KAILUA-KONA — Not long after the time many Hawaii residents woke up and started their day Friday, they already had a new president.
It was, after all, only about 6:45 a.m. local time when Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the presidential oath for Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States.
The early hour didn’t deter the new president’s Big Island supporters, who were up before dawn to catch live coverage of the day’s events.
“I think it’s going to be transformative,” said Bruce Pratt, a Big Island Republican, about the new administration.
Pratt said the inauguration represents a cornerstone of American democracy: the peaceful transition of power between presidents.
“This is one of the really cool things about American culture,” he said.
Also important, he added, was the tone of Trump’s inaugural address, in which the president focused on returning power to the American people.
“We are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another,” Trump said in his address, “but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people.”
It’s a point that struck a chord with Pratt, who considered the address a “pretty clear message that he’s saying it’s time for the government to be of the people and for the people.”
It similarly struck a chord for David Ross, chairman of the West Hawaii Republicans, who attended the inauguration in the nation’s capital.
Trump, Ross said, “didn’t mince any words at all” when it came to outlining the state of the country. That included Trump’s comments that the government isn’t serving the American people.
“Government is the people’s servant,” Ross said. “Not their master.”
Ross said the inauguration was the first one he’s attended and the event had an exciting energy when Trump was sworn in. The man lauded the president’s commitment to taking an “America first” approach in his first address.
“From this day forward,” Trump said, “a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first, America first.”
“Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families,” he added.
That’s an approach Ross said he can support.
“It’s OK for us to take care of ourselves,” he said. “And yet that’s not the way our government leaders have been governing.”
Not everyone is on board, though.
“I was not impressed,” said Bill Hillberg of Kealakekua. “I think that he’s very into isolating this country and his tone was very militaristic to me.”
Hillberg said he didn’t support Trump during the election and is now “more fearful for our country now that he’s actually in office,” calling Trump, “a very dangerous individual.”
Hillberg, a veteran, said he’s concerned about the president’s policy proposals for Medicare and Veterans Affairs. Hillberg displayed a furled flag with a black band around it to express concern for the direction the country has taken.
He added he plans to attend the Women’s March today in Kona.
The march, organized in coordination with the massive Women’s March on Washington, begins at 3 p.m. today. Attendees are meeting along the makai side of Queen Kaahumanu Highway south of Henry Street. It ends at the Rally for Common Ground, a separately organized sister event, that starts at 4 p.m. at the Edible World Institute.
The Hilo Women’s March on Washington event begins at 11:30 a.m. today, with people asked to begin meeting at 10 a.m. at the Mooheau Bandstand. The Hilo event will include guest speakers and informational booths from various community organizations.
While parts of the president’s inaugural address took a dismal view of the country’s current state, referring at one point to crime and gangs with the term “American carnage,” Pratt said it’s not unexpected.
On the contrary, he said, if Trump came out and talked “sunshine and butterflies” it would have clashed with the themes he spoke about in his campaign.
“It’s still his message,” Pratt said. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
That work, Ross said, might be uncomfortable for some, but he thinks it will put the country on the right track.
“Some people are gonna be pushed out of their comfort zones and they’re not gonna be happy about it,” he said.
Email Cameron Miculka at cmiculka@westhawaiitoday.com.
