American Battleground: Trump returns to power with ‘shock and awe’

Bitter gusts are sweeping the frozen Potomac River, driving the wind chill into the teens. On the western front of the United States Capitol, rows of folding chairs are frosted and empty. Snow flurries howl above the iconic dome, but beneath it, the “Apotheosis of Washington” glows against the ceiling of the Rotunda. The grand painting by an Italian immigrant depicts the ascension of the nation’s first president as a matter not merely of politics, but of divine inspiration. One hundred and eighty feet below, Donald Trump is summoning his own spiritual fire to heat the room.

Bitter gusts are sweeping the frozen Potomac River, driving the wind chill into the teens. On the western front of the United States Capitol, rows of folding chairs are frosted and empty. Snow flurries howl above the iconic dome, but beneath it, the “Apotheosis of Washington” glows against the ceiling of the Rotunda. The grand painting by an Italian immigrant depicts the ascension of the nation’s first president as a matter not merely of politics, but of divine inspiration. One hundred and eighty feet below, Donald Trump is summoning his own spiritual fire to heat the room. “I was saved by God to make America great again,” he says to the cheering mass of VIPs driven inside by the weather. Never mind that Trump neglects to place his hand on the two Bibles held up for the oath; he and many of his supporters profess absolute faith that a failed assassination attempt, the electoral stumbles of the Democrats and Trump’s triumphant return to his lost place of power are signs of destiny. “The golden age of America begins right now!” he says. “From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer. During every single day of the Trump administration, I will, very simply, put America first!” His pronouncement is laced with hope for the political right, considering that the Republican Party holds the reins in all three branches of government. He is surrounded by conservative flamethrowers of the MAGA empire alongside old-fashioned, orthodox Republicans united in their zeal to do his bidding. Tech giants are also crowding around, representing some of the most powerful companies on Earth: Amazon, Meta, Google, Tesla and SpaceX. If Forbes’ estimate of Trump’s net worth — over $4 billion — is correct, he is only the ninth-richest person in the room. The top four — Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Bernard Arnault — have a combined worth of more than a trillion dollars — enough to give away a million dollars a day for nearly 3,000 years. Their presence underscores how this presidency is fused to the economic elites in a way modern politics has not seen so openly since the Gilded Age, when robber barons ran rampant — an era Trump admires. “These most powerful rich people, you know, kissing the ring, essentially, at his inauguration. That was the most remarkable thing to me,” says Zachary Wolf, a senior writer for CNN.