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| Trump with wife Melania. Tiffany Trump on the right (Pix by Jim Bourg/Pool Photo via AP) |
NEW
YORK (AP) — The media brought a reverence for history and ceremony to
its coverage of President Donald Trump's inaugural on Friday, yet deep
divisions exposed in the campaign that brought him there weren't far
from the surface.
With
the armchair psychologists reading the expressions on Hillary Clinton's
face, several sour reviews of Trump's inaugural address and images of
rock-throwing protesters, the air of celebration was muted. Non-news
networks ESPN, BET and MTV aired the moment when Barack Obama was sworn
in eight years ago. Not this time.
An
anti-Trump demonstration in Washington, D.C., was essentially ignored
by television networks until the stands set up for dignitaries
witnessing the oath of office cleared. Then pictures of demonstrators
clashing with police emerged.
No doubt an incoming administration and supporters who frequently view the media as the enemy were taking notes.
"It's
just disappointing that it's starting out with a little bit of a
cloud," New York Republican Rep. Chris Collins said on ABC, in a
discussion about colleagues who stayed away from Trump's inaugural in
protest. "But that's the decision that they're making."
The
living ex-presidents attended Trump's oath of office, with the
exception of the hospitalized George H.W. Bush. Both Nicolle Wallace on
NBC and Bob Schieffer on CBS noted that there was no evidence any of
them voted for Trump.
Clinton
reacted with silence when she arrived at the Capitol with her husband,
former President Bill Clinton, and reporters shouted questions about
what it felt like to attend her rival's inauguration. Some on TV, like
ABC's Anita McBride, didn't even need a reply: "That's not the smile of a
woman who is happy to be here right now," she said.
"It's gotta sting," NBC's Lester Holt said.
Although
some shouts of "lock her up" within the audience echoed the campaign,
there was a moment of televised grace at the luncheon that followed when
Trump saluted Clinton and dignitaries in attendance stood and
applauded.
Following
Trump's 16-minute inaugural address, Brian Williams on NBC drew a
contrast to the new president's image of an "American carnage" to the
call to action in President John F. Kennedy's 1961 speech.
Several commentators noted that the speech was aimed more at Trump's supporters than constituents who are suspicious of him.
"I
have to say it was surprisingly divisive for an inaugural address,"
said NBC's "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd. "It's tough to be both a
unifier and that populist carrier. He went with populism and I think
it's going to play well with his folks but that wasn't the type of
inaugural address that was intended to bring this country together."
ABC's Tom Llamas called it the first speech of Trump's re-election campaign.
"For
anyone who hoped or thought that the magnitude of the moment would
change Donald Trump, they were completely wrong," he said.
The
speech was a repudiation to many of the politicians who sat behind
Trump as he delivered it, including the former presidents, some analysts
said. "It was definitely a bipartisan hand grenade," said CBS' Gayle
King.
While the speech was dark, "if you were a Trump voter, you heard everything you wanted to hear," said CNN's John King.
On
Fox News Channel, overwhelmingly the news source of choice for Trump
supporters, analyst Dana Perino called the speech "very muscular."
Tucker Carlson said it was populist, not conservative.
"Not
poetic, but quite strong," Brit Hume said. "He painted this dark
landscape of circumstances in America and promised to fix them all."
On
social media, veteran commentator Keith Olbermann urged fans to boycott
television coverage of the inauguration. Olbermann may not have been
following his own advice, since he tweeted "Impeach Trump Now" less than
a minute after the oath of office was administered.
Twitter
was also filled with pictures comparing the crowd size at Obama's first
inauguration with Friday's turnout for Trump, although it was not
entirely clear if the postings depicted comparable moments in the
ceremony.
Footage
of anti-Trump protests filled the television void between the inaugural
address and parade, and instantly became part of the divisive political
conversation.
"If
you want to help Donald Trump have a good start to his presidency, go
out on the streets and throw rocks at police officers," said Fox News
Channel's Chris Stirewalt, who said the images should solidify Trump's
support in middle America.
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