Trump supporters in Newport Beach anticipate ‘good times’
On a rainy Friday morning in Newport Beach, a small group of Donald Trump fans gathered to watch the billionaire businessman take the oath of office over 2,600 miles away to become the 45th president of the United States.
At Rudy’s Pub and Grill, which had 33 of its 34 televisions tuned to Fox News’ broadcast of the inauguration in Washington, D.C., they cheered. They made a champagne toast.
They stood for the swearing-in. When it was done, one man quietly stated, “Let the good times begin.”
They sang some of the words to “America the Beautiful” and the national anthem.
They clapped when, during Trump’s remarks, he said: “This moment is your moment. It belongs to you.” They hooted when he gave his characteristic “America first” remarks.
They applauded as they watched footage of departing President Barack Obama leave the capital in a helicopter.
One pair of friends brought in some President Donald Trump coffee mugs for the occasion. Rudy’s staff filled them with Irish coffee.
The morning was, as Rudy’s owner Todd Carson put it, “a little change from sports.”
Minutes earlier, Carson, wearing a “crooked Hillary” T-shirt, had placed one of Trump and Vice President Mike Pence’s campaign signs at the restaurant’s entrance. During the election campaign, he said, the pub sometimes would show the presidential debates at one end of the room and sports at the other. Viewers were evenly split between them, he said.
Newport Beach residents Dave Clarke and Dan Byers went to the restaurant together Friday. Byers brought the Trump mugs.
“I wanted to witness history,” said Clarke, adding that he took time off from work to watch the proceedings.
The viewing party was co-organized the day before by Tiffany Sumner, also of Newport Beach, who attended wearing one of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” hats. She said she was supposed to be in Washington for the inauguration but couldn’t go because of recent surgery.
The viewers agreed that they want Trump to prioritize national security and secure the borders, address the rising cost of health insurance and bring jobs to the United States.
Byers said he knows Trump is brash but that his is the type of personality needed “to get things done.”
And, Byers said, he’s not a typical politician; he’s not afraid to speak his mind and, in doing so, “throw political correctness out the window.”
Twitter: @BradleyZint
