Washington DC’s Quiet Exodus: Why Some Residents Are Fleeing Before Trump’s Inauguration- wna24

Washington: As President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration approaches, many Washington DC residents are opting to flee the city, wanting to avoid the “hostile negative energy” surrounding the event. With just two days until Trump assumes office, many locals are planning to stay away from the inauguration.

Alejandra Whitney-Smith, a DC resident, has decided to leave the city and spend a week in a cabin without technology. Speaking to The Guardian, she explained that the inauguration coincides with her birthday weekend, a time she typically spends in DC, but after the election, she knew she couldn’t stay.

Reflecting on Trump’s re-election, Whitney-Smith described it as “representing the ugly side of America that people don’t want to acknowledge.”

Alejandra recalled the fear she felt when her mother was working at the Library of Congress during the January 6th Capitol attack, which was carried out by Trump supporters two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.

To disconnect from the inauguration, she plans to spend the weekend engaging in vision boarding, reflection, and reconnection, seeking peace away from the events unfolding in DC.

Whitney-Smith expressed her dismay over Trump’s re-election, admitting that she had hoped Americans would learn from his first term and avoid regression. However, she acknowledged that the nation wasn’t yet ready for its first Black woman president.

“But I also know the reality of living in this country as a Black woman. As much as I wanted Harris to win, there was something in me that still told me that America is not ready for their first Black woman president. Not only that, she was running against Donald Trump who has an almost cult-like following that is so powerful”, she said.

Tia Butler, another DC resident, shared that the memories of the January 6 riot and encountering pro-life protesters after the 2020 election make her “not want to be in the city during the inauguration festivities.”

She explained that her views differ greatly from those of the president-elect’s supporters, stating, “It says to me that we’d rather have a criminal leading our country than a person of color, or a criminal rather than a woman.”

This situation highlights one side of America, but on the flip side, many conservatives and Republican supporters are excited about the inauguration. By Wednesday, hotels in the city were 70% booked, with rates ranging from $900 to $1,500 a night.

However, Trump has not had the best relationship with Washington DC. He previously labeled the city as a “filthy and crime-ridden embarrassment to our nation” and vowed to radically rebuild the capital, even recruiting billionaire Elon Musk to slash the federal workforce.