Members of the Duke community gathered in the Sanford School of Public Policy to watch the inauguration of the 45th president of the United States Friday morning.
After watching Donald Trump and Mike Pence be sworn in as president and vice president, attendees heard commentary from professors and student leaders. Fritz Mayer, professor of public policy and political science, moderated a conversation between Peter Feaver, professor of political science, Deondra Rose, assistant professor of political science, sophomore Madison Laton, vice chair of Duke College Republicans and senior Zach Gorwitz, co-editor of Duke Political Review, about the inauguration and the Trump presidency.
“I opposed Trump during the primary and the general. That ended on November 9, when he became my president-elect and now my president,” Feaver said. “We had the peaceful transition of incredible power... That’s an achievement. That speaks to the strength to our civic institutions.”
Gorwitz pointed out that while the United States was experiencing a peaceful transfer of power, Economic Community of West African States troops had to assist the transfer of power in Gambia.
Both Gorwitz, a self-identified Democrat, and Laton expressed that they felt some hope from the inaugural address.
“I thought the inaugural address was very similar to what we heard on the campaign but a much more polished version of it,” Laton said. “I think it was more presidential than what we’ve heard from Donald Trump before. I feel hopeful about his presidency.”
Laton also said that the speech had peacemaking undertones. However, some members of the audience disagreed.
“I was kind of expecting him to deviate and act more like a president, but it sounded like a campaign speech,” said Kevin Fulton, a graduate student in the public policy master's program. “It doesn’t seem like he’s interested in starting on a more conciliatory note.”
A member of the audience also questioned the competency of Trump and his new appointees, such as former surgeon Ben Carson, who has been nominated to be secretary of housing and urban development with no prior government experience. The Senate hearings for Betsy DeVos, secretary of education nominee, who yesterday could not respond to a question about the current debate in education regarding proficiency and growth, were also mentioned.
Gorwitz responded that he too has questioned Trump's competency and said that Trump is “not a details guy." He noted that Republican congressional leaders such as Paul Ryan will be stepping up to relay and actualize conservative policies.
Laton agreed and added that Trump will be looking to Ryan and others to push conservative domestic policy, but will have more of his own agency regarding foreign policy.
The moderated conversation also revolved around how much Trump will try to respect the conventions of Washington and the norms of American democracy. Several of the panelists felt that the address was more in line with convention than previous Trump speeches—but Trump’s most recent actions, his press conference and tweets detracted from that.
However, Gorwitz said that watching the Senate hearings and knowing that there are checks and balances in place have made him hopeful.
“The system squeezes presidents into lanes, even when they don’t want to,” Feaver said.
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Class of 2019
Editor-in-chief 2017-18,
Local and national news department head 2016-17
Born in Hyderabad, India, Likhitha Butchireddygari moved to Baltimore at a young age. She is pursuing a Program II major entitled "Digital Democracy and Data" about the future of the American democracy.