Chief Justice Roberts, President
Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans,
and people of the world: thank you.
We, the citizens of America, are now
joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its
promise for all of our people.
Together, we will determine the course
of America and the world for 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.
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 American People.
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.
That all changes - starting right
here, and right now, because this moment is your moment: it belongs to you.
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.
What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but
whether our government is controlled by the people.
January 20th 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the
rulers of this nation again.
The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.
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.
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 the just and reasonable
demands of 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 knowledge; and the crime and gangs and 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.
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.
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 nation's borders
while refusing to defend our own
And spent 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 disappeared over the
horizon.
One by one, the factories shuttered
and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions upon millions
of American workers left behind.
The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then
redistributed across the entire world.
But that is the past. And now we are looking only to the future.
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 moment on, it's going to be
America First.
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. 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.
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.
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.
We will follow two simple rules: Buy American and Hire American.
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 for everyone to follow.
We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones - and unite the civilized world
against Radical Islamic Terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the
face of the Earth.
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.
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.
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 are protected by God.
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.
The time for empty talk is over.
Now arrives the hour of action.
Do not let anyone tell you 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 our souls, lift our sights, and heal our
divisions.
It is 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, we
all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American
Flag.
And whether a child is born in the
urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the
same night sky, they fill their heart with the same dreams, and they are
infused with the breath of life by the same almighty Creator.
So to all Americans, in every
city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, and from
ocean to ocean, hear these words:
You will never be ignored again.
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. Thank you, God Bless You, And God Bless America.
