Donald Trump Becomes President Amid Celebration, Chaos
Donald John Trump took the oath of office as the nation’s 45th president at noon Friday amid joyous roars of support, a 21-gun salute and eruptions of chaos throughout the city, including the removal of a half-dozen protesters who tried to disrupt the swearing-in ceremony.
“The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer,” the 70-year-old New Yorker said in a short speech echoing the populist message that defined his campaign. “From this day forward, it’s only going to be America first, America first.”
Less than two miles from where Trump, former Presidents Obama George W. Bush and Bill Clinton joined hundreds of elected officials at the west front of the U.S. Capitol, anarchists armed with crowbars and hammers marched through the city’s streets, toppling over news boxes, smashing bus stop windows, spray-painting buildings and, in one case, bashing in the windows of a black limousine.
The acts of violence prompted helmeted police to chase the protesters with batons, hose them with pepper spray and fire flash bangs into their ranks. Three D.C. police officers were injured as the sound of explosions and sirens filled the cool air in the hour leading up to the inauguration – marking the most intense confrontations in a morning during which protesters had successfully shut down at least a few checkpoints.
The inauguration of the Republican real estate mogul capped a campaign that galvanized millions of Americans who were eager to embrace a Washington outsider willing to say, or tweet, whatever is on his mind. Trump — who has never before held elected office — was jubilant Friday morning before attending a service at St. John’s Episcopal Church and sharing tea with the Obamas at the White House.
And legions of his supporters were on hand to embrace their new president.
Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric has angered and offended millions of Americans others, making him the most unpopular incoming president in at least four decades. Friday, the stark national divide was on full display as Trump supporters and detractors began coming face to face on the National Mall, around the White House and throughout downtown D.C.
The protest continued until a large group of inauguration goers — many dressed in suits and dress clothes — tried to push through the human barricade. People starting falling to the ground and swearing until police officers helped create a lane for the attendees to pass through.
Law enforcement was prepared to contend with more than 60 demonstration groups that planned to gather in the District, including DisruptJ20, which expected at least 30,000 participants. The activists’ website promised “a series of massive direct actions that will shut down the Inauguration ceremonies and any related celebrations.”
The region’s normally packed Washington-bound Metro trains were mostly empty early Friday. In a yellow line car headed south, two groups of four wearing Trump gear — beanies saying “Trump America’s 45th president” and American flag scarves — sat ebulliently at the end.
Source: The Washington Post
