Donald J. Trump made his first speech as President of the United States on Friday morning, speaking for less than 20 minutes. The speech focused on how Trump hopes to turn a crumbling, crime-ridden America great again.
“We are transferring power from Washington D.C. and giving it back to you, the people,” Trump said toward the beginning of his address.
He talked about the many ways that America is failing, mentioning “mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities,” “infrastructure in disrepair and decay,” “factories shuttered,” and the “crime, and the gangs and the drugs” that have robbed our country of potential.
He then promised to fix all that: “I will fight for you with every breath in my body, and I will never, never let you down.”
“From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first. America first,” he said. He promised to protect America from the “ravages of other countries” and to “eradicate Islamic terrorism from the face of the earth.”
He stayed on message of love for country, saying, “When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice,” and, “Whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots.”
Trump referenced religion several times in the speech, saying America would be protected by God above all, and quoting the Bible.
He ended on a familiar note. “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.”
It was much shorter than Trump’s usual speeches (his acceptance speech for the presidency was over an hour long), but fits in with the tradition of inaugural addresses being short and sweet.