WASHINGTON — The goosebump moment hit Dylan Sparks at the very end of ; the staccato flourish in which the nation’s new president returned to the rhetoric of the 2016 campaign.
It was then — when Trump promised to make America strong again, to make it proud again, to make it safe again — that the enormity of day sank in.
“We all joined with Donald Trump because we knew what he was going to say,” said Sparks, who served as Trump’s campaign chair in El Paso County.
The 19-year-old from Monument joined thousands of Coloradans — including the Denver Broncos’ John Elway — who traveled to Washington for the 58th presidential inauguration.
Supporters joined in with Trump at that moment — as one voice, Sparks and thousands of others on the National Mall helped the nation’s new president recite the final line of his first speech as president.
“We will make America great again,” they said.
For Sparks, it was a “cool moment to share with everybody who was attending today’s event” — and well worth getting to Capitol Hill at 5 a.m. for the festivities.
“He spoke the heart of the nation,” Sparks said.
U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., said his office was allotted about 400 tickets but received requests for about 1,500. “It was first-come, first-serve,” said Gardner before the inauguration. “A lot of people are excited to come.”
Gardner was to Trump’s right when he delivered the speech, and Colorado’s junior senator even whipped out his phone when the arrival of 45th president was announced.
“I echo President Trump’s call for unity in his inaugural address and truly believe that regardless of individual political ideology, we all have something in common: a shared love for our nation and the desire to pass on a better America with more opportunities to the next generation,” said Gardner in a statement.
What stuck with Rex Tonkins, 51, was how Trump in his speech “recognized that we cannot govern a country without God.” The Colorado Springs resident and author of the book “Seven Steps To Elevating Effective Prayer” said he was “so blessed” to hear Trump cite the Bible and praise God.
“I could tell we were getting back on course,” he said. “Getting back to Biblical values.”
Not everyone who came to Washington on Friday was there to cheer the new Republican president. There were scattered protests throughout the day — an appetizer to the larger planned for Saturday.
“It is our responsibility as intelligent, informed Americans to confront (Trump’s) delusional policies,” said Joe Eskew, who wore an orange “Occupy Denver” sweatshirt and carried a bike helmet adorned with peace symbols and a pinwheel.
As an example of those policies, he cited Trump’s call to build a southern border wall and have Mexico pay for it — a platform that must be opposed, he said. “We can change things,” said Eskew, 53, of Boulder.