Flags with the image of President-elect Donald Trump are displayed for sale on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, ahead of Friday's inauguration. On the morning 19 months ago when Donald Trump descended the escalator in his glitzy Manhattan tower, waving to onlookers who lined the rails, many Americans knew little about him beyond that he was very rich and had a thing for firing people on a reality television show.