We Talked to a Guy Who Went to the Inauguration on Acid

To be honest, the past year has kind of felt like one massive bad trip. The inauguration of President Donald J. Trump yesterday finally transitioned from what felt like a nightmare to a reality.

For a 21-year-old named Zachary from Philadelphia, however, the inauguration was actually a trip—because he says he literally dropped acid when he went to it. His father (who was not on acid and accompanied him) got official tickets to the event from a state rep: "I'm sure he didn't know what we were going to do," Zachary told VICE.

VICE spoke to him as he was coming down on his car ride home about why he chose to do LSD at an event that could very well mark the beginning of Trumpocalypse.

VICE: Why did you decide to go to the inauguration on acid?
Zachary: I feel like if there is any inauguration to go to in this age, of course it is President Trump's inauguration. And if I'm going to do anything, I might as well do it on acid to throw a curveball into the mix.

You said in one of your Instagram posts that you were "representing the Scumbag Party of America." What did you mean by that?
We're few and far between. It doesn't matter who our president is: We're still going to do acid, smoke weed, we're still going to listen to loud music. We're still going to be us. We are the scumbags of America.

President Trump mentioned drugs in his inauguration speech. How would you feel if he reignited the War on Drugs?
I mean, I'm still going to be smoking weed [laughs]. As soon as all the cannons went off, I sparked a joint. Everyone around me was not cool with it.

What was it like being around that many people at an event of that type on acid? Did you have any visualizations?
It was surreal because to feel comfortable, I bought a Make America Great Again hat, and I wore it the whole time. I felt like I just put myself in their shoes, and some of those people are just nuts to begin with, so I felt like I just fit in. The visuals were crazy, watching just the Capitol Building melting during the whole speech and listening to the god-awful orchestra. It was horrible. I found myself just staring at people and taking a lot of it in.

How are you feeling right now, and where are you at?
I'm on the road going back to Philadelphia right now. I'm feeling good that I got out of there when I did because now I'm looking at the internet, and I see that some of the protests have turned violent, and I don't know what I would have done if I would have seen that while I was tripping. After the inauguration, I walked around, and I was smoking weed. There were people singing about Jesus and stuff like that, and I was just offering them joints. None of them wanted that, so I just got out of there. I'm glad I did not stay to see any of the violence.

Is this the first kind of its kind you've gone to on acid?
On acid, yes. I actually protested at the DNC and caught a little buzz from that recently. I was on different substances, but nothing like acid. After going to these political things, it's a great deal more enjoyable if you're intoxicated on a substance.

What are your thoughts Trump presidency?
Honestly, I have no clue. Some parts of me want to give him a chance. Some parts of me say that he is the devil. Parts of me think about if Hillary Clinton were president, and she's just as bad. I have no clue what's going to happen with this presidency… I'm down to see what's going to happen.

Do you have plans to attend any protests or political events in the future?
Philadelphia seems to be a big protest town, so if things occur tonight or in the following days—which I imagine they will—I'll probably join in.

What level of your acid trip are you at right now? Are you coming down?
I took my tab at around 8:30 [AM], so I'm coming down. I'm pretty much ground-level.

Any final thoughts?
Trump's hands look a lot tinier on acid.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Follow Allison Tierney on Twitter .