene, Melissa Stevens, Bryce Charles, and Dominic Monroe were more wary.
“I hope I was wrong about Trump, you know I hope he achieves good things, you know, like 'Makes America Great Again, I hope it’s legit,” says Stevens.
“I didn’t vote for him, I’ll say that now," says Charles. "But he hasn’t had a chance to start anything and you know, he might do really good or he might screw us over, know what I mean?”
“I believe we can all overcome our obstacles that we have, but I don’t see him seeing it like that," says Monroe. "Most of this election I’ve seen him really talking about the people, but I’ve seen him more self-centered on a lot of what he wants done, too.”
