Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States Friday during a time-honored inauguration ceremony that encapsulated the peaceful transfer of power that is a hallmark of American democracy.
On a raised platform on the flag-draped West Front of the Capitol, Trump placed his left hand on one Bible that dates from his childhood and another that belonged to Abraham Lincoln and raised his right hand in the air as he promised to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.
Under gray skies and in front of a crowd stretching most of the way from the Capitol toward the Washington Monument, Trump took the oath from Chief Justice John Roberts with the new first lady Melania Trump by his side.
What will go through John Roberts’ head as he swears in Donald Trump?
President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with Martin Luther King III after they met at Trump Tower in New York on Monday, January 16. Afterward, King said the meeting was “constructive” and that the two discussed the importance of voting accessibility. Trump didn’t speak to the media about the meeting.
“This American carnage stops right here and stops right now,” Trump said with Obama looking on.
“We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, and in every foreign capital and in every hall of power,” Trump said. “From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land, from this day forward it’s going to be only ‘America first! America first!’”
“A new national pride will stir out souls, lift our sights and heal our divisions,” Trump said, saying that whether people are black or white they still bleed the same red blood of patriots.
And he told Americans listening to the address: “You will never be ignored again.”
Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton also attended the ceremony. Hillary Clinton, who Trump defeated in the November election, was also in the audience in a show of support for national unity and the peaceful transfer of presidential authority.
The swearing-in was one of many traditions that began unfolding early Friday morning. Trump and his family attended a private worship service at St. John’s Church, known as the church of presidents. The Obamas greeted Trump and the new first lady, Melania Trump, at the North Portico of the White House before hosting them for tea.
Earlier in the morning, Barack Obama wrote a letter to Trump and left it on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, as outgoing presidents typically do for their successors. As Obama left the Oval Office for the final time, he was asked if he had any words for the American people. “Thank you,” Obama said.
When the presidential primary season began nearly a year ago, few thought Trump could survive the battle for the Republican nomination — much less beat Clinton to win the presidency. He will be the oldest president sworn in for a first term and the first president with no previous diplomatic, political or military executive experience. But his populist campaign deeply resonated with Americans who were fed up with Washington’s political class and felt left behind in the globalizing economy.
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Source: CNN
