Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. In his inaugural address, he has promised to give the government back to the people and put "only America first."
"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, DC, to you the American people," Trump said in his inaugural speech just after noon on Friday, as it started to rain.
"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," said Trump.
"That all changes ‒ starting right here, and right now, because this moment is your moment, it belongs to you!" added Trump to applause. "The United States of America is your country."
"January 20, 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again."
A statement met with loud applause and cheering.
Trump went on to remark that his supporters were part of a historic movement that has a crucial conviction, "that a nation exists to serve its citizens."
He said Americans want great school for their children, safe neighborhoods and good jobs.
"These are just and reasonable demands of a righteous public."
Trump said American experience a different reality, with mothers and children "trapped in poverty in our inner cities," rusted-out factories, and an education system "flashed with cash" but which left the young "deprived of knowledge."
"This American carnage stops right here and stops right now," commanded Trump, as the audience erupted in cheers, whistles and applause. "We will follow two simple rules: Buy American and Hire American."
"We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to follow."
Trump said when the country was united it will be totally unstoppable.
"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 border while refusing to defend our own," Trump proffered while whistles and cheers erupted from the crowd.
Trump said the US has spent trillions abroad while the country's infrastructure fell into "disrepair and decay."
"We've made other countries rich while the wealth, strength, and the confidence of our country has dissipated over the horizon," he remarked. "One by one the factories shuttered and left our shores without a thought for millions of millions of American workers left behind. The wealth of middle class Americans has been ripped from their homes and redistributed across the world. But that is the past but now we are only looking to the future."
The remarks, which Trump previously said he wrote himself, reiterated many of his campaign promises.
"Today [we] are a new decree... from this day forward... it's going to be only American First," emphasized Trump.
"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."
"We will no longer politicians who are all talk and no action ‒ constantly complaining but never doing anything about it," added Trump.
"The time for empty talk is over, and now arrives the hour of action," he said. "Do not allow anyone to tell you it cannot be done... Our country will thrive and prosper again."
Trump said the country 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."
"Whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same blood of patriotism, we all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American Flag."
In closing Trump stated, "Together we will make America strong again, we will make it wealthy again, we will make America proud again, we will make America safe again, and yes, together we will make America great again."
The speech lasted 16 minutes, about half as long as the average inaugural address. It was 1,440 words, while the average inaugural address is about 2,350 words, according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
After the speech was over, RT America hosts Larry King and Ed Schultz analyzed Trump's remarks.
"It was rip-roaring. It was Donald," King told Schultz. "It was definitely Donald," Schultz agreed.
Trump's inaugural address was "not one of historical proportion, not one of high academic thought," Schultz said. "It was one of a real declaration."