Donald Trump took power as the 45th president of the United States on Friday and pledged to end the “American carnage” of social and economic woes in an inaugural address that was a populist and nationalist rallying cry.
Sketching a bleak vision of a country he said was ravaged by rusted-out factories, crime, gangs and drugs, Trump indirectly blamed his predecessors in the White House for policies that helped Washington at the expense of struggling families.
“From this moment on, it’s going to be America First,” the Republican told thousands of people gathered on the grounds of the National Mall as he took over the presidency from Democrat Barack Obama.
Away from the ceremony, masked activists protesting against Trump ran through the streets smashing windows at a McDonald’s restaurant, a Starbucks coffee shop and a steakhouse several blocks from the White House. They carried black anarchist flags and signs that said, “Join the resistance, fight back now.”
Aerial pictures of the crowds of Trump supporters on the Mall showed a much smaller turnout at midday on Friday than that in comparable photos from Obama’s first inauguration in 2009. Estimates of Friday’s crowd size were not immediately available from police.
In his short speech, Trump accused the Washington establishment of protecting itself but abandoning regular citizens who have suffered from poverty and crime.
“This American carnage stops right here and stops right now,” he said. “Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families,” he said.
Trump, 70, takes over a country divided after a savage election campaign.
The dark vision of America he often paints is belied by statistics showing low levels of unemployment and crime nationally, although Trump won many votes in parts of the nation where manufacturing industry has been badly hit.
A wealthy New York businessman and former reality TV star who has never held public office, Trump will set the country on a new, uncertain path at home and abroad.
Reuters
