ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
We hear now from some Americans who watched President Trump's return to office far from the nation's capital. Two NPR correspondents spoke with folks in different parts of the country. And let's start with Stephen Fowler, who watched the inauguration in Florida. Hey, Stephen.
STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: Hey, Ari.
SHAPIRO: Set the scene for us. Where did you watch Trump swearing in?
FOWLER: I was just a few miles down the road from Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in West Palm Beach, Florida. It's where the Palm Beach County Republican Party hosted a watch party for those people who did not make the trek to D.C. It was cold for Florida - about 60 degrees - but the light rain that fell at the National Croquet Center did not dampen the mood.
DIANE DOREN CASCIO: It's electric. You know, people are so excited. You know, everybody's just had enough - enough war, enough with prices. We're tired of being put last.
FOWLER: Diane Doren Cascio (ph) was part of the county Republican executive committee.
CASCIO: We need at least 12 years to right the wrongs of what has been done the last four years.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STAR-SPANGLED BANNER")
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Singing) Oh, say can you see...
FOWLER: Trump had four years in office, then, so did former President Joe Biden. And folks like Jeanine Milam (ph) say that those two contrasting visions for the country in the past made this inauguration extra special to witness because of what American voters chose for the future.
JEANINE MILAM: I saw people tearing up. I mean, it was just beautiful to see how excited everybody is, to see this new page in our history in the United States and a term for the better 'cause the last four years were awfully difficult for all of us.
FOWLER: I asked people to describe their feelings about a second Trump term in a few words. There was excitement, hope, opportunity and an acknowledgment that things won't change overnight.
MILAM: So we'll see how many roadblocks Trump runs into. But if Trump were allowed to get done what he wants to get done, what he's talked about doing, then I think - I mean, we're headed to glory days. I mean, we're here, ready for a new start.
FOWLER: And speaking of a new start, Ari, Trump hit the ground running with a slew of executive action on Day 1 yesterday, while a mostly unified Republican Congress is currently debating the best way to pass his other policies.
SHAPIRO: NPR's Stephen Fowler there. And of course, yesterday, also marked Martin Luther King Day. NPR's Don Gonyea was at an event in Michigan marking that holiday. Don, tell us what you saw.
DON GONYEA, BYLINE: Very different scene where I was - first off, the temperature was four degrees above zero.
SHAPIRO: Whew.
GONYEA: I was at a Detroit NAACP event to honor Dr. King. But no surprise that President Trump was the big topic, starting with the opening prayer from the Rev. James Perkins.
JAMES PERKINS: Your word tells us that when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked rule, the people mourn.
GONYEA: This event did also feature joyful performances by a young men's choir and by a Detroit School of Arts dance troupe.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRUMMING)
GONYEA: Then in the noon hour, the TVs in the room all switched over to a livestream of Trump's inaugural address. Now, mostly, this crowd sat and watched in silence, occasionally punctuating the speech with groans and some jeers, including when Trump said his legacy would be as a peacemaker and a unifier. After that, there were speakers in Detroit, including an immigration lawyer, educators, community activists, union officials, like the UAW's Laura Dickerson, who's bracing for anti-union policies from this White House.
LAURA DICKERSON: We're going to have to dig deep. We're going to make sure that we have the right leaders in place, people who are ready for this time, because there's going to be challenges like we've never seen before.
GONYEA: And for some attendees, frustration showed. I talked with 34-year-old Jermaine Pencil (ph), a business consultant in Detroit.
Did you watch the inaugural address?
JERMAINE PENCIL: I watched a portion of it until I couldn't watch it anymore.
GONYEA: OK. Explain why. What sent you out? Was there a moment or was it just...
PENCIL: I can't believe that we as a country are back in this place where we are listening to words and rhetoric that we're supposed to be moving away from.
GONYEA: Detroit NAACP President Rev. Wendell Anthony wrapped up the event by laying out the task ahead. He said Trump does not have the mandate he claims - that he won election with less than 50% of the vote. And Anthony urged people to persist in their activism in the name of Dr. King.
WENDELL ANTHONY: We don't want to leave here agonizing. We must be organizing. That is the greatest tribute that we can make to the drum major for freedom, justice and equality.
GONYEA: So these activists in Detroit are defiant, even as they find their footing in the new Trump era.
SHAPIRO: That's NPR's Don Gonyea, who watched the inauguration in Michigan, and Stephen Fowler, who was in Florida for the event. Thank you both.
FOWLER: Thank you.
GONYEA: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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