On the cold, damp morning of Donald Trump's inauguration I remember feeling really apprehensive.
On the Mall would be the pomp and ceremony while the rest of the city was bracing for protests.
People on both sides were fired up, and we did not know what to expect.
The sun was still hours from rising, and as I was at the intersection of F and 7th Street, towards the security checkpoints in front of me, a short, snowy-haired man in an overcoat, carrying a briefcase, shuffled quickly across the road.
It was former Republican Presidential nominee John McCain.
When I told him I was from Australia he was happy to chat.
He told me how he was hoping to hear Trump speak about reconciliation, unification, reaching across the aisle and working together.
He was patient and polite, shook my hand and said it was great to meet me.
The US President went on to paint a grim picture of 'American carnage', while outside anti-Trump protestors linked arms to stop his supporters reaching the Mall.
There was pushing and shoving.
Later in the day garbage cans were set on fire and a limo was smashed up.
Tear gas filled the air.
Trump's victory wasn't so much of a surprise, more confirmation of the frustration and anger I'd come to see travelling across the US in the year leading up to the election.
For all the anger from his supporters, Democrats were furious that their country was now being led by someone who had talked about groping women, led the 'Birther' movement against former president Barack Obama and called Mexicans criminals and rapists.
The 'American carnage' may have started before Trump took office, but it certainly hasn't stopped under his reign.
In Shelbyville Tennessee, I had a white nationalist chant "White Lives Matter" in my face, mid interview at full volume.
In Florida, I watched a girl learn her best friend was one of 17 students shot and killed in the Parkland massacre.
The first one was a terrorist attack in San Bernardino — 14 dead, 22 injured.
Since then, there have been the five police officers killed by a sniper in Dallas, the 49 mostly young people killed at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, the 58 people slaughtered at a music festival in Las Vegas.
I remember interviewing Annika Dean, who in 2017 survived a shooting at an airport arrival terminal in Fort Lauderdale by hiding behind a baggage cart.
Five people were killed.
A year later, her son was held in lockdown while a gunman stalked the halls of Stoneman Douglas High School killing 17 of his peers.
In July, five reporters were killed by a gunman at their office at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis.
Political spin is nothing new, but as a journalist, the amount of false statements Trump makes is genuinely alarming.
As President, his voice is the loudest and his platform the biggest.
For example, at a rally in Cleveland, Ohio, before the midterms, Trump covered a range of issues and while not everything he says is incorrect or misleading, a lot of it is.
He falsely claims construction of the the border wall is underway, that Democrats are inviting caravans full of illegal immigrants into the United States.
He says things that just don't make sense, like when he claimed that "I've actually kept more promises than I've made."
As someone who has made a career out of facts and truth, I find this really hard to hear.
While it feels like the President is gaslighting America — and the media — the left are stoking partisan fires too.
Trump critics have harassed cabinet members at restaurants.
Recently former Democrat attorney general Eric Holder, quoting Michelle Obama, summed up how the mood has changed since Mr Trump took office.
"Michelle says when they go low we go high, no, when they go low, we kick 'em," he said.
It's the story of two men — Braxton Winston and Gary McFadden.
I met them both after a police officer shot and killed Keith Lamont, an unarmed black man in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Mr Braxton was part of the protest that plagued the city for days afterwards.
He and hundreds of others had taken to the streets to rage against the police.
He had been arrested for possessing a mask and became an icon of the demonstrations after he was photographed shirtless standing down a row of riot police with his fist in the air.
Garry was a police detective.
After meeting them separately I thought it would be interesting to get them together and film them thrashing out the issues.
Over coffee they argued. And argued. And argued.
Gary essentially told Braxton he wasn't going to accomplish anything by shouting and being aggressive, that he had to do something more productive.
He did.
Braxton ran for city council — and won.
The next time I saw him was the day of his swearing in ceremony.
That day outside city hall, he and Garry greeted each other like old friends.
Since they met after the protests they've sat alongside each other on panels, they're working together to make their city a better place.
Out of the tear gas spilled on Charlotte's streets grew something really positive.
Listen to Stephanie March's final Correspondents Report and find out more about what happens behind the scenes at ABC News on ABC Backstory.
On the Mall would be the pomp and ceremony while the rest of the city was bracing for protests.
People on both sides were fired up, and we did not know what to expect.
The sun was still hours from rising, and as I was at the intersection of F and 7th Street, towards the security checkpoints in front of me, a short, snowy-haired man in an overcoat, carrying a briefcase, shuffled quickly across the road.
It was former Republican Presidential nominee John McCain.
When I told him I was from Australia he was happy to chat.
He told me how he was hoping to hear Trump speak about reconciliation, unification, reaching across the aisle and working together.
He was patient and polite, shook my hand and said it was great to meet me.
The US President went on to paint a grim picture of 'American carnage', while outside anti-Trump protestors linked arms to stop his supporters reaching the Mall.
There was pushing and shoving.
Later in the day garbage cans were set on fire and a limo was smashed up.
Tear gas filled the air.
Trump's victory wasn't so much of a surprise, more confirmation of the frustration and anger I'd come to see travelling across the US in the year leading up to the election.
For all the anger from his supporters, Democrats were furious that their country was now being led by someone who had talked about groping women, led the 'Birther' movement against former president Barack Obama and called Mexicans criminals and rapists.
The 'American carnage' may have started before Trump took office, but it certainly hasn't stopped under his reign.
In Shelbyville Tennessee, I had a white nationalist chant "White Lives Matter" in my face, mid interview at full volume.
In Florida, I watched a girl learn her best friend was one of 17 students shot and killed in the Parkland massacre.
The first one was a terrorist attack in San Bernardino — 14 dead, 22 injured.
Since then, there have been the five police officers killed by a sniper in Dallas, the 49 mostly young people killed at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, the 58 people slaughtered at a music festival in Las Vegas.
I remember interviewing Annika Dean, who in 2017 survived a shooting at an airport arrival terminal in Fort Lauderdale by hiding behind a baggage cart.
Five people were killed.
A year later, her son was held in lockdown while a gunman stalked the halls of Stoneman Douglas High School killing 17 of his peers.
In July, five reporters were killed by a gunman at their office at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis.
Political spin is nothing new, but as a journalist, the amount of false statements Trump makes is genuinely alarming.
As President, his voice is the loudest and his platform the biggest.
For example, at a rally in Cleveland, Ohio, before the midterms, Trump covered a range of issues and while not everything he says is incorrect or misleading, a lot of it is.
He falsely claims construction of the the border wall is underway, that Democrats are inviting caravans full of illegal immigrants into the United States.
He says things that just don't make sense, like when he claimed that "I've actually kept more promises than I've made."
As someone who has made a career out of facts and truth, I find this really hard to hear.
While it feels like the President is gaslighting America — and the media — the left are stoking partisan fires too.
Trump critics have harassed cabinet members at restaurants.
Recently former Democrat attorney general Eric Holder, quoting Michelle Obama, summed up how the mood has changed since Mr Trump took office.
"Michelle says when they go low we go high, no, when they go low, we kick 'em," he said.
It's the story of two men — Braxton Winston and Gary McFadden.
I met them both after a police officer shot and killed Keith Lamont, an unarmed black man in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Mr Braxton was part of the protest that plagued the city for days afterwards.
He and hundreds of others had taken to the streets to rage against the police.
He had been arrested for possessing a mask and became an icon of the demonstrations after he was photographed shirtless standing down a row of riot police with his fist in the air.
Garry was a police detective.
After meeting them separately I thought it would be interesting to get them together and film them thrashing out the issues.
Over coffee they argued. And argued. And argued.
Gary essentially told Braxton he wasn't going to accomplish anything by shouting and being aggressive, that he had to do something more productive.
He did.
Braxton ran for city council — and won.
The next time I saw him was the day of his swearing in ceremony.
That day outside city hall, he and Garry greeted each other like old friends.
Since they met after the protests they've sat alongside each other on panels, they're working together to make their city a better place.
Out of the tear gas spilled on Charlotte's streets grew something really positive.
Listen to Stephanie March's final Correspondents Report and find out more about what happens behind the scenes at ABC News on ABC Backstory.
No comments:
Post a Comment