President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inauguration is expected to draw thousands of protesters to Washington on Jan. 20. Several groups are planning rallies around the National Mall and near the parade route.
“In a normal election cycle, we’ll see four or five First Amendment applications,” said Michael Litterst, a spokesman for the National Park Service. This year, they’ve received at least 20 permit requests.
The New York Times|Sources: National Park Service (protest permit status, inauguration area and route); Facebook event pages (protest locations)
Protest organizers have used Facebook to share information about their plans and to recruit people to join them at the inauguration. Two of the largest protest events, Inaugurate the Resistance and #J20 Resist, have a combined total of about 15,000 Facebook users who have said they will attend.
An event organized by four students, Not My President, has about 20,000 Facebook users who have said they will attend, though the group has not secured a permit.
Supporters of Mr. Trump are planning their own rallies in addition to the official inauguration events. Two motorcycle groups, Let America Hear Us, Roar For Trump! and Bikers for Trump, have secured permits from the National Park Service and are coordinating rides to Washington from around the country.
The Women’s March on Washington, scheduled for Jan. 21, could be the largest inauguration-related demonstration in history even if it falls short of attracting the estimated 200,000 people who are expected to attend.
Hundreds of marches are expected to take place around the world on Saturday in coordination with the Women’s March on Washington.
Other protests are being planned elsewhere around the United States, often in association with groups demonstrating in Washington. Many have been organized by students, unions and socialist groups, including Socialist Alternative and Young Progressives Demanding Action.
Some U.S. Cities Where Protests Are Planned for Jan. 20
Seattle
WASH.
ME.
MONT.
N.H.
Portland
N.D.
MINN.
VT.
ORE.
Boston
NEW
YORK
WIS.
IDAHO
S.D.
MASS.
Minneapolis
CONN.
MICH.
WYO.
R.I.
Stroudsburg
New York
Salt Lake City
IOWA
N.J.
NEB.
PA.
OHIO
Chicago
Philadelphia
Omaha
Columbus
DEL.
Denver
San Francisco
IND.
ILL.
MD.
UTAH
Washington, D.C.
NEV.
COLO.
W. VA.
St. Louis
KAN.
VA.
MO.
Las Vegas
CALIF.
KY.
N.C.
TENN.
Los
Angeles
ARIZ.
Oklahoma
City
OKLA.
N.M.
ARK.
S.C.
ALA.
San
Diego
GA.
Dallas
MISS.
TEXAS
LA.
Houston
Austin
Orlando
New Orleans
ALASKA
FLA.
Miami
HAWAII
The New York Times|Source: Facebook event pages
The largest previous opposition demonstration at a presidential inauguration was in 1973, when an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 anti-war protesters disrupted President Richard M. Nixon’s second inaugural. Simultaneous demonstrations took place in cities around the world, including Paris, Stockholm and Tokyo, according to inauguration historian Jim Bendat.
Anti-war demonstrators march during President Richard M. Nixon’s second inauguration, on Jan. 20, 1973. George Tames/The New York Times
Protesters wait outside the entrance to President George W. Bush’s inauguration parade on Jan. 20, 2005. Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
President George W. Bush is the only other president known to have drawn large-scale protests at an inauguration. In 2001, protest organizers estimated at least 20,000 people demonstrated in opposition to the Supreme Court decision that resulted in Mr. Bush becoming president. "They carried big signs with foul language, hurled eggs at the motorcade, and screamed at the top of their lungs….While I couldn't make out their words, their middle fingers spoke loudly," Mr. Bush wrote in his 2011 memoir, “Decision Points.”
In 2005, opposition to the Iraq War drew more protesters to Washington for Mr. Bush’s second inauguration.
WASHINGTON — Donald John Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States on Friday, ushering in a new era that he vowed would shatter the established order and reverse a national decline that he called “this American carnage.”
In a ceremony that capped a remarkable rise to power, Mr. Trump presented himself as the leader of a populist uprising to restore lost greatness. He outlined a dark vision of an America afflicted by “the ravages” of economic dislocation and foreign exploitation, requiring his can-do approach to turn around.
“I will fight for you with every breath in my body, and I will never, ever let you down,” Mr. Trump told hundreds of thousands of rain-soaked admirers and onlookers in a forceful 16-minute Inaugural Address from the West Front of the Capitol. “America will start winning
again, winning like never before. 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.”
Mr. Trump’s ascension amounted to a hostile takeover of a capital facing its most significant disruption in generations. While officially a Republican, he has taken on leaders of both parties and, with no prior political career of his own, made clear that he saw himself as the ultimate outsider not beholden to the current system.
“We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action, constantly complaining but never doing anything about it,” he said. “The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action. Do not allow anyone to tell you that it cannot be done.”
Mr. Trump’s view of the United States was strikingly grim for an Inaugural Address — a country where mothers and children are “trapped in poverty in our inner cities,” where “rusted-out factories” are “scattered like tombstones across the landscape” and where drugs and crime “have stolen too many lives.”
“This American carnage,” he declared, “stops right here and stops right now.”
He got started right away with rolling back the policies of his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, by issuing orders freezing new regulations from recent weeks and ordering agencies to “ease the burden” of the Affordable Care Act during the transition from repealing to replacing the law. More orders are planned for next week.
Wearing a dark suit and red tie and accompanied by his wife, Melania, in a powder-blue suit and matching gloves, Mr. Trump took the 35-word oath administered by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. precisely at noon. Michael Richard Pence, a former governor and congressman from Indiana, was sworn in minutes before as vice president by Justice Clarence Thomas.
Mr. Trump assumed the presidency of a country still unsettled after a polarizing election and entered office with less support in polls than any other president in recent history. It was clear from the day that there would be no grace period either for or by the new president. The Senate confirmed two cabinet nominations — James N. Mattis as defense secretary and John F. Kelly as secretary of homeland security — but Democrats temporarily held up Mike Pompeo’s confirmation as C.I.A. director.
Throughout the day, there were mostly peaceful protests against the new president. Sporadic violence broke out as demonstrators smashed shop windows and burned a limousine, while police officers in riot helmets responded with tear gas. More than 200 people were arrested. Liberal groups prepared for a women’s march on Saturday that they said could draw hundreds of thousands.
Mr. Trump made only passing efforts to reach out to Democrats beyond thanking Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, for their handling of the transition. “They have been magnificent,” he said in his speech.
He later praised his defeated opponent, Hillary Clinton, at a lobster-and-beef luncheon with congressional leaders, asking her and former President Bill Clinton to stand for applause. “I have a lot of respect for these two people,” he said.Democrats were not impressed. “I was pretty shocked by how dark it was,” Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, said of Mr. Trump’s Inaugural Address. “I love this country, and I don’t understand how a president of the United States that loves his country could paint a picture of its failures.”
He added, “It was interesting sitting up onstage with a bunch of billionaires hearing him say how bad the country was.”
The National Mall was filled with supporters, many wearing “Make America Great Again” hats and chanting “Trump! Trump! Trump!” But the lingering animosity from the presidential campaign was on display, too. When Mrs. Clinton arrived, some in the crowd chanted, “Lock her up,” mimicking Mr. Trump’s campaign rallies. As he took the oath, a cluster of people blew whistles and screamed, “Not my president,” before being escorted out.
While large, the crowds on a soggy day did not rival the energetic throngs at Mr. Obama’s first inauguration eight years ago, according to aerial photographs. The Washington Metrorail system recorded fewer than half as many rides on Friday morning as in 2009, and knots of bystanders along the inaugural parade route were not as thick. In a city that gave just 4 percent of its vote to Mr. Trump, many residents left town and about 60 House Democrats boycotted the event.
Mr. Obama made his exit after the ceremony, flying by helicopter to Joint Base Andrews in the Maryland suburbs, where he thanked former aides and members of his administration before boarding the presidential jet, no longer designated Air Force One, to fly to Palm Springs, Calif., for vacation. He will return to Washington to a rental house while his daughter Sasha finishes high school, the first president to stay in the capital since Woodrow Wilson.
Hours before his departure, Mr. Obama posted on Twitter to thank followers and hint that he would not fade away. “I won’t stop,” he said. “I’ll be right there with you as a citizen, inspired by your voices of truth and justice, good humor, and love.”
Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his wife, Jill, rode an Amtrak train to Delaware and the home they have there. But they, too, planned to return, at least part time, to Washington, where Mrs. Biden teaches at a community college in the Virginia suburbs.
The United States has never seen a president quite like Mr. Trump, the son and grandson of immigrants who grew up to become a real estate magnate, casino owner, beauty pageant operator and reality television star whose tumultuous love life played out in the tabloids.
Never has the oath been administered to a president who had never served either in public office or as a general in the military. At age 70, Mr. Trump became the oldest president sworn in for the first time and the first born in New York since Franklin D. Roosevelt.
He was also one of the wealthiest presidents ever to enter the White House, with far-reaching business connections that have already raised questions about where his interests end and the country’s begin. He arrived in the Oval Office dogged by reports about Russian interference in the election on his behalf.
But Mr. Trump overcame skeptics when he embarked on what seemed like a quixotic bid for the presidency. An Ivy League-educated mogul who lives in a New York tower named after himself with an 80-foot-long living room, he transformed himself into the unlikely leader of a working-class movement anchored in rural areas far removed from the coasts.
His bracing candor, disregard for convention and willingness to offend whole sections of the population to make a point came across as refreshing truth-telling to many Americans disenchanted with Washington elites.
For the nation’s 58th inauguration, though, the untraditional president opted to follow tradition. He and Mrs. Trump, a former model from Slovenia who became the first foreign-born first lady since John Quincy Adams’s wife, Louisa, started the day with a service at St. John’s Episcopal Church adjacent to Lafayette Square, then joined the Obamas, Bidens and Pences for coffee at the White House.
From there, the two presidents shared a limousine to the Capitol, where three other presidents waited: Mr. Clinton, Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush, all of whom opposed Mr. Trump’s election. Former President George Bush remained hospitalized in Houston, recovering from pneumonia, but a spokesman said he watched the ceremony on television.
Mr. Pence, 57, was sworn in at 11:54 a.m., placing his hand on Ronald Reagan’s Bible, which was held by his wife, Karen, as their three adult children, Michael, Charlotte and Audrey, watched.
For his oath, Mr. Trump placed his hand on two Bibles held by his wife, one given him by his mother in 1955 just before his ninth birthday and another used by Abraham Lincoln in 1861 and again by Mr. Obama in 2009 and 2013.
Standing nearby were his adult children from two previous marriages, Donald Jr., Eric, Ivanka and Tiffany. Also there was Barron, his 10-year-old son with the first lady. Joining them was Ivanka’s husband, Jared Kushner, who will serve as an unpaid senior adviser.
As Mr. Trump approached the podium, rain began to fall. It was not a conventionally Republican speech, with nothing about tax cuts or restraining government. Instead, he laid out a protectionist agenda, saying his rule will be “buy American and hire American.” He did pledge to “eradicate from the face of the Earth” Islamic terrorism. Responding to charges that he demonized Mexicans and Muslims, Mr. Trump said, “There is no room for prejudice.”
Mr. Trump said the inauguration was not merely the transfer of power from one president to another. “We are transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people,” he said.
“For too long,” he continued, “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 the wealth.” He added, “That all changes starting right here and right now.”
Apple chief executive Tim Cook, right, and PayPal founder Peter Thiel, center, listen as President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting at Trump Tower in New York on Dec. 14. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)
Donald Trump likes his technology like he likes his decor: stuck in the ’80s.
For all the praise he receives for embracing 21st-century social media, the president-elect seems to understand little about modern technology. And he exhibits even less interest in learning about it.
“I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly,” he babbled last week. “The whole, you know, age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what’s going on. We have speed, we have a lot of other things, but I’m not sure you have the kind of security that you need.”
Ah, yes, that fabled Age of Computer. I believe it dawned when the moon was in the seventh house and Jupiter aligned with Mars.
Three days later, at his New Year’s Eve party, the president-elect doubled down on Luddism while professing to know “a lot about hacking.”
Asked about the role cybersecurity policy will play in his administration, he steered Americans toward bike messengers.
“If you have something really important, write it out and have it delivered by courier, the old-fashioned way, because I’ll tell you what, no computer is safe. I don’t care what they say, no computer is safe,” he said. “I have a boy who’s 10 years old, he can do anything with a computer. You want something to really go without detection, write it out and have it sent by courier.”
Again, this was in response to a question not about how he keeps his tax returns confidential, but about national cybersecurity policy.
This is hardly the first time Trump has expressed distrust of newfangled technological gizmos.
“I don’t do the email thing,” Trump said in a 2007 deposition.
“I’m not an email person myself,” Trump echoed during that infamous July news conference in which he invited Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s email. “I don’t believe in it because I think it can be hacked, for one thing.”
And at a February rally: “I go to court and they say, ‘Produce your emails.’ I say I don’t have any.”
His email abstention is not merely about information security or limiting his legal liability, however. He sends snail-mail messages even when he expects them to be widely disseminated, as any journalist who’s received one of his gold-Sharpied nastygrams can attest.
The President-elect shares his New Year "love" with those who fought him and "lost so badly". But who is in his firing line?
Image Caption:Donald Trump will take the reins on 20 January
Donald Trump has wished his "enemies" a Happy New Year in a barbed tweet posted just weeks before he takes office in the White House.
In the gloating New Year's Eve message, the President-elect wrote: "Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies.
"Those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don't know what to do. Love!"
It comes in the same week Mr Trump repeated his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him a "very smart" man for not retaliating against the expulsion of 35 suspected spies from the US.
America's future leader has a reputation for drawing a clear line between friends and foes and has had no shortage of spats with his opponents in 2016 - including several public rows on Twitter in his election year.
As well as stirring up tensions with the likes of China and Iran, his domestic political rivals, Hollywood A-listers and prominent US media figures have also been in the firing line.
Before the presidential nomination, Mr Trump branded some of his Republican adversaries as "horrible liars" and "not smart".
They included South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, but the hatchet appeared to have been buried when both emerged as contenders for senior roles.
During a highly divisive campaign, Mr Trump chose the nicknames "Lyin' Ted" and "Crooked Hillary" to describe political opponents Hillary Clinton and rival Republican Ted Cruz.
Image Caption:Mr Trump and Mr Romney went from foes to friends as he was considered for a top role
President Barack Obama has also been a target - the tycoon accused his administration of actively supporting the Islamist group that later became known as Islamic State.
Following last week's UN Security Council call for an end to Israeli settlements, Mr Trump again voiced his support for Israel while criticising the Palestinian Authority for "refusing to stop the terror".
Also on the President-elect's list of geopolitical enemies is Iran, whose international nuclear agreement Mr Trump opposes.
Tensions between the US and China have escalated since Mr Trump's victory, with the President-elect suggesting he is willing to abandon the "One China" policy which guides Washington's position on Taiwan.
Image Caption:Alec Baldwin's Saturday Night Live sketch mocked Mr Trump's social media feed
Relations have been strained with Mexico, too, since he threatened to build a wall on the country's border with the US.
Figures from world of entertainment and media have also been in the firing line.
Mr Trump has been vocal over his dislike for most broadcasters, naming NBC's Brian Williams, ABC's Barbara Walters and Fox News contributor Michelle Malkin among others.
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Video:Barack Obama's last New Year message
But it's in Hollywood - where many former Presidents found their strongest platform of support - that Mr Trump has encountered some of the greatest hostility.
Robert De Niro threatened to "punch him in the face" in the run-up to the election - but changed his mind when it was clear he had won the keys to the White House.
Jerry Seinfeld called Mr Trump "God's gift to comedy, while Alec Baldwin's satirical portrayal of the future President on Saturday Night Live has prompted a prolonged social media feud.
Mr Trump will be sworn in as 45th President of the United States on 20 Jan
t is the final stretch of a brash,
improbable campaign. Donald Trump is rolling through Florida's campaign
stops; places like St Augustine, Tampa, Sanford, Tallahassee. It is a
state he must win if he is to have a chance of claiming the White House.
His
voice is a little weaker but he draws energy from large fired-up crowds
who break into chants of "USA! USA!" In St Augustine, people were
queuing from 10:00 for a 15:00 speech.
As the Trump team bounces
from campaign stop to campaign stop, sweeping along cleared highways
escorted by outriders, some advisers accept that crowd sizes don't
necessarily translate into votes. And yet they wonder at the 12,000
(their figure) who turned out on Monday night in Tampa for a candidate
some have written off.
Whether Trump goes down to defeat, he has
built a formidable following. There can be a dangerous edge to the
passion of his supporters.
He speaks with the help of a prompter but he rarely sticks to his text.
To his supporters his refusal to be scripted, to stick to the customs
and niceties of political debate is a mark of his authenticity.
His core message remains; that a corrupt elite is running America for
its own interests while the little guy is left behind, sacrificed on
the altar of globalisation.
One Republican insider said that if
Trump had just stuck to his economic pitch it might have been a
different race but, to a degree, he has run against himself, his thin
skin, his flaws and his sense of grievance.
Despite Trump's
comments about women and the string of accusers who have come forward
with allegations of sexual assault, they appear to have had little
impact among his crowds, among his believers. He has - at least among
his own supporters - defused a dangerous issue by promising to sue his
accusers.
Instead, he focuses on what he calls the lies of
"crooked Hillary Clinton". On Monday night, he declared "she lies more
than any other human being". His crowds relish it, interspersing cries
of "lock her up!" with boos at the mere mention of her name. If she
wins, many in the country will doubt her legitimacy.
Trump's base, his core support, is holding up. His believers are
impervious to revelations. They believe in a great conspiracy: that
powerful corporations, wealthy donors and the media are taking the
country from them. They may not understand this web of power but it
rings true to them.
In St Augustine, Trump turned on the media
depicting them as "these thieves and crooks… the media, they're almost
as crooked as Hillary. Without the media she would be nothing... They're
disgraceful." At that point a section of the crowd turns towards us on
the media platform shaking fists of rage.
The undercurrent at the
rallies is Americanism, of America first. The crowds are praised for
their patriotism. You won't find chants of "USA! USA!' at Clinton
rallies, they are told.
For a candidate behind in the polls one
constant muse is Brexit. Trump often talks about it. It offers hope that
somewhere out there among the rolling hills of the Republic there are
hidden pools of voters, too shy to acknowledge they are Trumpeteers,
much like the Leave campaign found during the referendum campaign in the
UK.
n the patient lines standing in the Florida sun waiting for access to the amphitheatres there is a willingness to talk.
Time
and again I asked whether the election could be rigged as Donald Trump
has suggested. Many believed it. Fewer said they would not accept the
result if it went against them but some were ready to resist.
One
man told me the situation was "scary". For months audiences have been
told, "Don't let the establishment elites steal the election". There are
many people pumped up, primed to contest an election that may go
against them.
It is easy inside the bubble of the Trump campaign
to forget the mountain he has to climb to secure the electoral college
votes to win. His campaign has unleashed something powerful, something
suppressed, something pent up: a deep longing for an America his
supporters fear has been taken from them.
The maths of the
electoral college suggest Hillary Clinton is going to win but Trump's
crowds, undeterred by polls, makes one pause in a season of political
upset.
n the patient lines standing in the Florida sun waiting for access to the amphitheatres there is a willingness to talk.
Time
and again I asked whether the election could be rigged as Donald Trump
has suggested. Many believed it. Fewer said they would not accept the
result if it went against them but some were ready to resist.
One
man told me the situation was "scary". For months audiences have been
told, "Don't let the establishment elites steal the election". There are
many people pumped up, primed to contest an election that may go
against them.
It is easy inside the bubble of the Trump campaign
to forget the mountain he has to climb to secure the electoral college
votes to win. His campaign has unleashed something powerful, something
suppressed, something pent up: a deep longing for an America his
supporters fear has been taken from them.
The maths of the
electoral college suggest Hillary Clinton is going to win but Trump's
crowds, undeterred by polls, makes one pause in a season of political
upset.
n the patient lines standing in the Florida sun waiting for access to the amphitheatres there is a willingness to talk.
Time
and again I asked whether the election could be rigged as Donald Trump
has suggested. Many believed it. Fewer said they would not accept the
result if it went against them but some were ready to resist.
One
man told me the situation was "scary". For months audiences have been
told, "Don't let the establishment elites steal the election". There are
many people pumped up, primed to contest an election that may go
against them.
It is easy inside the bubble of the Trump campaign
to forget the mountain he has to climb to secure the electoral college
votes to win. His campaign has unleashed something powerful, something
suppressed, something pent up: a deep longing for an America his
supporters fear has been taken from them.
The maths of the
electoral college suggest Hillary Clinton is going to win but Trump's
crowds, undeterred by polls, makes one pause in a season of political
upset.
