At the top of the red-carpeted stairway inside the Washington, D.C. convention center, men in tuxedos and women in floor-length dresses strode into the Liberty Ball to celebrate the inauguration of the new president. Among them: Ben and Laura Soussan, who drove to D.C. from their home in Hampton, New Hampshire.
"I'm not often speechless. I'm speechless," said Laura Soussan as she walked into the ballroom. "He did it. We're here. It's like the fairy tale."
She was dressed for the moment in a sparkling gown. Soussan describes the color as "Trump gold". She booked the hotel for the weekend a year and a half ago, began asking for tickets to the ball before then-candidate Trump had even won a primary. They met him many times because at each of his New Hampshire rallies, they showed up to volunteer. It gave them enough access that they both have iPhones filled with photos of themselves posing with Trump.
"How many people can say I've met the president?" asked Ben Soussan. "He shook our hands. He knows our faces."
In some ways, the Ball was not that different from a campaign event. The goal was to get as close as possible to the star of the show. The Soussans made their way to a lit stage at one of end of the cavernous room and found a spot near the front to wait for the president to appear. It gave them a bird's-eye view of the entertainment. The Rockettes were probably the best known performers. A-list celebrities stayed away from President Trump's inauguration. The Soussans view the rejection of Trump—from entertainers, politicians, and anyone else—as largely irrelevant.
"Even the protesters are going to benefit," said Ben Soussan, referring to the many protest groups who filled Washington, D.C.'s streets during Inauguration Day. "They're going to benefit from Trump just like we are."
"If you think standing on a street corner and stamping your feet is going to do something, you're misguided," said Laura Soussan. "Take action, be part of a committee, run for office yourself."
The Soussans say part of the fun of the inauguration was being around so many like-minded people. Yet, they pride themselves in also being able to put politics aside. They were looking forward to stopping in New York City on their way home and sharing a meal with a cousin whom they describe as a "big liberal."
"But we'll have a good time together," said Laura Soussan.
Dinner was not quite the perfect ending to their fairy tale weekend. The cousin had been part of the Women's March in New York City. The dinner, said Laura Soussan in a text message, "was more adversarial than anticipated".
