THE last time I made an American road trip, the 42nd President Bill Clinton was in the White House. Aids victims could be seen begging and dying under the neon lights of Times Square in Manhattan and for every welcome experience of famed Southern hospitality, what I can best describe as the shoulder-to-shoulder racial inequality I saw levelled against the black community was blatant and unapologetic.

I was a 21-year-old photography student on a working exchange programme. It was my first trip to the US. Politics were probably far from my mind, in favour of a good time, cheap Levi's and cold beers.

This time I would visit cities and states I hadn’t previously, as well as some that I had. I wanted to see how this election was affecting the people of America and how it would influence their decision in choosing their next president.

In Nashville, Tennessee, country and western bands entertained the crowds in the honky tonk bars on Broadway until the early hours of the morning. In the Country Music Hall of Fame I spoke to Samantha, a Republican, and JW, a Democrat. "I don’t think either one of the candidates are particularly good," said Samantha, "but my choice is Trump, because he’s a businessman and I think that’ll be better for the economy. JW thinks they’re all a bunch of liars so whatever happens, we lose either way.”

It was almost Hallowe'en. A trick or treater in full Trump regalia was making passers-by laugh out loud but it was in the Southern cities that I began to wonder if Trump would have the last laugh.

The next morning I travelled to Memphis, another city famed for its musical heritage, as well as political controversy. I made the obligatory pilgrimage to Graceland and visited Sun Studio, where Johnny Cash and Elvis recorded. I walked to the blues bars of Beale Street – the streets felt poor, with abandoned businesses and people begging for a few dollars. I was warned not to wander at night.

In the Blues City Cafe, where locals and tourists enjoy live music and ribs, Keith the bartender, wearing his “I voted” sticker, said: “Memphis has a lot of great history but it’s still very racially divided and the crime rate is high.

“I’m not going to tell you who I voted for, but let me tell you one thing. America is the laughing stock of the world right now. I mean look at our candidates – they have no character. It’s like: America – is the best we can do? I wish for a stronger third party. We need more choice. We need to get out and vote. Otherwise, I think there’s gonna be a revolution.”

Jazz is the anthem of New Orleans. Its Bourbon Street bars are packed day and night, the weather is balmy and the atmosphere electric. The party never stops.

One street over, the five-star Monteleone Hotel sees wealthy visitors sampling fresh oysters. Not everyone is so lucky. Only metres away I lost count of the young women begging on almost every corner. Each one had the same companion: a fierce-looking dog. I spoke to Jennifer, who sat with her American pit bull, Isis (presumably named after the Egyptian goddess). They seemed devoted to each other and wore the same sad eyes. Jennifer didn’t have much to say, except to tell me Isis was really friendly. She said their partnership was built on love but it was also about mutual protection from the dangers on the street.

I found myself speaking with a number of small business owners who were in town on vacation, from Ohio and Florida. All were voting for Trump. Their decisions came down to economics. Personal opinions of Trump didn’t come into it. They believed he would be fairer on taxes. They said years of liberal governments have made young people believe they have to go to university – nobody wants to learn a trade and America has lost its manual workforce as a result.

Before I left for Washington DC, Niko, a magician and street performer, told me he was voting for Hillary Clinton, although Bernie Sanders would have been his preferred candidate. Niko, though, was far from the average voter.

“I think Trump is a brilliant showman. I think he went into this with the intention of building as big a crowd as possible – Trump has built a very large mob.”

Washington DC, the seat of American politics, is a city of monuments built to great men and the endurance of the union. Presidents Lincoln and Jefferson eternally watch over Capitol Hill. I wonder if any American president will compel such awe-inspiring edifices again.

The pretty pink door of a Trump supporter across the river in Georgetown boasted a "Deplorable" sticker in reference to Clinton’s “regrettable” description of Trump supporters.

The Trump voters – I wouldn’t necessarily call them supporters – appeared to be decent, hard-working and plain sick of politics. They were simply trying to get on with their lives.

David was a 25-year-old law student at Georgetown University who worked in an upmarket cigar store to support his studies. He would be voting for Trump, because he represents American values and the will of the people, whereas Clinton represents the establishment.

On election day, 19-year-old student Maya spoke to me under a blue sky in New York’s Washington Square. She was voting for Clinton although Maya thought she was a "snake", but believed a Democratic win is the only way her fellow African-Americans, and her Mexican and gay and lesbian friends, would remain safe.

Every New Yorker I spoke to was confident Clinton would win. Maya was also confident but her parting words to me were: “But New York isn’t the rest of America, y’know?”

As the result came in on election night, the streets of downtown New York were eerily quiet and almost deserted. Times Square was packed with people watching the results on its screens and downcast Clinton supporters and anti-Trump demonstrators were everywhere.

Back in the Soho bars, the faces were different but the expressions were the same. Shocked and grief-stricken, New Yorkers ordered hard liquor and limped home in the early hours. It was over.

The next day the city was hungover. It felt like it was in mourning.

Before I left for home, David, a retired professor, took a break from ice-skating at the Rockefeller Centre. "The result is a disaster," he told me. "It’s awful. Terrible. I voted for Hillary Clinton. I think she would have been a great president. The saddest thing about the election for me is the amount of women who voted for Trump."

Donald J Trump was inaugurated yesterday as the president of the United States of America. Along with thousands of Herald readers I watched the 45th president being sworn in on television. I couldn't enjoy the show as I felt I’d been watching a pantomime unfold, although not one that would have a happy ending.

Throughout my journey I did my best to remain objective but as I watched the results come in, my gut reaction gave me away. I thought about all the people who had talked honestly with me, at times almost apologetically, about their decision to back Trump. I thought about their hopes and fears and what they believed Trump could do for them. Like them, I believe change is very badly needed in what has become the divided States of America.

I don’t believe Trump has any interest in making America great again for the people who need it most. I’m not sure many of his voters really believed it either.

I hope I’m wrong.