A pastor, his eyes closed, preaches his heart out for history. A former president spots an acquaintance, then grins and winks. Tech billionaires, all in a row, look on with intent expressions. Supreme Court justices scan the room.
Any crowd is, by definition, a collection of faces. But in those moments when history pivots, the expressions of the people on the scene — the grins and frowns, the seriousness and levity, the hope and trepidation — can, taken together, form their own indelible collage of the day. And so it went with the faces captured by the lenses of Associated Press and pool photographers on Monday at President Donald Trump’s second inauguration.
In live video coverage and in still photos, those packed into the Capitol Dome for the inaugural of Trump and Vice President JD Vance offered up a Whitman’s Sampler of human emotions. They weren’t exactly a cross-section of American life, to be fair, but a substantial amount of the many American emotions of the moment were offered up, triangulated by photographers and frozen in time.
For his part, Trump varied. At moments he was dead serious and looked almost glowering. At others — including when posing for phone photographs just after his speech — he grinned from ear to ear. First lady Melania Trump was at his side, but her expressions were hard to see thanks to a wide-brimmed hat that obscured her eyes.
You could also learn something from the likes of Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Trump opponents, they nevertheless offered up collegial faces to the public — Klobuchar in particular, given that her role as a leader of the inaugural planning committee kept her on camera alongside Trump frequently on Monday.
And the former presidents? Joe Biden smiled graciously through it all. George W. Bush seemed to be constantly grinning and enjoying himself thoroughly, bantering with everyone around him. Barack Obama, like Trump, was equal parts smiling and interactive and completely somber. Bill Clinton flashed not infrequent smiles, as did Hillary Clinton — whose bare-knuckles battle with Trump in 2016 left rhetorical bruises that lasted for years. That despite Trump’s assessment of her later in the afternoon: “She didn’t look too happy today.”
The owners of faces not instantly recognizable to the world offered a range of emotions, too. The young woman singing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” with her eyes watering. The Secret Service agent with the furrowed brow waiting for a departing president and a president-elect to come outside and get in a limo. The crowd outside the event, replete with red MAGA caps, faces awash in enthusiasm.
Whatever the politics, whatever the mood, whatever the emotion, faces reveal humanity. Looking at these particular American faces, on this most formal and seismic of days, reminded us of that all over again.
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Ted Anthony is the director of new storytelling and newsroom innovation for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://x.com/anthonyted
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