When your son is a big Trump fan, you go to the inauguration | The Wichita Eagle

Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States at 11 a.m. on Friday. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected in Washington for the swearing-in and for the Women’s March on Washington the following day.

The inaugural crowd will include many Kansans – among them 13-year-old Paddy Olson, a student at Blessed Sacrament Catholic School and an enthusiastic fan of Trump’s.

Paddy started talking with his dad, Allen, about politics and economics on his way home from swim practice last year.

Allen has worked as a lawyer at Koch Industries for 24 years and considers himself a traditional conservative. Paddy quickly decided that he supported the anti-establishment Republican candidate, Trump.

Paddy’s support is so fervent that nearly all the gifts his mom, Kelly, bought him for Christmas were Trump-themed: the red “Make America Great Again” hat, a sweatshirt with Trump’s golden hair on top of an elephant, a Trump bobble-head, and even socks that say “Trump” along the side.

The Olsons asked for tickets to the inauguration so they could reward Paddy’s passion.

On Tuesday, they talked to The Eagle about their trip to Washington, D.C. The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Q: Did you two also support Trump?

Dad: Trump, you know, he was not your normal candidate.

Mom: That’s what I loved about him – he wasn’t political. At first it was off-putting and then it was refreshing that he didn’t care what people thought.

Paddy: He was politically incorrect, and I liked that.

Dad: As I thought about it more, some of the sayings – “Make America great again,” I don’t like that saying; politicians don’t make America great. Politicians can help make America great. Americans make America great.

Paddy: Something my dad always says is you want to get yourself to a point in life if your car’s transmission blows up, you don’t have to worry about it.

Dad: So it’s not a disaster.

Paddy: We have people not working living off of government benefits. We need to do something about that.

Q: What was election night like in your house?

Paddy: My dad was saying be prepared to say President Clinton

Dad: And we would’ve respected President Clinton.

Mom: I had already prepared my speech. I was watching Netflix with my door closed. I thought it was going to be a total loss.

Paddy stayed up for the concession speech.

Paddy: And my cat was sitting with me, and he doesn’t normally.

Mom: It was so exciting.

Paddy: I wore a Trump shirt as my undershirt to school the next day.

Mom: His teachers all know his passion, and they’re so supportive.

Q: You mentioned that you got into arguments with friends at school. What happened?

Paddy: My friend, he kept on talking about how Trump is a racist, and I defended him. He brought up that Trump wants to deport all Mexicans. I came back with the argument he’s not trying to deport all Mexicans, just illegals with criminal records and stuff like that. Then (my friend) said he wants to ban Muslims, and I said now he doesn’t even want to have a permanent ban on Muslims.

Q: Why did you like Trump so much?

Paddy: One of the main reasons I supported Trump, we had a Supreme Court vacancy and there will probably be one or two more because the justices are getting old. A Clinton presidency would have really shifted –

Mom: Ideals.

Paddy: That’s probably one of the main reasons he won. I want to be able to have a good future, I don’t want to be in an America, that is, you know –

Mom: Depressed.

Paddy: In bad times, where I couldn’t have a good life. I want to be successful in life, and I think I can get that through Trump and through conservative policies. What my mom has said in the past, the president is defined by his Cabinet. If the president has great advisers, it just depends on who he picks. I think Trump’s advisers have been pretty good.

Q: What’s your itinerary? What are you looking forward to?

Dad: Friday morning, the security fences open at 6 a.m. So we’ll hopefully leave our hotel at 4:30 a.m.

Paddy: The funny thing is potentially the entire population of Kansas will fit in that tiny space. It makes you think, you know.

Mom: The other presidents are going to be there.

Dad: I would love it if I can get a glimpse of Jimmy Carter. I wasn’t a supporter, but I absolutely respect the man.

Paddy: You have to respect them. They are under so much stress.

Dad: And to see the Supreme Court Justice John Roberts.

Q: Was it a challenge as a parent to talk to Paddy when the “Access Hollywood” tape was released?

Dad: I told Paddy that sometimes people say stupid things. And they shouldn’t, but they do.

Mom: We all do. Everybody does.

Dad: But I did not think that necessarily makes the speaker a bad or untrustworthy person. It was somebody who speaks without a filter.

Mom: When someone is muttering to someone else, they are not expecting to have it taped and broadcast.

Dad: He is a brash New York real estate developer. That doesn’t excuse that type of talk. I’ve said ugly things to Paddy and Kelly.

Mom: And don’t say things like that, be respectful at all times, and that will never happen to you.

Q: Are you going to stop by the Women’s March on Saturday?

Mom: To me, it’s more important to see other stuff. If it’s going to be anti-Trump, I don’t want to give it a lot of attention.

Dad: To the extent that people are exercising their First Amendment rights, whether pro or opposed, I’m interested.

Mom: I’m not saying I’m against it. I just might want to go somewhere else instead.

Dad: Peaceful protest is important.

Paddy: As long as it’s not violent. I think peaceful protest could phase out in our country, and that’s a terrible thing. Protests formed the civil rights movement.

Q: What do you like to do when you are not cheering on Trump?

Paddy: I like to read about history in my free time.

Dad: He went to the National History Bee.

Paddy: I’m a big video game guy, games like “Call of Duty” and “Counter Strike.” Recently I’ve become a gun connoisseur.