Washington - Donald Trump took power as
the 45th president of the United States on Friday and pledged to
end "American carnage" of social and economic woes in an
inaugural address that was a populist and nationalist rallying
cry.
Sketching a bleak vision of a country he said was ravaged by
rusted-out factories, crime, gangs and drugs, Trump indirectly
blamed his predecessors in the White House for policies that
helped Washington at the expense of struggling families.
"From this moment on, it's going to be America First," the
Republican told thousands of people gathered on the grounds of
the National Mall as he took over the presidency from Democrat
Barack Obama.
Crowds looked much smaller than those for Obama's two
inaugurations. Scattered street protests erupted against Trump
elsewhere in Washington.
"Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on
foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and
American families," Trump said. "This American carnage stops
right here and stops right now," he said.
Trump, 70, takes over a country divided after a savage
election campaign.
The dark vision of America he often paints is belied by
statistics showing low levels of unemployment and crime
nationally, although Trump won many votes in parts of the nation
where manufacturing industry has all but disappeared.
A wealthy New York businessman and former reality TV star
who has never held public office, Trump will set the country on
a new, uncertain path at home and abroad.
His address revisited the themes of the campaign speeches
that carried him to an improbable victory on Nov. 8 over
Democrat Hillary Clinton, who attended the ceremony with her
husband, former President Bill Clinton.
Obama headed to a vacation in Palm Springs, California,
after the ceremony. Before sitting down to lunch in the
Capitol's Statuary Hall, Trump shook hands with both Clintons.
Under pressure to unite the country after the bitterly
fought campaign, Trump said that through allegiance to the
United States, "we will rediscover our loyalty to each other"
and called for a "new national pride" that would help heal
divisions.
Abroad, Trump signaled the possibility of a more aggressive
approach to Islamic State militants.
"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," he said.
After repeating the 35-word oath of office, Trump stretched
his arms wide and hugged his wife, Melania, and other members of
his family. Ceremonial cannon blasts fired.
The transition from a Democratic president to a Republican
took place before a crowd of former presidents, dignitaries and
hundreds of thousands of people on the grounds of the National
Mall. The crowd stretched westward on a cool day of occasional
light rain.
Away from the Capitol, masked activists ran through the
streets smashing windows with hammers at a McDonald's
restaurant, a Starbucks coffee shop and a steakhouse several
blocks from the White House.
They carried black anarchist flags and signs that said,
"Join the resistance, fight back now." Police used pepper spray
and chased them down a major avenue.
In another location not far from the White House, protesters
also scuffled with police, at one point throwing aluminum chairs
at them at outdoor café.
Former presidents George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter were
present at the inauguration with their wives. Bush's father,
former President George H.W. Bush, 92, watched the ceremony on
television in Houston where he was recovering from pneumonia.
Trump and his vice president, Mike Pence, began the day with
a prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church near the White
House.
Trump took office with work to do to bolster his image.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll this week found only 40
percent of Americans viewed him favorably, the lowest rating for
an incoming president since Democrat Carter in 1977, and the
same percentage approved of how he has handled the transition.
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During a testy transition period since his election win,
Trump has repeatedly engaged in Twitter attacks against his
critics, so much so that one fellow Republican, Senator John
McCain, told CNN that Trump seemed to want to "engage with every
windmill that he can find."
Trump's agenda
His ascension to the White House, while welcomed by
Republicans tired of Obama's eight years in office, raises a
host of questions for the United States.
Trump campaigned on a pledge to take the country on a more
isolationist, protectionist path and has vowed to impose a 35
percent tariff on goods on imports from U.S. companies that went
abroad.
His desire for warmer ties with Russian President Vladimir
Putin and threats to cut funding for NATO nations has allies
from Britain to the Baltics worried that the traditional U.S.
security umbrella will be diminished.
In the Middle East, Trump has said he wants to move the U.S.
Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, at the risk of
angering Arabs and stirring international concern. He has yet to
sketch out how he plans to carry out a campaign pledge to "knock
the hell out of" Islamic State.
More than 60 Democratic lawmakers stayed away from the
proceedings to protest Trump, spurred on after he derided U.S.
Representative John Lewis of Georgia, a hero of the civil rights
movement, for calling him an illegitimate president.
Many demonstrators are to participate in a "Women's March on
Washington" on Saturday. Protests are also planned in other
cities in the United States and abroad.
Quick action
Trump's to-do list has given Republicans hope that, since
they also control the U.S. Congress, they can quickly repeal and
replace Obama's signature healthcare law, approve sweeping tax
reform and roll back many federal regulations they say are
stifling the U.S. economy.
"He's going to inject a shock to the system here almost
immediately," Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox
News.
Democrats, in search of firm political footing after the
unexpected defeat of Hillary Clinton, are planning to fight him
at every turn. They deeply oppose Trump's anti-immigrant
rhetoric from the campaign trail and plans to build a wall along
the southern U.S. border with Mexico.
Trump's critics have been emboldened to attack his
legitimacy because his win came in the Electoral College, which
gives smaller states more clout in the outcome. He lost the
popular vote to Clinton by about 2.9 million.
Trump's critics also point to the conclusion of US intelligence agencies that Russia used hacking and other methods
during the campaign to try to tilt the election in the
Republican's favor. Trump has acknowledged the finding - denied
by Moscow - that Russia was behind the hacking but said it did
not affect the outcome of the election.