George W. Bush struggles with poncho

Relatively speaking, the inaugural address of President Donald Trump was short. It did not, for example, measure up to the 1-hour, 45-minute address in 1841 by William Henry Harrison, nor did it break ground with a catchy new slogan like John F. Kennedy’s “New Frontier” in 1961.

However, the event at the U.S. Capitol on Friday did have some levity, as former President George W. Bush struggled with a poncho as rain began to fall during Trump’s inaugural speech.

Many people in attendance were prepared for the rain. Former first lady Michelle Obama shared a bubble umbrella with Jill Biden, the wife of the former vice-president. Incoming first lady Melania Trump also had an umbrella.
Other people in the crowd and on the inaugural stand had translucent ponchos. So did Bush, but the former president had a devil of a time putting it on.
Predictably, social media had a field day with the photos capturing the former president’s frustration as he struggled with the plastic rain protector.

"Rain poncho 1: Dubya 0" cracked music blogger Mark Zohar in a tweet that was typical of Twitter.

It's not the first time a poncho has caused a Republican some grief. In 2012, then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney poked fun at NASCAR fans wearing ponchos when he said, "I like those fancy raincoats you bought. Really sprung for the big bucks." 

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