WATCH SPEECH
Read the full transcript of his
remarks below:
[*] 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)
TRUMP: 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)
TRUMP: 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)
TRUMP: 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)
