The Divided States of America January 23, 2017January 23, 2017 If all goes according to plan, I am out in the middle of a large warm body of water this week. So I’ll spare you my take on the inauguration — a landslide of an inauguration, with more people attending than any previous inauguration in history. Period. Yes, Obama’s astonishing 1.8 million-strong first inauguration (or whatever it was; that’s the figure that sticks in my head) was the previous record-setter . . . and on a frigid day that would have kept any sensible person away. But this president’s inauguration blew even that away. You doubt that? It comes in a clearly considered prepared statement — not an off-the-cuff tweet — straight from the top, to correct reports by the dishonest media. You shouldn’t trust the media (other than Breitbart and the National Enquirer); you should trust the Trump White House. Period. (You still doubt it? Just look at the photos! Eevn more striking on my computer screen than viewed on TV.) John Blevins: “You should share this PBS program, Divided States Of America, with your readers so they can understand what happened.” OK. I will. But I’m still marveling at those crowds. Which were even more remarkable when you consider that DC hotels were not full (as I can ruefully attest, having been stuck with a non-refundable room no one wanted to take off my hands) and when you consider, also, that 96% of DC locals — who’d have found it easiest to attend — were Hillary supporters. And even with all that working against him, Trump drew a larger crowd to cheer for him in person than to any previous inaugural address in the history of the republic. Period. [UPDATE: Just watched today’s press briefing. Spicer did much better. Let’s hope it continues.]