On the day Donald Trump officially became the 45th President of the United States of America, numerous venues in Western New York hosted events to mark Inauguration Day.
The Buffalo History Museum, which welcomes guests free of charge every third Friday of the month, took advantage of the timing to host an Inauguration-themed day. A large screen provided the opportunity for anyone to view the inauguration ceremony. Elsewhere, activities were available for visitors, including mock ballots and other educational opportunities for younger guests.
"For the younger kids, what they'll be learning we hope is that this is an event," said Constance Caldwell, director of communications and community engagement for the museum. "This is a day that happens January 20th and it is woven into our democracy."
More than a dozen schoolchildren were among the visitors.
Meanwhile, supporters of new president Donald Trump cheered his every word while watching his inauguration speech on a large screen inside the Shannon Pub in the Town of Tonawanda.
Trump's opening lines, in which he declared a transition of power from Washington politicians to the people, was a pleasant surprise for Rus Thompson of Tea Party New York. Thompson was also most pleased by Trump's theme of "America first."
"It's crucially important," he said. "We haven't been America first in so long, I can't remember. Growing up we were."
He continued, explaining how years of Washington policy have hurt his business.
"The trade deals and immigration is really at the heart of me. It affects me personally."
As other Trump supporters in the restaurant sang "na na, hey hey, goodbye" while watching former President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama board their flight to leave Washington, Thompson expressed hope that the spirit of Trump might soon find its way into more local politics.
"I hope it trickles down to New York State," he said. "I don't know who's going to run, whether Carl (Paladino, former gubernatorial candidate) is going to run or the political hacks are going to run. But whomever is going to run, I think if they ran more like a Trump, they could probably win New York. Because we're sure not being led by Cuomo very well."
