Commentary
Yeah, the 2025 inauguration theme of billionnaire tech bros on the inside, and true-blue MAGA supporters left outside in the cold, has been fully spoofed by the late-night comedy hosts, but we decided to do our own version of the joke where we used fictional blue collar names to represent the folks who were stuck outside in the cold.
Funny, right? Meh—prolly not, but it was the best idea we had when we sat down to create. Dacht.
The list of folks inside the Capitol Rotunda for Donald Trump's 2025 inauguration is accurate, except John Barron (item 9) is a made up name that Trump used back in the 1980s when he was calling Forbes trying to get himself on their 400 rich guy list. Most of the names inside the Rotunda are commonly known, except perhaps Shou Zi Chew (TikTok CEO) and Sundar Pichai (Google CEO).
The list of folks outside in the cold is pretty much made up. Most are fictional blue collar characters from songs, TV, and movies. Billy Joe McAllister, for example, is the subject of the 1967 hit elegy by Bobbie Gentry Ode to Billy Joe (item 9). Of course, we chose the name because Billy Joe (Insert Last Name Here) sounds like someone who'd be a Trump supporter. Item 10 is a conservative character from Fox's animated program "King of the Hill," item 7 is a key character from "The Dukes of Hazzard" (which aired on CBS in the early 1980s), and item 5 is a redneck moonshiner from "The Simpsons."
Item 3 is the main character in the 1988 movie "Die Hard" (a policeman played by Bruce Willis), while Item 2 is the badass female character (and mother of John Connor) in the 1991 movie "Terminator 2: Judgment Day". Susie Q (item 6) is an old Creedence Clearwater Revival song that we exploited strictly for wordplay. Item 1 is a joke about the quality of Billy Ray Cyrus' performance at the inauguration. Is that really the same mullet-wearing hunk who did the 1992 hit Achy Breaky Heart ? Inquiring minds want to know.
This image of "modern-day blue-collar couples, approximately 50 years old, in flannel and patriotic attire hanging out outside a D.C. building in extremely cold weather" was created by Klugmeister using artificial intelligence software. The image does not depict real people. The image was reviewed by Klugmeister before posting on this web page.
