WASHINGTON—The phrase “wormwood to detox your soul” isn’t typically associated with a presidential-inaugural ball event, but this is Trump 2.0 and norms are rapidly shifting.
The motto comes courtesy of the Make America Healthy Again ball where nonalcoholic, “mood-boosting” beverage brand Kin Euphorics created the mocktail menu, including its Luna Morada, which the company’s website says includes wormwood.
On the red carpet for that gala Monday night, the health-forward crowd came decked out, with MAGA wellness-influencer Alex Clark in a white Ashley Lauren gown coated in pearls and crystals.
They were part of a flurry of fur-clad, MAGA hat-wearing partyers spotted all over Washington in recent days as joy-filled Republicans descended on the now-frozen capital to celebrate President Trump ’s return to office.
President Donald Trump reviews the troops in Emancipation Hall during inauguration ceremonies at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Jan. 20, 2025. Angelina Katsanis/Pool via REUTERS
It has been a while since Washington was possessed with such a celebratory streak. Four years ago, Joe Biden rose to power amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which curtailed the inauguration events. Four years before that, the country was more wary of Trump’s elevation, and the balls were more muted.
No longer. This time, seemingly contradictory wings of the president’s coalition celebrated side by side, new groups were ushered into the fold and onetime Trump adversaries opened their checkbooks and hosted events.
Monday night’s official parties included three inaugural balls: the Commander in Chief Ball, the Liberty Inaugural Ball and the Starlight Ball.
Before those balls got going, there was a reception co-hosted by Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg , who suspended Trump from Facebook four years ago after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Other co-hosts included casino billionaire and GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson and Todd Ricketts , the co-owner of the Chicago Cubs.
The MAHA ball, held at the Waldorf Astoria on Pennsylvania Avenue (formerly Trump’s hotel), attracted hundreds of wellness influencers, acupuncturists, massage therapists, chiropractors and homeopathic medicine practitioners, along with actors Russell Brand and Zachary Levi. More than 1,000 people were on the waiting list, organizers said.
“MAHA is not conservative,” Levi said. “MAHA is not liberal. MAHA is not moderate. “MAHA is people that actually give a s—about the truth about our health and wellness.”
Sponsors included Tijuana, Mexico-based stem-cell treatment clinic Cellular Performance Institute, at-home fentanyl test seller Ecnalab and placenta-tissue provider Acesso Biologics.
Not invited: drug and food lobbyists. The event conflicted with the Ag Ball (also known as “farm prom”), held four blocks north at the Grand Hyatt.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, dance during the Liberty Ball on Inauguration Day of Donald Trump’s second presidential term in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Washington is usually a stodgy town, and the dress code remained conservative over the last four years, even as Biden governed from the left. But as a new Florida-based clique comes into power, fashion is also taking a more risqué turn. Lauren Sanchez, the fiancée of Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos , turned heads at Trump’s swearing-in events Monday in a white blazer over a corset-style top that instantly became a meme about America’s “new golden age,” a phrase Trump rolled out in his inaugural address.
Leading up to Monday’s inauguration, a crowded itinerary of black-tie galas over the weekend highlighted Trump’s new governing coalition. Glossy new events included a crypto gala celebrating the new administration’s embrace of digital currency and a Hispanic ball nodding to the growing number of Latino voters backing the GOP.
The hottest tickets were for events where Trump was expected to make an appearance. That included Sunday night’s Candlelight Dinner, held at the National Building Museum as snow began to fall in Washington. Ivanka Trump , Elon Musk and Bezos were all spotted chatting at one point.
But even without Trump, world leaders graced guest lists. More than 2,000 guests crowded Saturday into the ballroom of the Omni Shoreham hotel for the largest Hispanic ball in inaugural history, according to organizers.
Presidents Javier Milei of Argentina and Santiago Peña of Paraguay rubbed elbows with lawmakers and Trump administration appointees, business tycoons, movie directors, and Miss Universe while being serenaded by a mariachi band. Attendees thronged around a giant pan of paella.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, dance during the Liberty Ball on Inauguration Day of Donald Trump’s second presidential term in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 20: President of Argentina Javier Milei (L) greets Vice President of China Han Zheng (2nd L) as they and Rupert Murdoch (R) attend the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. Chip Somodevilla/Pool via REUTERS
Milei, whose aggressive style and economic policies have made him a MAGA darling, was the star of the evening as he was trailed by fans and photographers, sometimes pausing for selfies. Vivek Ramaswamy , who had helped lead the Department of Government Efficiency advisory panel, praised him as “DOGE before there was DOGE in America.”
Later in the evening, there were appearances by Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., and his nominee for secretary of health and human services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. , who spoke to the crowd in Spanish to loud cheers.
One hot topic was presidential pardons, amid expectations that Biden would use his clemency power in his final hours in office and that Trump would soon pardon people convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol. They both did.
Two guests had direct experience. In one corner was Roger Stone , the flamboyant Republican operative who resisted criticizing Biden for pardoning his son, Hunter. “When you’ve been in that situation yourself and understand the family situation—I have not been critical of it,” Stone said.
Stone was found guilty by a jury of obstructing a congressional investigation into Russia’s activities in the 2016 election. Trump commuted his sentence just before he was to report to prison and later pardoned him just as he leaving office in 2020.
Another was Rod Blagojevich , a Democrat and former governor of Illinois, who also made an appearance at the Hispanic ball. Blagojevich, who served time on corruption charges before Trump commuted his sentence in 2020, said he was writing a book about his experiences.
Smaller gatherings also revealed the Washington establishment’s new embrace of Trump. A swank private affair at the Woodley Park home of PayPal Holdings co-founder Peter Thiel Saturday night attracted the tech titans who have become increasingly influential on the right. Zuckerberg was spotted going into the home, which Thiel bought from Wilbur Ross , who served as commerce secretary in Trump’s first administration.
The hot ticket Friday night was to a crypto gala, a first-of-its-kind event designed to lean into the Trump administration’s potential embrace of cryptocurrency. During the event, word quietly spread that Trump had released his own digital coin. Later in the weekend, incoming first lady Melania Trump also created an online coin.
“The reign of terror against crypto is over,” said David Sacks , who Trump has named as his incoming czar for policies related to digital currencies and artificial intelligence, speaking to the guests. “And the beginning of innovation in America for crypto has just begun.”
Write to Annie Linskey at annie.linskey@wsj.com , Liz Essley Whyte at liz.whyte@wsj.com and Aaron Zitner at aaron.zitner@wsj.com
