Vowing to put America first, US President Donald Trump Friday said all decisions on trade, taxes, immigration, foreign affairs, will be made to benefit Americans and that American carnage, due to preference of other nations at the cost of Americans’ well being, stops from the first moment of his presidency.
He also told an anxious world at his inaugural ceremony that his administration would seek friendship with other nations and also work with allies to stamp out “radical Islamic terrorism” from the face of the earth.
“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,” Trump told a gathering of his supporters, Washingtonians, and Republican and Democratic leaders.
With Melania Trump on his side, Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on the steps of Capitol Hill overlooking the National Mall.
“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,” he said, at the ceremony attended by his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, predecessor Barack Obama, former president George W Bush and their spouses, as well as by Senate and House leaders.
On the issue of terrorism, he made a clear break with the Barack Obama Administration’s characterization of the issue. The Obama administration avoided linking any religion to the menace of terror. Many Muslim leaders throughout the 2016 election campaign had criticized the use of such terms as ‘Islamic terrorism.’
“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,” said Trump.
The Republican president has retained at least 51 senior officials including national security and defense officials from the Obama Administration like the top counter terrorism official, and officials spearheading the fight against ISIS – signaling some continuity of policies with regard to security issues at in the first few months of his presidency.
Trump, who rode to a stunning victory against Hillary Clinton on the promise of bringing jobs to Americans in the former manufacturing hubs and inner cities, assured his supporters that he would implement his campaign vows to make America safe and great again.
While Trump attended a series of inauguration ceremonies and festivities, dozens of rights groups and organizations held demonstrations to protest his statements on the 2016 campaign trail.
His remarks clearly signaled that America would no longer follow globalism as practiced in the previous decades by both Democratic and Republican administrations since the early 1990s.
“The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.
“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.”
Continuing, he said, from now on all policies will be governed by the fundamental principle of safeguarding Americans’ well being.
“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.”
He made it clear that Washington would no longer enrich other nations at the cost of Americans’ betterment.
“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.
Trump said “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.”
The new US president, whose campaign rhetoric was dubbed as divisive, also struck a note of unity, stressing that if Americans are united, they would achieve unparalleled success.
Here are his closing remarks:
“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.”
