Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States of America on Friday, January 20th. Mike Pence was also sworn in as vice president. Also attending were former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter as well as first lady Melania Trump and former first ladies Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton. The entire event was screened in the BC cafeteria starting at 8 a.m. and ending around 10:30 a.m.
Most of the people showed themselves to be supporters of Trump, waving “Make America Great Again” banners and cheering every time Trump said a sentence during his speech. There were a couple groups of people doing the same in the BC cafeteria during the screening, but most of the people were either just eating their food or staying silent throughout.
Before any of the inaugurations happened, New York Senator Chuck Schumer went up to the podium to speak. He stated that all Americans, no matter their differences, share the same love of country and willingness to protect it and the rights of “equal protection for all under law, the freedom of speech, press religion, the things that make America America.” To showcase this love of country, Schumer cited a letter from Major Sullivan Baloo, a Civil War soldier, to his wife from the battlefield. In the letter, Baloo wrote that he knew he held a debt to his ancestors who made the U.S. a free country in the first place and the he was “willing, perfectly willing, to lay down all my joys in this life to help maintain this government and to pay that debt.”
Schumer then talked about the effects of Baloo’s and others’ actions. “It is because Sullivan Baloo and countless others believed in something bigger than themselves, and were willing to sacrifice for it, that we stand today in the blessings of liberty in the greatest country on Earth,” he said. “I urge all Americans to read Baloo’s full letter. His words give me solace, strength. I hope they will give you the same.”
After Schumer had finished, Pence took his oath and became vice president.
After the choir finished their song, Trump was sworn in as president and began his inaugural address. He started by thanking everyone, then stated that “together, we will determine the course of America and the world for many many years to come.” Trump also repeated the idea that under his presidency, the people would now be ruling the country.
“We are transferring power from Washington D.C. and giving it back to you, the people,” he said.
After talking about how much better America is going to be now that he is president, Trump talked about how it had been before, saying it was awful. “Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities, rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape our nation, an education system flushed with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge” were some of the examples Trump gave.
Then, Trump shifted back to talking about the future, saying that “from this day forward it’s going to be only America first.” He then went on to talk about how every one of his decisions “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.”
As the conclusion of his address, Trump promised to eliminate Islamic terrorism completely, “buy American and hire American” and never let the country down. He then ended with his campaign slogan “we will make America great again.”
After the speech, former President Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama were escorted to their helicopter by President Trump and his first lady. They plan to take a vacation in Palm Springs before moving back to Washington D.C.