Excerpts from President Trump’s inaugural address

“Today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another, or from one party to another — but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people. For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost.… That all changes — starting right here, and right now, because this moment is your moment.”

“You came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement the likes of which the world has never seen before.”

“For too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system, flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students

deprived of all knowledge; and the crime and gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now. We are one nation — and their pain is our pain.”

“For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry, subsidized the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military.

“We’ve defended other nations’ borders while refusing to defend our own, and spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay.

“We’ve made other countries rich while the wealth, strength and confidence of our country has dissipated over the horizon.

“One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions and millions of

American workers that were left behind. The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed all across the world. But that is the past.”

“We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power. 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.

“Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs.

“Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for you with every breath in my body — and I will never, ever let you down.”