Trump's address and Biden's warning
Plus: Pop stars to rally for L.A.
Without putting his hand on the Bible, President Donald Trump was sworn in today as the nation’s 47th president (and its first to enter office as a felon) in the same Rotunda his supporters ransacked four years ago.
Welcome to this week’s edition of Whig and to a new administration. Read to the end for how pop stars are raising money to help victims of the Los Angeles fires. — Hunter
Trump’s address:
Trump’s 2,879-word inaugural address was about average in length (the record for the longest goes to William Henry Harrison, the first Whig president, who was in office just a month before his death) and the first to be given indoors since Ronald Reagan’s second Inauguration in 1985.
Trump said during his remarks “America’s decline is over,” “the golden age of America begins right now,” and “I was saved by God to make America great again.” He said he wants to be “a peacemaker and a unifier,” though he also explicitly said the U.S. would expand its territory and take back the Panama Canal.
“The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons,” Trump said.
Trump said he would declare a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, establish an External Revenue Service to tariff and tax foreign countries, rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and sign an executive order “to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America.” You can read a transcript of Trump’s full speech here.
Biden’s warning:
There’s no platform for outgoing U.S. president’s like the farewell address. George Washington used his to warn about the dangers of political parties and Dwight Eisenhower used his to warn about the dangers of the “military-industrial complex.” Former President Joe Biden used his to warn about the dangers of the “tech-industrial complex” and government by the ultra-wealthy.
“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,” Biden said. “Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling. Editors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact-checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit. We must hold the social platforms accountable to protect our children, our families, and our very democracy from the abuse of power.”
Searches for “oligarchy” spiked on Google after Biden’s speech and there’s already a Wikipedia page for “tech-industrial complex.” The VIP guests at Trump’s Inauguration, including the world’s three richest men, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg, only helped illustrate Biden’s point.
Melania Trump dressed like Carmen Sandiego:
First Lady Melania Trump wore a custom double-breasted navy coat by Adam Lippes and boater hat by Eric Javits to today’s ceremony, and it was giving Carmen Sandiego funeral chic. The wide brim of the hat meant that her husband couldn’t reach when he leaned in to give a kiss, which The Daily Show is having a field day with.
“Mrs. Trump’s outfit was created by some of America’s finest craftsmen and I take great pride in showing such work to the world,” Lippes said in a statement to the Associated Press about the outfit.
Trump told Fox News last week she’ll be splitting her time three ways as FLOTUS. “I will be in the White House, and when I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach,” she said. “My first priority is to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife.”
…and Fetterman dressed like Fetterman:
Meanwhile Sen. John Letterman (D-Pa.) showed up to the Inauguration in his trademark hoodie and gym shorts lol.
Harris heads home to California:
Former Vice President Kamala Harris is still figuring out her next move, but for the time being she’s heading back to California to help fire victims. Harris is scheduled to visit a fire station to thank crews for their work and distribute food with World Central Kitchen.
AOC has thoughts on TikTok’s messaging:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said on Instagram that TikTok’s decision to name Trump in its in-app message about the platform being unbanned over the weekend was “a choice.”
“They are signaling that they are privately collaborating, they have agreed to privately collaborate, with Donald Trump and the Trump administration,” she said. “For all those concerns that people were saying that TikTok is going to be used as a propaganda tool by the Chinese, understand they’re using it as a propaganda tool for the right.”
Ocasio-Cortez added that every mass social media platform in the U.S. “has been taken over by the right wing, with the exception of Bluesky.”
Cecile Richards dies at 67:
Former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards died today after a battle with cancer. In a statement, her husband Kirk Adams asked people to remember a saying of hers, “It's not hard to imagine future generations one day asking: ‘When there was so much at stake for our country, what did you do?’ The only acceptable answer is: ‘Everything we could.’”
This former first daughter was a Pop Culture Jeopardy! clue:
Who is Jenna Bush Hager? The former first daughter did a sexy but modest photo shoot with Hoda Kota in 2022 to celebrate reaching 1 million Instagram followers, and the shoot ended up as a clue on an episode of Pop Culture Jeopardy! last week. “All I have to say is I’ve never made my parents more proud,” Bush Hager said.
Michelle Obama’s MLK Day message:
Former First Lady Michelle Obama wasn’t at the Inauguration today after also skipping out on Jimmy Carter’s funeral. She didn’t explain why and I don’t want to put words in her mouth, but I will note she shares one thing in common with former Second Lady Karen Pence, who also did not attend today: their families’ safety were both threatened by Trump.
Pence’s husband former Vice President Mike Pence was, of course, threatened by the mob Trump sent to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and Obama wrote in her memoir Becoming that Trump’s false claims about her husband’s birthplace led to threats against her family that she was sometimes briefed on by the Secret Service. “Donald Trump, with his loud and reckless innuendos, was putting my family’s safety at risk,” she wrote. “And for this I’d never forgive him.”
Obama marked MLK Day today by asking her Instagram followers what they’re doing to get involved in their community and sharing a quote from Martin Luther King, “The time is always right to do the right thing.”
Carrie Underwood sings a capella:
An apparent technical difficulty delayed Carrie Underwood’s performance of “America the Beautiful” during the Inauguration today, so she sang it without the backing track. “If you know the words, help me out here,” she said. Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton knew the words.
What Britney said about performing at an Inauguration:
Britney Spears was asked on MTV’s TRL in 1999 whether she’d be more scared to sing at an Inauguration or perform with Marilyn Manson. She said Manson because “we don’t really sing the same type of music anyway, and I would be scared on stage with him.”
This is camp:
The Village People were joined on stage by Trump Sunday night at an Inauguration eve rally at Capitol One Arena where the group performed their 1978 hit and Trump campaign rally staple “Y.M.C.A.” Kid Rock and Lee Greenwood also performed at the event.
Snoop Dogg performs at Inauguration Crypto Ball:
In 2017, Snoop Dogg lambasted Trump and his supporters over the government shutdown. “Look what he do. He just don’t give a f***,” Mr. Dogg said at the time. Now the rapper is singing a different tune. Snoop performed at a Crypto Ball event over the weekend with Rick Ross and Soulja Boy, and they’re all getting pilloried in the comments section of The Shade Room.
Nelly has no regrets performing at the Liberty Ball:
Nelly said his decision to perform at the official Liberty Ball was “not political” and “an honor” that he would have done if Harris won. “I respect the office,” Nelly said during a livestream. “This isn't politics. The politics, for me, it's over. He won. He's the president. He's the commander-in-chief of what I would like to say is the best country in the world.”
There’s going to be “special ambassadors” to Hollywood:
Trump said in a post on Truth Social last week that Mel Gibson, Jon Voight, and Sylvester Stallone would be named special ambassadors “to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California.” It’s not clear what exactly that means, and Gibson said he heard about the assignment “at the same time as all of you and was just as surprised.”
Chappell Roan knows her comments get in the way sometimes:
There can be a cost to be outspoken. “I think, actually, I'd be more successful if I was OK wearing a muzzle,” Chapell Roan joked in an interview with BBC’s Radio 1. “If I were to override more of my basic instincts, where my heart is going, 'Stop, stop, stop, you're not OK', I would be bigger.”
“I've been responding that way to disrespect my whole life — but now there are cameras on me, and I also happen to be a pop star, and those things don't match,” she said. “It's like oil and water.”
Pop stars rally for L.A.:
Stars including Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and Finneas, Tate McRae, Katy Perry, Pink, Sting, Dave Matthews, John Mayor, Green Day, Gwen Stefani, Joni Mitchell, Rod Stewart, and Stevie Nicks will perform at FireAid, a benefit concert to be held Jan. 30 at the Kia Forum and Intuit Dome.
“I am inspired by so many people in this city — all of whom are selfless, hardworking, strong, and compassionate,” McRae wrote in an Instagram post announcing the show. “I'm so honored to be a part of this incredible group of artists coming together for our city. Please continue to do what you can to help those in need and our brave firefighters and first responders.”
Thanks for reading! See you next week. ⭐