Donald Trump's Inauguration Day makes memes great again
It's Trump's big day, and social media is inaugurating a batch of trending topics, including George W. Bush's defiant rain poncho and Michelle Obama's Jim-from-The-Office face.
- Finalist for the Nesta Tipping Point prize and a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
On Friday, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States in front of a crowd on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Predictably, the internet was all over it.
Leading up to the transition of power, much of the chatter on social media had more to do with the mall than the new president.
The word "mall" trended on Twitter for hours on Inauguration Day morning as many compared the seemingly wide open spaces on the mall in 2017 to the vast throngs that crowded the same area in 2009 for Barack Obama's inauguration.
Some pointed out that even Trump seemed to prefer photos from Obama's inauguration.
Facing the future
When former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama greeted now-President Trump and his wife, Melania, on the White House steps, cameras caught a certain expression on Michelle Obama's face that many online were eager to caption. Was it a bad camera angle, or an expression of her true feelings? Twitter was ready to guess. (Jim, by the way, would be Jim from "The Office.")
A proud tradition
As Trump took the stage and began his inaugural address, social media shared plenty of sentiments both in support and opposition. Trump supporters and the indifferent alike sent the phrases "God Bless America" and "America the Beautiful" trending.
The changing face of 'hope and change'
Anti-Trump forces were also out in person in Washington and online. New work from artist Shepard Fairey, known for his iconic poster design for Obama's 2008 campaign, was spotted IRL and on Twitter. The transition also became real elsewhere online, at Whitehouse.gov.
President Bane?
Social media users were quick to jump on a couple of words from Trump's speech that matched up with rhetoric from "Batman" super-villain Bane. To be fair, it's a pretty common phrase heard in speeches: "We give it back to you, the people." But still.
Red, white and meow
Kellyanne Conway, Trump's right-hand woman, made headlines with her patriotically colored Gucci Inauguration Day outfit, originally designed to celebrate the city of London. Online observers compared the getup to everything from Revolutionary War soldier uniforms to the outfits worn by Hot Dog on a Stick workers. But look closely at the buttons -- they're little cat heads. Meowza!
Bush's pesky poncho
Another garment attracting meme attention was the uncooperative translucent rain poncho former President George W. Bush wrestled. Down, poncho, down!
American carnage on both sides
Fans and the fearful latched on to Trump's use of the phrase "American carnage." The hashtag #AmericanCarnage caught fire and burned hottest immediately after the inaugural address. Both sides used the phrase to make their case for or against the new administration, sometimes going dark while others kept it light with a little humor.
Bye-bye, Biden
Obama's farewell by helicopter may have looked impressive, but former Vice President Joe Biden made waves by walking to the train to go home to Delaware, honoring the practice he began as a senator in 1973. Twitter users noted his mode of departure.
Blart for prez in 2020?
The surprise appearance in many feeds during the Inauguration goes to " Mall Cop" character Paul Blart. Trump protesters pointed out that the not-quite-a-classic movie's Rotten Tomatoes score is higher than the new president's approval rating in one recent poll.
First published, January 20, 9:43 a.m. PT.
Update, 11:20 a.m. PT: Added more memes from Inauguration Day.
Update, 5:26 p.m. PT: Added George W. Bush's battle with a rain poncho.
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