By Aaron Blake By Aaron Blake
The Fix
January 20 at 12:34 PM

Trump's inaugural address in three miutes

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On Jan. 20, 2017, President Trump took the oath of office, pledging in his inaugural address to embark on a strategy of "America first." Here are key moments from that speech. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)
On Jan. 20, 2017, President Trump took the oath of office, pledging in his inaugural address to embark on a strategy of "America first." Here are key moments from that speech. On Jan. 20, 2017, President Trump pledged to embark on a strategy of "America first." Here are key moments from that speech. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

The president of the United States is now Donald Trump, who just took the oath of office and, shortly thereafter, delivered his inaugural address.

We've posted the entire transcript below and highlighted the key portions. To see an annotation, click on the yellow, highlighted text. To make your own, sign up for or log in to your account with Genius.

TRUMP: Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans and people of the world, thank you.

(APPLAUSE) We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and restore its promise for all of our people.

(APPLAUSE)

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 Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Today's ceremony, however, has very special meaning because 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.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

That all changes starting right here and right now because this moment is your moment, it belongs to you.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people.

(APPLAUSE)

January 20th, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again.

(APPLAUSE)

The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

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 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 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.

(APPLAUSE) 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.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

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. And now, we are looking only to the future.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

America will start winning again, winning like never before.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

We will follow two simple rules; buy American and hire American.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate from the face of the Earth.

(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. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

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 will be protected by God.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action.

(APPLAUSE)

Do not allow anyone to tell you that 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 ourselves, lift our sights and heal our divisions.

It's 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.

(APPLAUSE)

We all enjoy the same glorious freedoms and we all salute the same great American flag.

(APPLAUSE)

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 will their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty creator.

(APPLAUSE)

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) 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)

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

God bless America.

(APPLAUSE)


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donald Trump’s Inaugural
Speech, Annotated

New York Times reporters analyze the 45th president’s comments. JAN. 20, 2017


Donald J. Trump

Inauguration speech

Mr. Trump begins with a hopeful message designed to appeal to all Americans, but there is an implicit critique of what has come before. He follows in the footsteps of other recent presidents, including Mr. Obama, in thanking his predecessor for a smooth transition.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

This is literally true. The Washington area has become one of the most prosperous parts of the United States in recent decades, while much of the country has stagnated economically.

Binyamin Appelbaum, Economic Policy reporter

Mr. Trump begins with the theme that won him the election: a stark contrast between him and the political establishment, an us-against-them frame pitting ordinary American people against the elites.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

Mr. Trump's advisers had said this speech would be about reaching out and uniting the country. In this passage, we hear an appeal to members of both parties.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

This echoes his convention speech, and it paints a bleak picture of America's streets. Violent crime increased about 4 percent in 2015, but that is a small blip in a decades-long decline in crime. The United States remains far safer than it has been in generations.

Matt Apuzzo, National Security reporter

Corporate profits have reached record heights in recent years. The biggest American companies have benefited enormously from globalization. It's the workers who have suffered.

Binyamin Appelbaum, Economic Policy reporter

Trade with China cost the United States about a million factory jobs from 2000 to 2007, according to one recent study. But automation and increased efficiency is a much larger reason that factory employment has declined. American industrial output is actually at the highest level in history. It's the jobs that have gone away.

Binyamin Appelbaum, Economic Policy reporter

Mr. Trump studied the first inaugural addresses of Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy while writing his own. There is a bit of a ring here of Reagan declaring that the United States was an “exemplar of freedom.” It also hits on what Trump came to see as an important frame for his message — “America First,” a nationalistic approach that was thrilling to his supporters and alarming to many others.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

More echoes of Reagan here, with talk of being an example for other nations and, in Reagan's formulation, a “beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.”

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

This is a remarkable statement for an inaugural address, usually a moment when an incoming president elucidates the dangers facing the nation and reassures Americans they are up to meeting them. Mr. Trump’s seems a more paternalistic formulation: Don't be afraid; the nation will protect you.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

Mr. Trump may be taking pages from his predecessors, but the style of his rhetoric seems unique for an inaugural address. There is nothing flowery about this language. It's a simple message, very simply delivered.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

Mr. Trump casts this nationalist message as a unifying one, but it is the very thing that sowed fear in liberals, including many people of color, during his campaign. One of the biggest questions of his presidency will be whether it will heal or intensify the nation's divisions.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

This is striking for the contrast it draws with Mr. Obama, who often held up his own life story as an example of the promise of America. Mr. Trump is making the same point, but there is nothing personal in his way of talking about it.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

America has never been wealthier. The issue, as Mr. Trump noted earlier in his speech, is that the middle class is not benefiting from that prosperity, which is accumulating disproportionately in the hands of a wealthy minority.

Binyamin Appelbaum, Economic Policy reporter

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 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.

Mr. Trump begins with a hopeful message designed to appeal to all Americans, but there is an implicit critique of what has come before. He follows in the footsteps of other recent presidents, including Mr. Obama, in thanking his predecessor for a smooth transition.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

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 Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent. Thank you.

Today's ceremony, however, has very special meaning. Because 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. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth.

This is literally true. The Washington area has become one of the most prosperous parts of the United States in recent decades, while much of the country has stagnated economically.

Binyamin Appelbaum, Economic Policy reporter

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.

Mr. Trump begins with the theme that won him the election: a stark contrast between him and the political establishment, an us-against-them frame pitting ordinary American people against the elites.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

That all changes starting 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.

Mr. Trump's advisers had said this speech would be about reaching out and uniting the country. In this passage, we hear an appeal to members of both parties.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. Everyone is listening to you now. You came by the tens of millions to become part of an 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 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 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.

This echoes his convention speech, and it paints a bleak picture of America's streets. Violent crime increased about 4 percent in 2015, but that is a small blip in a decades-long decline in crime. The United States remains far safer than it has been in generations.

Matt Apuzzo, National Security reporter

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.

Corporate profits have reached record heights in recent years. The biggest American companies have benefited enormously from globalization. It's the workers who have suffered.

Binyamin Appelbaum, Economic Policy reporter

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, and now we are looking only to the future.

Trade with China cost the United States about a million factory jobs from 2000 to 2007, according to one recent study. But automation and increased efficiency is a much larger reason that factory employment has declined. American industrial output is actually at the highest level in history. It's the jobs that have gone away.

Binyamin Appelbaum, Economic Policy reporter

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.

Mr. Trump studied the first inaugural addresses of Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy while writing his own. There is a bit of a ring here of Reagan declaring that the United States was an “exemplar of freedom.” It also hits on what Trump came to see as an important frame for his message — “America First,” a nationalistic approach that was thrilling to his supporters and alarming to many others.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

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.

More echoes of Reagan here, with talk of being an example for other nations and, in Reagan's formulation, a “beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.”

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

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 will be protected by God.

This is a remarkable statement for an inaugural address, usually a moment when an incoming president elucidates the dangers facing the nation and reassures Americans they are up to meeting them. Mr. Trump’s seems a more paternalistic formulation: Don't be afraid; the nation will protect you.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

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 allow anyone to tell you that 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.

Mr. Trump may be taking pages from his predecessors, but the style of his rhetoric seems unique for an inaugural address. There is nothing flowery about this language. It's a simple message, very simply delivered.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

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 ourselves, lift our sights and heal our divisions.

Mr. Trump casts this nationalist message as a unifying one, but it is the very thing that sowed fear in liberals, including many people of color, during his campaign. One of the biggest questions of his presidency will be whether it will heal or intensify the nation's divisions.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

It's 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.

This is striking for the contrast it draws with Mr. Obama, who often held up his own life story as an example of the promise of America. Mr. Trump is making the same point, but there is nothing personal in his way of talking about it.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, White House reporter

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. 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.

America has never been wealthier. The issue, as Mr. Trump noted earlier in his speech, is that the middle class is not benefiting from that prosperity, which is accumulating disproportionately in the hands of a wealthy minority.

Binyamin Appelbaum, Economic Policy reporter

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. Thank you. God bless America.


Source: TVEyes, Federal News Service, White House. Top photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times.President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump wave during the inauguration parade in Washington.