Photographer Jordan Gale documents preparations for 60th presidential inauguration, showing a US poised and polarised between hope and fear
Washington is a city on edge. Concrete barriers, unscalable steel fencing and security checkpoints dot the map. In a climate of simmering political violence, and after a divisive election campaign in which he survived two assassination attempts, Donald Trump is returning to an anxious capital where more than nine in 10 voters broke for his opponent, Kamala Harris. A city of tradition and ritual will seek to accommodate the most unconventional of presidents, bringing thousands of Trump’s supporters into direct contact with the residents who feel a sense of foreboding and dread.
Trump will take the oath of office under the magnificent dome of the Capitol Rotunda on Monday due to forecasts of intense cold weather, upending months of meticulous planning for a massive outdoor event with crowds sprawling down the National Mall. The swearing-in was last moved indoors in 1985, when Ronald Reagan began his second term. The rotunda was one of the areas breached during the 6 January 2021 insurrection by supporters of Trump trying to block the certification of his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden.
