Donald Trump Sworn In As 45th President Of The United States

At the U.S. Capitol Friday morning, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. In his inaugural address, he laid out his vision for the country.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

On today's program, we'll hear from Americans who came to Washington for the inauguration - some to celebrate, some to protest. We'll hear from political journalists and commentators on the transition that took place today and what it may foretell.

But first, we'll hear what the new president of the United States had to say. And we'll start with his oath of office administered by Chief Justice John Roberts.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHN ROBERTS: I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear...

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear...

ROBERTS: ...That I will faithfully execute...

TRUMP: ...That I will faithfully execute...

ROBERTS: ...The office of president of the United States...

TRUMP: ...The office of president of the United States...

ROBERTS: ...And will, to the best of my ability...

TRUMP: ...And will, to the best of my ability...

ROBERTS: ...Preserve, protect and defend...

TRUMP: ...Preserve, protect and defend...

ROBERTS: ...The Constitution of the United States.

TRUMP: ...The Constitution of the United States.

ROBERTS: So help me God.

TRUMP: So help me God.

SIEGEL: Then, having been sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump gave a relatively short speech, just over 16 minutes. President Trump struck familiar themes from his campaign - the nation hollowed out by the flight of business, the middle class abandoned and promises of a new order.

Seated behind him among the assembled family and clergy were past presidents, Supreme Court justices, leaders of Congress. And Donald Trump railed against the political establishment that was so amply represented.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: For too long, a small group in our nation's capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: 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.

SIEGEL: That, he said, changes here and now. In his view, what Americans want from government is modest. What they have is horrific.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families and good jobs for themselves. These are just and reasonable 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 flushed 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.

(APPLAUSE, CHEERING)

SIEGEL: The forgotten men and women of our country, he said, will be forgotten no longer. And as he did often in his campaign, Donald Trump contrasted what he described as Washington's neglect of Americans at home with what he claims is its excessive generosity abroad.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: For many decades, we've enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry, subsidize 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...

(APPLAUSE, CHEERING)

TRUMP: ...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.

SIEGEL: That is the past, he said. Looking ahead to America's role in the world during his presidency, Trump invoked a familiar phrase. It was for decades a slogan of discredited isolationism. This past year, it was one of his rallying cries.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: From this day forward, it's going to be only America first, America first.

(APPLAUSE, CHEERING)

TRUMP: 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.

SIEGEL: We will, in the familiar words of the new president of the United States, restore American greatness.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: So to all Americans - in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, from ocean to ocean, hear these words. You will never be ignored again.

(APPLAUSE, CHEERING)

TRUMP: 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.

(APPLAUSE, CHEERING)

TRUMP: Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America.

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