UPDATE 11:30 AM PDT
Chaos breaking out in Washington D.C. as protesters get more violent and the police respond with tear gas.
JUST IN: @GriffJenkins: “It continues to escalate.” #Protests #Inauguration #Trump45 pic.twitter.com/t1QSXlj2Ff
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 20, 2017
Crazy scene outside @washingtonpost right now: trash cans lit on fire, police in formation, helicopters buzzing overhead. pic.twitter.com/GlPzQ39Sou
— Matea Gold (@mateagold) January 20, 2017
Crazy scene outside @washingtonpost right now: trash cans lit on fire, police in formation, helicopters buzzing overhead. pic.twitter.com/GlPzQ39Sou
— Matea Gold (@mateagold) January 20, 2017
UPDATE 11:15 AM PDT
The protests continue as Trump signs bills.
Protest site at 12 and L just erupted again. Lots of tear gas, loud booms, smoke. pic.twitter.com/yfP7teLLR9
— Patrick Madden (@Patrick_Madden) January 20, 2017
Here’s Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro’s analysis of the inaugural address.
UPDATE 9:30 AM PDT
Trump begins his inaugural. Trump says today we’re not merely transferring power from one administration to another, but from Washington D.C. and giving it back to you, the people. A small group of people have gained from DC, but the people have not flourished. Politicians prospered, but the jobs left, and the factories closed, Trump says. 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 all across our land. Trump says this is the day for the American people, and this is your country.
Trump says what truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people. January 20, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. Everyone is listening to you now. You’re part of a 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, rusted factories like tombstones, 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 have robbed our country of too much unrealized potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.
We are one nation, and their pain is our pain, 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 the sad depletion of our military. We’ve defended other nations’ borders while refusing to defend our own, and spent trillions of dollars overseas while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair into 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 factors shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions left behind. The wealth of the middle class has been ripped from their homes and been redistributed across the world.
Now we are looking only to the future. From this day forward, it’s only America first. 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.
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 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 rules: buy American and hire American. We will seek friendship with other nations, but 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 let it shine for everyone. We will reinforce old alliances and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth.
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 by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement. And most importantly, we will be protected by God.
We must think big and dream even bigger. We understand that a nation is only living so 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.
Now arrives the hour of action. Do not allow anyone to tell you that it cannot be done. 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 ift our sights and health our divisions. Whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots. We all salute the same great American flag.
Whether a child is born in the urban sprawl or Detroit or the wind-swept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky and fill their hearts with the same dreams, and they are infused with the same breath of life by the same almighty Creator. To all Americans, hear these words: you will never be ignored again.
Together, we will make America strong again, we will make America proud again, we will make America safe again, and yes, we will make America great again.
UPDATE 9:15 AM PDT
Chief Justice Roberts swears in Donald J. Trump as 45th President of the United States. May God grant him wisdom and decency to fulfill his Constitutional duty.
UPDATE 9:00 AM PDT
Justice Clarence Thomas swears in Vice President Mike Pence.
The execrable Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) talks about faith in our institutions eroding — something he helped achieve. He says that the economy works for too few, that the media is too fractured. He gives the intersectional hierarchy. He reads the famous Civil War letter from Sullivan Ballou, the best parody of which can be found here:
UPDATE 8:45 AM PDT
Inaugural prayers being given by Cardinal Dolan, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Pastor Paula White Cain, Rabbi Marvin Hier, Rev. Franklin Graham, and Bishop Wayne T. Jackson.
Senator Roy Blount (R-MO) speaking about the history of the inauguration, giving an excellent civics lesson.
UPDATE 8:30 AM PDT
Full fanfare for Trump arrival. Trump announced to wave of applause.
Crowd chants “TRUMP!” as they await the appearance of the President-Elect.
Melania Trump has been ushered to the dais, as have the wives of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.
Melania has arrived. #TrumpInauguration #YoureHired
Screenshot via USAToday pic.twitter.com/iKdxSgMdAQ
— The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) January 20, 2017
Next up: Obama and Vice President Biden.
UPDATE 8:15 AM PDT
The Obamas and the Trumps have arrived at the Capitol. The crowd is estimated at 800,000 to 1 million. The media’s tone is obviously disappointed and somber, as you’d expect from Obama cheerleaders.
Meanwhile, protesters making more trouble:
An elderly man was knocked over during violent protest on 13th and I. Loaded into ambulance, bleeding from the back of his head pic.twitter.com/M2DiFHz4Xq
— Alexandra Jaffe (@ajjaffe) January 20, 2017
People, please stop destroying our city pic.twitter.com/9mCZCW4qnj
— Jessica Sidman (@jsidman) January 20, 2017
UPDATE 8:00 AM PDT
Barack Obama and Donald Trump just got into the car that will drive them to the Capitol.
Here’s Obama leaving the White House for the final time. Thank God.
Barack Obama departs the White House for his final time as President of the United States https://t.co/pakz0LbFqs https://t.co/JYENyFTQGw
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 20, 2017
Meanwhile, more protesters making trouble.
#disruptj20 protesters blocking men in Air Force uniforms from getting through the #Inauguration checkpoint pic.twitter.com/XVErOHHBwg
— Ryan Lovelace (@LovelaceRyanD) January 20, 2017
Hillary Clinton tweets:
I’m here today to honor our democracy & its enduring values. I will never stop believing in our country & its future. #Inauguration
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 20, 2017
UPDATE 7:45 AM PDT
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump have arrived on the dais.
Democrats are reportedly wearing buttons reading “Protect Our Care,” which is their pathetic attempt to save Obamacare.
Reuters labels as “activists” people smashing windows and destroying property:
UPDATE: Black-clad activists smash shop windows, car windows during Trump #inauguration protest. More here: https://t.co/vXm2jqNTcC
— Reuters Politics (@ReutersPolitics) January 20, 2017
Somebody is also setting off flash bangs.
UPDATE 7:30 AM PDT
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (who will never be president) have arrived at the inauguration.
Former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura have arrived at the inauguration.
First sighting of George W. Bush and @laurawbush #Inauguration2017 pic.twitter.com/mJKbT2cnyB
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 20, 2017
Earlier this morning, President-Elect Donald J. Trump arrived at the White House with incoming First Lady Melania Trump.
President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama greet President-elect Trump and his wife, Melania, at the White House https://t.co/jiXpWVK8fk
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) January 20, 2017
Police have been clashing with protesters as people attempt to break lines of protesters in order to get to the inauguration.
Police trying to keep peace at 10 and E. But protesters continue to clash with officers as Trump supporters have trouble getting in. pic.twitter.com/p6TqeZxOfU
— Patrick Madden (@Patrick_Madden) January 20, 2017
“Whose streets? Our streets” protesters pushing over trash cans, newspaper boxes pic.twitter.com/ydGnXw5YzN
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) January 20, 2017
ORIGINAL 7:20 AM PDT
Today is the day we honor the grand American tradition — unsurpassed in world history — of rivals peacefully handing over power to their political enemies. We’ll be covering it all live right here: the arrivals, the protests, the inaugural speech.
It’s here.
President Donald Trump.