NEW PRESIDENT VOWS TO ‘ HEAL OUR DIVISIONS’
Donald John Trump took the oath as the 45th president of a deeply riven nation Friday, decrying what he called the “carnage” ravaging communities and pledging that “from this moment on, it’s going to be America first.”
With a thumbs- up sign and fist pump for the thousands of people stretched along the National Mall, the billionaire real estate mogul promised to instill “a new national pride” that “will stir our souls, lift our sights and heal our divisions.”
Those divisions were evident across the capital, from protesters’ epithets during Trump’s swearing- in to violent demonstrations near the White House. They were obvious in omission as well: Trump did not mention his vanquished opponent seated nearby, Hillary Clinton, until a private luncheon inside the Capitol.
At 70, he is the oldest man to assume the office and seemingly in a hurry to move his agenda, Trump wasted no time outlining his priorities: creating jobs, securing borders and eliminating “radical Islamic terrorism.” Those three words, never used by President Obama, received boisterous applause.
“At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other,” he said. “When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.”
At times grim and scowling, he vowed to put an end to crime, gangs, drugs, poverty and “rusted- out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation.” He denounced the “ravages” of other countries “making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs.”
His description of a nation on its knees, both domestically and internationally, came shortly before he escorted Obama to a waiting helicopter on the Capitol grounds. Earlier, Obama was seen leaving a letter for Trump on the desk inside the Oval Office.
Completing the peaceful transfer of power, the 44th president and former first lady Michelle Obama jetted off to a California vacation at about the same time former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, took amore workmanlike Amtrak train back home to Delaware.
That left the new president and first lady Melania Trump to lunch on lobster with the nation’s leaders inside the Capitol’s ornate Statuary Hall, then step from their limousine to wave during the traditional parade up Pennsylvania Avenue.
The crowds on the Mall and along the parade route were smaller than in recent years — particularly 2009, when Obama’s first inaugural attracted more than 1.8 million people. But those who did brave the light rain that began with Trump’s speech were not disappointed.
“Make America great again!” Ruth Roldan exclaimed from her standingroom spot on the soggy turf stretching west toward the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. She and her husband, Roberto, immigrants from Costa Rica, supported Trump’s law- and- order campaign.
“Not all immigrants think the same,” she said. “We need a secure border. That’s why we came to this country.”
Crowds of protesters clashed with police in riot gear not far from the White House. More than 200 people were arrested and several officers were injured in one fracas.
Missing from the day’s events were more than 60 House Democrats who boycotted the inaugural to protest a president many consider illegitimate — one who lost the popular vote by nearly 3million votes.
The festivities included a somber note, as one of the five former living presidents, George H. W. Bush, was taken off a ventilator but remained in intensive care in a Houston hospital. Former presidents Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush joined Obama and Clinton for the inaugural.
Trump, surrounded by his wife, five children, their spouses and grandchildren, was sworn in just after noon by John Roberts, chief justice of the United States. Unlike 2009, when Roberts botched his lines, the 35- word oath went without incident. Trump placed his left hand on a family Bible as well as the one used by Abraham Lincoln in 1861.