On Inauguration Day, Florida residents filled Washington's streets, donning MAGA-affiliated hats and scarves or carrying anti-Trump signs and flags.
For many people, this was their first inauguration, including Vietnamese Americans like Hieu Tran, 66, of Orlando.
Despite minimal sleep and temperatures below 20 degrees, nothing could stop her group from attending inaugural events.
“At first, I got happy because he won, and for certain things that he said he will do for the country, for us,” Tran said.
Minh Anh Nguyen, 64, of Tampa, said now that Trump is the 47th president, she believes Vietnam may experience more freedoms due to his anti-Communist policies.
Both women are members of Vietnamese American Conservative Alliance (VACA), which closely works with the Heritage House Foundation, a non-profit conservative public policy research organization.
The VACA members watched the inauguration live inside Heritage House after many inaugural events moved indoors due to severe cold weather.
Nationwide, Asian Americans lean Democratic with 62% identifying as Democrats. Republican Asian Americans make up 34%, according to a 2023 Pew Reserch Center report.
In the same report, Vietnamese American voters lean Republican (51% Republican, 42% Democratic).
About 60% of Asian Americans in Florida are registered voters, according to a 2024 Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIA VOTE) report. However, they only make up 3.3% of the Florida electorate.
Considering Florida’s status as a presidential battleground state, Vietnamese Americans are one of the four largest groups of eligible AAPI voters, as seen in a 2024 AAPI Data report.
Nguyen sought refugee in the U.S., escaping Vietnam by boat.
“President Trump is someone who gives us those feelings that America is the country we need to protect,” she said. “Not certainly for us, but for the next generation, for our children and grandchildren.”
A 2023 Pew Research Center report explains that Asian Americans' identities are shaped by their immigration experiences, connections with home countries, and duration in the U.S.
Tran shared how her four adult children, who lean Democrat, often argue about their political differences. “I got a text from my oldest son. He’s about 40. He said, ‘Mom, for the next four years, I’m not going to be wherever you are,” she said.
She does not understand why they cannot agree on the same political views. “It’s everywhere, it’s not fake news,” she said. “It’s not about being democrat or republican, it’s just whoever is doing good things— we follow.”
On the same Monday, protestors rallied at Meridian Hill and Malcom X Park to oppose Trump’s incoming adminstration. The nationwide effort was organized by We Fight Back.
As of Nov. 30, 2024, the Republican Party of Florida dominates the state with 1.2 million more registered voters than the Democratic Party, according to the Florida Division of Elections.
When Jose Morales, 18, attended Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Florida, he planned to take an AP African American Studies class. But in 2023, the Florida Department of Education rejected the curriculum in schools.
“Today, especially during Martin Luther King day, I think it’s a time of mourning,” Morales said.
For Morales, the rally rendered him speechless.
He attributes his Puerto Rican background to his passion for rallying. “I saw how the gentrification of my island was hurting my people, my family, my grandma and grandpa,” he said.
He was inspired by what he saw.
“This is my first time being in an event like this, and I’m amazed at how a community and people from different walks of life can come together,” Morales said.