21 Brutally Honest Confessions From Americans About How They're Currently Feeling Now That Trump Signed A Bunch Of Executive Orders

The second inauguration of President Trump took place yesterday in Washington, DC, which confirmed him as the 47th President of the United States. On his first day in office, he pulled the US out of the World Health Organization, withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement, and signed an order that flags must be positioned at full-staff at every future Inauguration Day, including his.

A man takes an oath, raising his hand, while a woman holds a Bible. Several people stand nearby, dressed in formal clothing
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

While the spotlight has been on Donald Trump's inauguration and his executive actions, Reddit user Jawzzzsy wanted to know: "Americans, how are you feeling right now?" Here's what they said below.

1."Not going to lie, I’m pretty pissed. I knew him getting back in the big chair would be bad, but it’s day one, and I’m already over this. People just handed control of the government to billionaires and a rapist felon because of the cost of fucking eggs — and the fact that people have memories that don’t go back more than four years at a time."

—MVP2585

MVP2585

Chip Somodevilla / POOL/AFP via Getty Images

2."I feel like we finally got common sense government back. I’m excited to see what his cabinet can achieve. I know it’s very unpopular on Reddit to be anything but Democrat. I just wanna see all of America thrive."

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Whitejackal

3."I think what feels worse this time around is that there’s a general sense of inescapable doom. Last time, there was this sort of hope of a fight, the promise that he wasn’t popularly elected, and the general sense that the election had some question marks around it. This time, he truly feels like he won the mandate of the country and the incoming disaster is what people wanted, and now, the powers that be have become incredibly complicit with it — including the so-called opposition party."

People at a protest holding signs, including one reading, "Trump's billionaire admin does not care about you. We the people must help each other!"
Boston Globe / Boston Globe via Getty Images

4."Like I didn’t fuck around, and yet, I’m still going to have to find out."

thoughts_are_hard

5."Honestly, it’s been a lot. Between the constant news cycles, political drama, and just trying to navigate day-to-day life, it feels like everything’s up in the air. Some days are better than others, but a lot of us are just trying to stay grounded and keep moving forward."

Man wearing "Trump" cap looking at U.S. Capitol building from a distance, with others nearby
David Himbert / Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

6."I’ll be the minority here. Very hopeful."

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SuperiorSwallow

7."Tired."

A person in a suit holds up an envelope with the number "47" written on it, inside an official-looking office setting

8."Bills gotta get paid. Work, work, work."

Prestigious_Step_522

"I feel like this is why Trump got elected. No one has time to follow the news and see all the horrible shit he's doing. They have three jobs, and paying attention just isn't on the agenda."

NintendoDestroyer89

9."Last time, I hoped he'd be held accountable, and that would hold him back. I don't have that hope anymore."

Two individuals in formal evening wear stand against a dynamic, lit-up background with a design resembling a burst of lights

RhynoD

The Washington Post / The Washington Post via Getty Images

10."Above all else, I’m frustrated. I’m frustrated at how so many people treat politics less like something that actually affects people and more like a stupid game that they’re trying to win. I’m frustrated at people bending over backward defending billionaires because they somehow think that one day it will be them. I’m frustrated at all the people who say they voted for Trump because 'he’s a good businessman' despite the fact that he’s sent several companies into bankruptcy, including a CASINO. Most of all, I’m frustrated by the incompetency of my fellow American people."

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Uni-Writes

11."Feeling fine. Just as fine as I felt last presidency and the one before that, and the one before that. Everything is going to be okay."

Crowd fills a city street during a large public event, people dressed warmly in hats and coats, with buildings in the background

12."Last time Trump was president, he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for being the first president in decades to not start a new war. He’s got a lot of faults, but he does a fantastic job at preventing war through his economic negotiations."

Ridiculouscoltsfan

13."Pretty much fine. I don't like Trump at all, but ever since I unplugged from Instagram and 24/7 news, things have felt a lot less intense. I'm pretty engaged in my local politics and intentionally live in a very progressive area. I try to ask myself now, 'Is this energy helping someone, myself included?' and most of the time, the answer is a resounding no."

Person in inflatable costume holding a sign reading "Sillajcore" during a street protest
Nurphoto / NurPhoto via Getty Images

14."Australian with a green card: I’m pretty stoic most of the time but I saw the clip of Musk and heard the cheers. I see the people defending it (for 80 years, that gesture has had one meaning and one meaning only, and whatever your pea brain is using to excuse it is NOT that meaning), and my stomach hurts. This is not the country I moved to with so much hope for the future, and it’s not a place I want to be. I’m lucky that I have the money and mobility to leave. Plenty won’t. So many people are going to be hurt by the incoming administration that I can’t even wrap my head around it.

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"To be clear — I am out. I’m happily back home in Australia. I still have my GC and miss living there but will not go back with the current… everything."

demoldbones

15."As a citizen of Earth, I feel like the climate issue is simply just not going to be addressed in any meaningful way. Feels like we've locked in our extinction event at this point, regardless of politics. It'll be distraction after distraction after distraction. The last handful of people will likely be distracted by some fabricated reason to hate each other still, and then they'll all wither into dust as well, and that'll be that — our legacy."

Protesters hold signs criticizing Trump on climate change outside a modern building. A woman in front wears glasses, a beret, and a pin
Mark Kerrison / In Pictures via Getty Images

16."Somehow, Palpatine returned."

championkid

"From an outside perspective as an Australian, it really feels like that scene in Revenge of the Sith where the Palpatine gets emergency powers and everyone cheers meanwhile Padmé is standing there all dumbfounded like how can anyone not see what the fuck is going on."

Battelalon

17."Great. :)"

—chelsea-from-calif

18."I served this country for 20 years. Three Iraq tours. Wounded. Medical discharge. I feel like nothing I am, was, or could ever stand for is a fucking joke. I gave up my best years to a country that wants this. This! I feel hopeless and exhausted, envious of the dead who never had to see this. After 2016, I thought it was a serious fluke. Now, I know it wasn’t."

lostwynter

19."Scared and hopeless for the moment. I know that the hopelessness will pass soon, though. I moved from a liberal bubble to rural Arkansas last year for a job. Almost everybody here is either in blatant support of everything going on or just too ignorant to understand how fucked it really is. I have a core friend group of queer people, so we have each other to rely on, but I am truly scared for this country. Heck, not even just the country, but the state of the world. I can't even begin to comprehend how bad this presidency could be for the environment and international relations. I'm embarrassed. I want people from outside of the US to know that so many of us did not want him as president and actively worked to oppose his victory, but against a billionaire ruling class, it wasn't enough."

<div> <p>"And I agree with a lot of fellow Redditors about feeling a sense of hope last time in 2016. I knew he could do damage, but I mostly just thought he was an idiot with a stupid dream. Now, he's got people with real motives backing him. People who have every reason to fuck over the working class and the money to do it — and that's just scratching the surface. </p> <p>My heart aches for Black people and other POC, trans people, women, immigrants, low-income individuals — basically, anybody who doesn't fit into a Christian nationalist version of a 'perfect citizen.' </p> <p>I am so sorry to all of those people and people outside of the US who will be affected by this presidency. This system doesn't end when he leaves office or dies. Something feels different this time, and I'm afraid that it'll take a revolution to dismantle it."</p> <p>—<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1i690lc/americans_how_are_you_feeling_right_now/m8am878/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Motor_Night_7361;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Motor_Night_7361</a></p> </div><span> Christopher Furlong / Getty Images</span>

20."I'm just fine. When the sitting president pardons his own family for proven crimes and pardons more of his family members from possible future investigations, it just further proves the game has always been rigged against the working American. As a patriot, regardless of who has the wheel at the moment, I hope he does well, for all our sakes."

vikokiin

21."Feeling like not having children was definitely the right call."

—SparklingMassacre

Americans, tell us how you are currently feeling in the comments below.