Supporters cheer Trump at South Philly inauguration watch party

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It was a lively Monday afternoon at Dean’s Bar in South Philly as several dozen supporters of Donald Trump gathered to watch the swearing-in of the former and new president.

The revelers enjoyed a catered buffet of lasagna, homemade cupcakes, and whatever the pub offered from behind the bar. Mimosas were passed around to toast Trump’s swearing-in as the 47th president of the United States. Cheers regularly erupted during Trump’s speech as he laid out his vision for his second term.

“I’m thrilled,” Marjilyn Murray, a Philadelphia Republican ward leader said. “I’m very happy that he’s in office and I think that he’s going to do a great job.”

While Trump discussed several plans, one issue in particular appeared to resonate the most with the crowd, who most loudly cheered when Trump promised to “declare a national emergency at the border” as one of his first official acts.

“Securing the border is definitely needed,” Murray said. “We need security and safety in our country, and I know that that’s one of Trump’s top priorities.”

Anthony Giordano, another local resident, also pointed to “open borders” as his top priority for the new administration.

“Some people like to say undocumented. I like to just call it what it is – illegal,” he said.

“Everybody goes, oh, when Trump gets in, he’s going to separate families. Trump’s not separating children at the border. The parents are separating their children from themselves at the border when they decide to come in illegally and then push those people who are waiting in line to do it legally like my family did.”

The attendees appeared to share a belief that Trump would be a unifier and bring peace to a divided nation.

During the speech, Trump said he was “saved by God to make America great again before adding that he wants to be a “peacemaker and unifier.” “National unity is now returning to America,” he said.

“It’s a good day for the country, said Fred Druding Jr. “It’s one of the rare times where the entire U.S. is united. Regardless of what side of the aisle you’re on, everybody comes together and wishes a new president good luck. That’s obviously a good thing because if the president does good, we all do good.”

Murray added that she believes that the country “needs prayer, peace, and unity more than ever,” and the new administration would help bring it about.

“More people are behind Trump,” she said. “I feel like he has a stronger following. I feel that his team is stronger, and I think that he’s going to get great things done.”

The watch party also agreed that Trump’s return to the White House is — as Giordano called it — “one of the greatest political comebacks of all time.”

“They tried to jail him, and they tried to assassinate him,” Giordano said. “They say he’s a racist. He’s not. They tried to compare this man to Hitler. He’s not a Hitler. Hitler tried to jail all his opponents, and he did. He was successful.”

Milko Yovchev, a Bulgarian artist, and his wife were also among the crowd, and they joined as part of a tour of the U.S. to interview Americans about their thoughts on the election for his YouTube channel.

“I like meeting people and speaking with them, and I think this is the best way to solve the differences in values around the world,” he said. “People are similar. People care about other people better than you can expect if you only use social media.”

Yovchev said Trump’s win was not a surprise for people in his country. He added that he hopes the new administration will help reduce his nation’s biggest threat.

“We are worried about how Russia might get into our internal affairs and we will see how world politics will go after the election of Donald Trump,” he said. “We hope that Russia could be stopped somehow.”