BY MILES LAYTON

When Donald Trump was inaugurated as President on Monday, eastern North Carolina’s Laurie Buckhout was in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the dawning of a new day in America.  

An Edenton resident, Buckhout, a retired Army Colonel and decorated combat commander, ran as the Republican candidate for North Carolina’s 1st District of U.S. Congress, narrowly losing to Democrat incumbent Don Davis.    

Interesting side note to the state’s most competitive and expensive congressional race in 2024: When I wrote a story for a local media outlet that it decided not to publish, I reported that the overwhelming majority of Davis’s more than $6 million campaign contributions (click here to browse receipts) came from out-of-state donors and corporate aligned PACs whereas much Buckhout’s nearly $4.8 million campaign contributions (click here to browse receipts) came from in-state donors, a sizeable portion of from the 1st District. Don’t believe me then do some digging with Federal Election Commission and/or OpenSecrets.org – you’d be surprised who donated to these campaigns. 

When Buckhout was asked if she saw Trump, she said, “Not on this trip, only from a distance. He went by the Commander in Chief Ball, but we were next door eating dinner. But I just heard he’s heading to Asheville to check out Western North Carolina. You gotta love that guy!”

Was security very tight? 

“Yes! It made it challenging to move around the city with all the roads closed in such outrageously cold weather, but frankly, everybody was in a remarkably good mood, and very patient,” Buckhout said. 

What food was served at the NC Society Ball? North Carolina barbecue, of course.   

“The food at the North Carolina Society Ball was the best of the entire weekend, and very much local: pulled pork sliders, fried chicken biscuits, cole slaw, grits with all sorts of toppings to include shrimp, and banana pudding! Sweet tea, coffee, and of course, champagne,” Buckhout said.  

Though this writer embraces Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman’s comfortable style that he copied from me – hoodie and gym shorts – most folks dressed to impress. Buckhout posted photos to social media that could be published in fashion magazines or even locally if they dared to publish pictures of Republicans – wonder if Vogue is going to do a spread on Melania Trump. …   

When describing her dress at the inauguration, Buckhout said, “The first night was a formal red off-the-shoulder affair. The next night was a long black velvet long-sleeved number with a mandarin collar and diamante buttons; and the third night was a full-length white silk tuxedo dress.  With all dresses, I wore some of my miniature medals and one of my additional awards, the order of Saint Barbara. Additionally, I wore my father’s dark blue military dress cape, which had been passed on to me and which was first tailored for him around 1951. My eldest son was able to accompany me the last night and wore a black tux with a maroon vest! He is now 6’6″ and says Barron Trump will be his favorite president, after Trump! We had a lot of fun!”  

Minutes before leaving the presidency, Joe Biden pre-emptively pardoned a bunch of folks with familiar names like Anthony Fauci, General Mark Milley and Liz Cheney — none of these folks has been charged with any crime. Though the move was designed to guard against possible retribution by Trump, there’s no doubt that this was a conversation starter at the inauguration’s balls.  

“People absolutely were talking about the Biden pardons. Many called it a gross abuse of the pardon privilege of the President,” Buckhout said. “As much as the idea of blanket Biden family pardons seemed to upset people, the pardons of Fauci and Milley disturbed them the most. It’s going to be interesting how this impacts the Presidential pardon privilege going forward, and I heard some interesting dialogue today about how a pardon prohibits somebody from taking the Fifth Amendment if they are called to testify on an issue.”

Buckhout said she saw famous folks from across the nation at the balls.  

“Oh gosh — Lee Greenwood, all our NC Delegation, several other Congressional members, NC Auditor Dave Boliek, NC Commissioner of Labor Luke Farley and their wives, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Senator Budd, Senator Tillis, lots of other Congressional Reps, CEO of Newsmax, Chris Ruddy,” she said. “You couldn’t swing a cat without hitting a Congressional Representative, and that’s exactly how it should be: of the people, with the people. Two of my favorites are Addison McDowell and Brad Knott, who were representing proudly with their wives.”

North Carolina had a strong delegation attending the inauguration’s balls.   

“I saw all our North Carolina representatives and senators; NCGOP Chair and Vice Chair Jason Simmons and Susan Mills; our RNC Commitee Chairwoman and Chairman, Kyshia Brassington and Ed Broyhill; and from the Fighting First District: Virginia Wasserman, Pasquotank County GOP Chair and a whole passel of folks from that great team; Mary Helen Pelt, GOP Vice Chair from Nash County; RNC/NCGOP Election Integrity Director David Warren, and Joe and Amy Hartsfield from Wilson! I know I’m missing some wonderful folks, but it was absolutely a whirlwind,” Buckhout said.  

Buckhout shared what she thought was the best part about representing Eastern NC at the inauguration.

“We felt very honored when President Trump called the women of North Carolina out for their hard work, and even though it’s not eastern North Carolina, I was especially touched when he mentioned the suffering of the folks in western NC and how he’s going to get them some help,” she said. “Of course, North Carolina was a swing state, and I was proud to have been part of the effort to win it. When I entered the North Carolina Society Ball, everyone was so kind, and congratulated me again on a good fight.”

There were many Executive Orders issued Monday.  

Buckhout said Trump will have a transformational presidency.  

“Incredibly so. President Trump is reshaping America before our eyes, and I believe in a very positive way. Whole books will be written on this topic, but all cultural changes aside, our economy is going to get going again, and we will return to being a nation of laws,” she said.  “Economic security and safety need to be returned to the American people. President Trump has said we are entering a new golden age, and I believe that to be true. What’s fascinating is watching other nations respond to his strong leadership, and people are rising up around the globe to demand accountability from their own elected officials.”