News & Politics

This Time, Metro Will Offer a Full-Blown Trump Inauguration SmarTrip Card

For his first inauguration, Trump only got a commemorative sleeve.

When Donald Trump was first inaugurated in 2017, Metro didn’t issue a commemorative SmarTrip card with his photo on it, as it had done with Barack Obama’s inaugurals. The reason, the transit agency said at the time, was that no one from Trump’s campaign responded to WMATA’s request for a photo. Instead, Metro issued a generic inauguration card and, later, a “sleeve” adorned with Trump’s face.

That’s better than what Joe Biden got four years later for his Covid-dampened inaugural: nada! “With the new security and service plans, we are not encouraging travel to the Inauguration as there are no public events,” a spokesperson told us four years ago.

This time, though, Trump fans can purchase a big, bold commemorative card that reads “The Inauguration of Donald J. Trump: 45th and 47th President of the United States.” It will be available at select stations beginning on Wednesday, per WMATA:

Ashburn
Forest Glen
Franconia-Springfield
Glenmont
Greenbelt
King St-Old Town
L’Enfant Plaza
Metro Center
Navy Yard-Ballpark
New Carrollton
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
Shady Grove
Stadium-Armory
Union Station
Vienna
Washington Dulles International Airport

Senior editor

Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.