Hundreds of Oklahomans to witness inauguration ‘live and in person’
A Democratic Party activist from rural eastern Oklahoma, Michael Sperry could not have been more disappointed with the results of the presidential election. And yet, he will fly to Washington, D.C., this week to watch the inauguration.
Not to protest. Not to jeer. But to respectfully, even enthusiastically, take part in a historic event.
“I’m a Democrat,” said Sperry, who will travel with his 76-year-old mother, “but I’m also an American. He will be my president too.”
About 800,000 people are expected gather at the U.S. Capitol to watch Donald Trump take the oath of office on Friday, and at least 500 of them will come from Oklahoma, state GOP officials estimated.
With even modest hotels in suburban Washington charging $300 a night during inauguration week, the trip won’t come cheap.
“But you’ll never forget it, and you’ll never regret it,” said Matt Pinnell, former chairman of the Oklahoma GOP and the current national state party director.
Pinnell will attend the inauguration but might have little time to enjoy it, as he will be in charge of the logistical operation of getting Republican National Committee members from event to event throughout the day. And that’s quite an operation, considering that as many as 30,000 people will be attending various inaugural balls throughout the city.
“But I certainly will be there when he is sworn into office,” Pinnell said. “That’s going to be a very powerful moment, and I’m just very grateful that I will get to experience it live and in person.”
George Wiland, an Electoral College voter for Oklahoma last month, attended the 2005 inauguration for George W. Bush’s second term. But without a ticket, he stood elbow to elbow in a massive crowd a quarter of a mile from the podium, too far away to even see the jumbotrons.
“Other than being able to say I was there,” Wiland chuckles, “I wasn’t really part of the event at all.”
This time, with tickets from U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine’s office, Wiland should get a much closer look. And he will take his adult daughter and teenage grandson, along with one of his grandson’s friends.
“I’m most exciting about getting to take those young people,” Wiland said. “It’s a chance of a lifetime, and they’ll never forget that they were there.”
Meanwhile in Tulsa, Trinity Episcopal Church is organizing a “day of community service” to mark the inauguration, teaming up with Congregation B’Nai Emunah, the Islamic Society of Tulsa, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Temple Israel to fix up a dilapidated property for an impoverished homeowner.
Hannah Kemp Middlebrook, the director of communications and volunteers for Trinity, described it as “a considered response to the election.”
“A lot of people are worried about what this change will look like,” Middlebrook said. “And we’re providing an outlet for all that nervous energy.”