President Donald Trump Inauguration Full Speech:Watch the Full Video Of The New President Donald Trump January 2017
Donald Trump announced his bid for president in June of 2015. On Friday, a year and a half later, he took the oath of office to become the 45th commander in chief of the United States.
Initially and widely discounted, the billionaire business mogul and ex-reality TV star dispatched 16 Republican primary rivals
to earn the party's nomination, before battling Democratic nominee
Hillary Clinton in a campaign destined to go down as one of the most
brutal and bizarre in American history. Despite losing the popular vote,
Trump triumphed by winning the Electoral College, and officially succeeded President Barack Obama at around noon.
As the day's events unfold – from the swearing-in ceremony to the inaugural parade and inaugural balls
– follow along below for news, opinion and analysis from U.S. News
& World Report, tune in to the live stream above, courtesy of CBS
News, and click here for more election coverage.
Full Text of Donald Trump's Inaugural Address
By The Associated Press
A transcript of Donald Trump's inaugural
address, delivered Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, after his swearing-in as the
45th president of the United States.
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Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter,
President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans,
and people of the world: Thank you.
We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a
great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise
for all of our people.
Together we will determine the course of America and the world for many, many years to come.
We will face challenges, we will confront hardships but we will get the job done.
Every four years we gather on these steps to
carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power and we are grateful
to President Obama and First Lady Michele Obama for their gracious aid
in this transition. They have been magnificent. Thank you.
Today's ceremony has very special meaning
because today we are not merely transferring power from one
administration to another or 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. Washington flourished but the people did not share in its
wealth. Politicians prospered but the jobs left and the factories
closed. The establishment protected itself but not the citizens of our
country. Their victories have not been your victories, their triumphs
have not been your triumphs.
And while they celebrated in our nation's capital there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.
That all changes right here and right now because this moment is your moment. It belongs to you.
It belongs to everyone gathered here today, and everyone watching all across America.
This is your day, this is your celebration, and this, the United States of America, is your country.
What truly matters is not which party controls
our government but whether our government is controlled by the people.
Jan. 20, 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the
rulers of this nation again.
The forgotten men and women of this country will be forgotten no longer.
Everyone is listening to you now. You came by
the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement the likes of
which the world has never seen before.
At the center of this movement is a crucial
conviction that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Americans want
great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families
and good jobs for themselves. These are just and reasonably demands of
righteous people and a righteous public.
But 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 the 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.
Their dreams are our dreams; and their success will be our success. We
share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny.
The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans.
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 nation's borders while refusing to defend
our own; and spent 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 across the entire world.
But that is the past. And now we are looking only to the future.
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.
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.
America will start winning again, winning like never before.
We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.
We will build new roads, and highways, and bridges, and airports, and tunnels, and railways all across our wonderful nation.
We will get our people off of welfare and back to work - rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor.
We will follow two simple rules: Buy American and hire American.
We will seek friendship and goodwill with the
nations of the world - but we do so with the understanding that it is
the right of all nations to put their own interests first.
We do not seek to impose our way of life on
anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example — we will shine — for
everyone to follow.
We will reinforce old alliances and form new
ones - and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism,
which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth.
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.
When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.
The Bible tells us, "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity."
We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity.
When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.
There should be no fear - we are protected, and we will always be protected.
We will be protected by the great men and women
of our military and law enforcement and, most importantly, we are
protected by God.
Finally, we must think big and dream even bigger.
In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long as it is striving.
We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action - constantly complaining but never doing anything about it.
The time for empty talk is over.
Now arrives the hour of action.
Do not let anyone tell you it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America.
We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again.
We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready
to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the Earth from the miseries
of disease, and to harness the energies, industries and technologies of
tomorrow.
A new national pride will stir our souls, lift our sights, and heal our divisions.
It is time to remember that old wisdom our
soldiers will never forget: that whether we are black or brown or white,
we all bleed the same red blood of patriots, we all enjoy the same
glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American flag.
And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl
of Detroit or the wind-swept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the
same night sky, they fill their heart with the same dreams, and they are
infused with the breath of life by the same almighty Creator.
So to all Americans, in every city near and far,
small and large, from mountain to mountain, and from ocean to ocean,
hear these words:
You will never be ignored again.
Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams will
define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will
forever guide us along the way.
Together, we will make America strong again.
We will make America wealthy again.
We will make America proud again.
We will make America safe again.
And yes, together we will make America great again. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.