The best social media reactions to Trump's 2nd inauguration

Donald Trump is president of the United States again.

Trump was inaugurated as the U.S.'s 47th president on Jan. 20, 2025 (local time) and love him or hate him, you might have gone on your social media of choice to enjoy/hatewatch some inauguration memes.

Wait, you didn't? Let's get you up to date then!

The Gulf...

Right off the bat, people were memeing on First Lady Melania Trump's fashion choices, as she attended the ceremony in a wide brimmed black hat, drawn low over her face.

Some compared her to the Pizza Hut logo.

Others compared her to the old McDonald's mascot, the Hamburglar, a character famous for theft and was depicted wearing prisoner garb.

There is a more meta meme that speculates that the first lady and the president are not close, and those who believed it chose to read into the fact that the width of her hat made it difficult for Trump to kiss his wife on the cheek.

Let the memes begin! #Trump pic.twitter.com/kdHcjOvP9r

— Count Binface (@CountBinface) January 20, 2025

In addition, Trump's youngest son Barron was also on the receiving end of many memes, some laudatory and some less so.

Perhaps the most reasonable ones were those who noticed his lean and tall stature.

Wemby doesn't stand a chance against Barron Trump 😂

pic.twitter.com/5KuxX2yLFQ

— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) January 21, 2025

... of America

Also shared frequently was a clip of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton laughing during Trump's speech as Trump says that he would rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.

Hillary laughing at Trump announcing he’s renaming the Gulf Of Mexico to the Gulf of America 😂 pic.twitter.com/UWypR7d8vb

— Adam (@AdamJSmithGA) January 20, 2025

Clinton, who ran against Trump in the 2016 presidential election, was in attendance as the spouse of former president Bill Clinton.

As is typical for most inaugurations, it was attended by the remaining former presidents, including George W Bush and Barack Obama.

The two former presidents have struck up a cordial relationship over the years, and this was shown in a little snippet shared on social media.

Prior to the ceremony, Bush is speaking to a staff member, who asks the former president whether he was going to "behave".

Waiting behind him is Obama, who shakes his head and quipes "nope!"

Presidents Obama and Bush on their way to the Capitol Rotunda:

Staffer to Bush: “Are you going to behave?”

Obama chimes in from behind: “Nope.” pic.twitter.com/xGNTTo6r2t

— Emily Davies (@ELaserDavies) January 20, 2025

Wandering gazes

Attending the inauguration were a bevy of dignitaries, with the leaders of major tech and social media platforms being very noticeable.

It is know that TikTok president Chew Shou Zi was in attendance, after his app having spent just over half a day banned in the United States.

But also present was Mark Zuckerberg, who was accused of a straying gaze, although in all likelihood he was sharing a word with the person seated behind him.

But most prominent was Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who was probably the most influential individual supporter of Trump who appeared to be watching a drunk bird flying, or something.

Elon tripping balls as usual #Inauguration2025 pic.twitter.com/4fjucsjPjN

— Chief Tanuki (@ChiefTanuki) January 20, 2025

Seated ovation

As might be expected, members of the legislature were also present, but none made his presence felt more than Bernie Sanders.

The leftist independent senator, who became a stalwart ally of the outgoing president Joe Biden in order to oppose Trump, despite having contested against Biden for the Democratic Party's nomination in 2020, was in the audience.

But he made his feelings on the occasion clear, when some of the audience rose to their feet to give Trump a standing ovation, Sanders remained seated, his hands crossed, and posture in a distinctly unimpressed pose.

It was reminiscent of his attendance of Biden four years earlier, where he had a similar pose, although at the time he was simply waiting for the ceremony to start, and not reacting to Biden.

Cold day

But as the 2021 picture shows, Biden's inauguration was held outdoors, as is tradition.

Trump chose to hold his inauguration in the Capitol Rotunda, ostensibly because the weather was too cold.

That too garnered reaction, some feeling sorry for those who had prepared the outdoor event.

At the end of the inauguration, Trump would go on to sign over a hundred executive orders, marking the beginning of his second term in office, and bringing to an end the immense waiting period between his election and inauguration.

It has been an eventful wait, and perhaps nothing sums it up better than this.

[image or embed]

— Reader of Banned Books (@readerofbannedbook.bsky.social) 21 January 2025 at 09:00

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Image via Donald Trump/Facebook