ON POLITICS

President Trump's Inauguration Day: All the highlights

Donovan Slack
USA TODAY

President Trump salutes Hillary. No, really

At a congressional luncheon following his swearing-in as the 45th president of the United States, he joked about whether Democrats would vote to confirm his Cabinet picks, but then urged the crowd to applaud Hillary Clinton — no "crooked" modifier this time.

Protesters clash with police

Shortly before the parade was set to start, protesters clashed with police in one section of the city near the route. Colleagues Kevin Johnson and Heidi Przybyla report:

Police used pepper spray to control the crowd, some of whom were armed with crowbars and hammers, authorities said. About 90 people were arrested in what has been the most violent episode of the day involving protesters and police, who quickly swarmed the group while outfitted in heavy riot gear. 

Read the full story here.

Obama says goodbye

The now-former president and his wife spoke to supporters at Joint Base Andrews before they head off to Palm Springs, Calif., for a respite.

"I've said before and I will say again, that, that when we started on this journey, we did so with an abiding faith in the American people and their ability, our ability to join to together and change the country in ways that wold make life better," he said, adding something of a rejoinder to Trump's speech (more on that below). "That change didn’t happen from the top down," he said, but rather “from the bottom up."

"Our democracy is not the monuments, it’s not the buildings. It’s you," he said."That doesn’t end. This is just a little pit stop. This is not a period, this is a comma in the continuing story."

Peaceful transfer of digital assets

The White House website switched immediately to the new administration.

Screenshot of www.whitehouse.gov shortly after noon on Jan. 20, 2017.

As did the Twitter handle.

Not everything went off without a hitch, though. Apparently, according to the folks over at Slate, the background picture initially posted above was from Obama's 2009 inauguration. That image was quickly switched out for a seemingly generic American flag, which was then swapped out for a picture of Trump.

It's official: President Donald Trump

Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office to President Trump. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas swore in Vice President Pence.

"Together, we will determine the course of America and the world, for many many years to come," Trump said, adding that despite obstacles ahead, "We will get the job done."

He went on to rip Washington elites and said the transfer of power was not just from one administration and one party to another but from Washington to the people.

"The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans," he said.

The newly minted president pledged that "from this day forward, it's going to be only America first, America first ... every decision ... will be made to benefit American workers and American families."

Read the full speech here.

The what?

There was one particular turn of phrase that sparked something of a maelstrom on Twitter. As Trump was describing families trapped in poverty, rusted-out factories, an education system "flushed with cash" but failing students, and crime and gangs and drugs, he backed it up with this line.

“This American carnage stops right here and stops right now," he said.

"American carnage" immediately became a thing.

George W. Bush and a rain poncho

Hillary goes with white, again

Clinton, Trump's election opponent and former secretary of State, chose to wear white to the inauguration ceremony, reminiscent of the suit she wore for her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention and one she wore for the last debate. White was one of the main colors of the suffragette movement.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton arrive prior to the inaugural for Donald Trump on Jan. 20, 2017.

What is Kellyanne wearing?!!

Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway chose to wear, well, we'll just show you.

An enterprising reporter tracked it down, apparently. It's Gucci

Read more from our colleagues in the Life section:

What's red, white and ripped on Twitter? Kellyanne Conway's Inauguration Day outfit

How many people were there?

We didn't immediately get a crowd estimate yet, but the numbers from the Washington, D.C., metro suggest there may have been fewer attendees than the last three inaugurations. Or maybe people walked or took cabs instead ...

Former Obama communications director Dan Pfeiffer seemingly couldn't resist being a little salty.

The Trumps and the Obamas met for tea...

After a morning church service across the street from the White House, Trump and wife Melania headed over to have tea with the Obamas.

Meanwhile, inside the West Wing ...

The pictures had been stripped from the walls, leaving empty frames to be filled by the new administration.

And Obama sent a bunch of farewell tweets before he left.

 

Tweeter in chief

The Donald got an early start on his favorite medium.

Trump’s backstage surprise

Twenty-four-year-old Shane Bouvet is a FedEx courier from Illinois who worked on Trump’s campaign and is wearing a suit purchased by a friend and donated shoes for the inaugural festivities, according to The Washington Post, whose profile of Bouvet prompted Trump to invite him backstage at a dinner event Thursday. What happened next is kind of awesome.

Not the 45th!

Our David Jackson, White House reporter extraordinaire, emails with one of his "pet peeves":

While Donald Trump will be the 45th president, he will be only the 44th person — the 44th male — to actually hold the job.

Recall that President Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms: He won election in 1884, lost in 1888, and won again in 1892 — so he is considered both the 22nd and 24th president.

OK, then.

The ultimate inauguration reading list

• Take a trip down memory lane (or back to history class) with Jackson's rundown of the best and worst inaugural addresses. Paul Singer takes a look at a new interactive from Google that looks at common themes in inaugural addresses.

• Assess Obama's legacy with this detailed tick-tock from Rick Hampson of Jan. 20, 2009, in the hours before Obama became president.

• How the heck does the White House deal with logistics of one president moving out and the next president moving right in? Emily Brown has the details.

• If you're in more of a veep mood, check out Maureen Groppe's coverage of the perks Mike Pence can expect from being second-in-command as well as why he's got the potential to be an unusually influential vice president.

• And, finally, take our quiz to find out how much you know about inauguration history (because obviously everyone remembers which poem Robert Frost recited at JFK's 1961 inauguration, right?).