Donald Trump yesterday became the 45th President of the United States in an election which has left America scathingly polarised.
It would appear that no president-elect has made so much controversial headlines as has Donald Trump, his daily tweets – especially those touching on the relationship between Moscow and Washington – deepening the schism between the two countries.
The ceremony was expectedly spectacular but dwarfed by his promises, some of which do not inure to the interest of the immigrant communities, including the Latinos.
The Republican’s speech did not surprise many because it bore his nationalist traits: it painted a picture of an America stressed and spotting rusty factories, gangs and drugs blemishes, which he put at the doorsteps of his predecessors at the White House.
He took over from the first Democrat Black American President Barack Obama. Trump’s ‘America First’ mantra resonated on the grounds of the National Mall where the function took place.
Even as the function went on, protests were going on in Washington which characterized his win when it was announced in November last year.
He did not pull as much a crowd as his predecessor when the latter was first sworn in, and when he went through the drill of a second swearing in ceremony.
“Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families,” President Trump underscored.
“This American carnage stops right here and stops right now,” he said.
The 70-year-old man was at the centre of the most aggressive election campaign in the history of the US – a democratic exercise which has left the country polarized.
He is a novice in public office, but appealed to many white Americans. The election results did not surprise many who watched the campaign.
Former Presidents George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton 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.
By A.R. Gomda With Agency Reports