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INAUGURATION
East Oregonian
Saturday, January 21, 2017
TRUMP: Promises to ‘completely eradicate’ Islamic terrorism
Continued from 1A
govern our land. From this
moment on, it’s going to be
America first.”
Eager to demonstrate his
readiness to take actions,
Trump went directly to the
Oval Office Friday night,
before the inaugural balls,
and signed his first executive
order as president — on
“Obamacare.”
The order notes that
Trump intends to seek the
“prompt repeal” of the
law. But in the meantime,
it allows the Health and
Human Services Department
or other federal agencies
to delay implementing any
piece of the law that might
impose a “fiscal burden” on
states, health care providers,
families or individuals.
“This is a movement
and now the work begins,”
Trump told supporters,
before dancing with his wife,
Melania, to Frank Sinatra’s
“My Way” at the first of
three inaugural balls. “We
love you. We’re going to be
working for you and we’re
going to produce results.”
Trump
also
signed
commissions
for
two
former generals confirmed
to Cabinet posts earlier by
the Senate: James Mattis as
secretary of defense and John
Kelly to head the Department
of Homeland Security. Vice
President Mike Pence swore
them in soon after.
Mattis struck a different
tone from his new boss in his
first statement to his depart-
ment: “Recognizing that
no nation is secure without
friends, we will work with
the State Department to
strengthen our alliances.”
At the inauguration, the
crowd that spread out before
Trump on the National Mall
was notably smaller than at
past inaugurals, reflecting
both the divisiveness of last
year’s campaign and the
unpopularity of the incoming
president
compared
to
modern predecessors.
After the swearing-in,
demonstrations unfolded in
the streets of Washington.
Police in riot gear deployed
pepper spray after protesters
smashed the windows of
downtown
businesses,
denouncing capitalism and
the new president.
Police reported more than
200 arrests by evening and
said six officers had been
hurt. At least one vehicle was
set afire.
Short
and
pointed,
Trump’s 16-minute address
in the heart of Washington
was a blistering rebuke of
many who listened from
privileged seats only feet
away. Surrounded by men
and women who have long
Rob Carr/Pool Photo via AP
From left, first lady Melania Trump, Karen Pence, President Donald Trump, Vice Pres-
ident Mike Pence, former president Barack Obama, former vice president Joe Biden,
Michelle Obama and Jill Biden stand on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Friday in
Washington after Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
AP Photo
This pair of photos shows a view of the crowd on the
National Mall at the inaugurations of President Barack
Obama, above, on Jan. 20, 2009, and President Donald
Trump, below, on Friday. Both were shot shortly before
noon from the top of the Washington Monument.
AP Photo/John Minchillo
President-elect Donald Trump arrives on the West Front of the Capitol in Washington,
Friday for his presidential inauguration.
Supporters of Donald Trump gather on the National
Mall during the inauguration of President-elect Donald
Trump, Friday in Washington.
filled the government’s
corridors of power, the new
president said that for too
long, “a small group in our
nation’s capital has reaped
the rewards of government
while the people have borne
the cost.”
His predecessor, Obama,
sat stoically as Trump
pledged to push the country
in a dramatically different
direction.
Trump’s victory gives
Republicans control of
both the White House and
Congress — and all but
ensures conservatives can
quickly pick up a seat on
the closely divided Supreme
Court. Despite entering a time
of Republican dominance,
Trump made little mention
of the party’s bedrock prin-
ciples: small government,
social conservativism and
robust American leadership
around the world.
to a 9-year low.
Yet Trump’s victory
underscored that for many
Americans, the recovery
from the Great Recession
has come slowly or not at
all. His campaign tapped
into seething anger in
working class communities,
particularly in the Midwest,
that have watched factories
shuttered and the certainty
of a middle class life wiped
away.
Randy Showalter, a
36-year-old diesel mechanic
and father of five from
Mount Solon, Virginia, said
he felt inspired as he stood
and listened to Trump’s
speech.
“I feel like there’s an
American pride that I’ve
never felt, honestly, in my
life,” said Showalter, who
donned Trump’s signature
“Make America
Great
Again” red hat.
Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP
He left no doubt he
considers himself the product
of a movement — not a party.
Trump declared his
moment a fulfillment of his
campaign pledge to take
a sledgehammer to Wash-
ington’s traditional ways,
and he spoke directly to the
alienated and disaffected.
“What truly matters is
not which party controls our
government, but whether our
government is controlled by
the people,” he said. “To all
Americans in every city near
and far, small and large from
mountain to mountain, from
ocean to ocean, hear these
words: You will never be
ignored again.”
But the speech offered
scant outreach to the millions
who did not line up behind
his candidacy.
Trump’s call for restric-
tive immigration measures,
religious
screening
of
immigrants and his caustic
campaign rhetoric about
women and minorities
angered millions. He did not
directly address that opposi-
tion, instead offering a call
to “speak our minds openly,
debate our disagreements
honestly, but always pursue
solidarity.”
While Trump did not detail
policy proposals Friday, he
did set a high bar for his pres-
idency. The speech was full
of the onetime showman’s
lofty promises to bring back
jobs, “completely” eradicate
Islamic terrorism, and build
new roads, bridges and
airports.
Despite Trump’s ominous
portrait of America, he
is taking the helm of a
growing economy. Jobs
have increased for a record
75 straight months, and the
unemployment rate was 4.7
percent in December, close
At 70, Trump is the oldest
person to be sworn in as
president, marking a gener-
ational step backward after
two terms for Obama, one
of the youngest presidents to
serve as commander in chief.
In a show of solidarity,
all of the living American
presidents attended the inau-
gural, except for 92-year-old
George H.W. Bush, who
was hospitalized this week
with pneumonia. His wife,
Barbara, was also in the
hospital after falling ill.
But more than 60 House
Democrats
refused
to
attend Trump’s swearing-in
ceremony in the shadow
of the Capitol dome. One
Democrat who did sit among
the dignitaries was Hillary
Clinton, Trump’s vanquished
campaign rival who was
widely expected by both
parties to be the one taking
the oath of office.
Melee nears parade as police, protesters clash
WASHINGTON
(AP)
— Protesters registered
their rage against the new
president Friday in a chaotic
confrontation with police
who used pepper spray and
stun grenades in a melee just
blocks from Donald Trump’s
inaugural parade. At least
217 people were arrested
for rioting while a burning
limousine sent clouds of
black smoke into the sky
during Trump’s procession.
Several spirited demon-
strations unfolded peacefully
at various security check-
points near the Capitol as
police helped ticket-holders
get through to the inaugural
ceremony. Signs read, “Resist
Trump Climate Justice Now,”
‘’Let Freedom Ring” and
“Free Palestine.”
But about a mile from the
National Mall, police gave
chase to a group of about
100 protesters who smashed
the windows of downtown
businesses including a Star-
bucks, a Bank of America
and a McDonald’s as they
denounced capitalism and
Trump. Police in riot gear
used pepper spray from large
canisters and eventually
cordoned off protesters at
12th and L streets in north-
west Washington.
“They began to destroy
property, throw objects at
people, through windows.
A large percentage of this
small group was armed with
crowbars and hammers,” said
the city’s interim police chief,
Peter Newsham.
Six officers suffered minor
injuries, he said.
AP Photo/John Minchillo
A parked limousine burns during a demonstration after
the inauguration of President Donald Trump, Friday, in
Washington. Protesters registered their rage against
the new president Friday in a chaotic confrontation
with police who used pepper spray and stun grenades
in a melee just blocks from Donald Trump’s inaugural
parade route.
AP Photo/John Minchillo
Police fire pepper spray at protesters during a demonstration in downtown
Washington, Friday, after the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
The confrontation began
an hour before Trump took
the oath of office and esca-
lated several hours later as the
crowd of protesters swelled
to more than 1,000, some
wearing gas masks and with
arms chained together inside
PVC pipe. One said the
demonstrators were “bringing
in the cavalry.”
When some crossed police
lines, taunting, “Put the pigs
in the ground,” police charged
with batons and pepper spray,
as well as stun grenades,
which are used to shock and
disperse crowds. Loud booms
echoed through the streets
about six blocks from where
Trump would soon hold his
inaugural parade.
Some protesters picked
up bricks and concrete from
the sidewalk and hurled them
at police lines. Some rolled
large, metal trash cans at
police.
The
limousine
was
attacked on the perimeter of
the secured zone. As Trump
and his parade of celebrants
moved along Pennsylvania
Avenue, the vehicle was
ablaze, tainting the air for
blocks and sending protesters
and passers-by moving
swiftly away.
As night fell, young
protesters ignited a large
bonfire blocks from the
White House in McPherson
Square. They carried signs
like “Hail to the Thief” and
hung an upside-down Amer-
ican flag as women in gowns
and men in tuxedos passed
by, presumably en route to
one of the inaugural balls.
Police said protesters
damaged vehicles, destroyed
property and set small fires
while armed with crowbars
and hammers. All 217 people
arrested were charged with
rioting, said Newsham,
noting that the group caused
“significant damage” along a
number of blocks.
Before Inauguration Day,
the DisruptJ20 coalition,
named after the date of the
inauguration, had promised
that people participating in its
actions in Washington would
attempt to shut down the
celebrations, risking arrest
when necessary.
Trump supporter Brett
Ecker said the protesters were
frustrating but weren’t going
to put a damper on his day.
“They’re just here to
stir up trouble,” said the
36-year-old public school
teacher. “It upsets me a little
bit that people choose to do
this, but yet again, it’s one of
the things I love about this
country.”
At
one
checkpoint,
protesters wore orange
jumpsuits with black hoods
over their faces to represent
prisoners in U.S. detention
at Guantanamo Bay. Eleanor
Goldfield,
who
helped
organize the DisruptJ20
protest,
said
protesters
wanted to show Trump and
his “misguided, misinformed
or just plain dangerous”
supporters that they won’t be
silent.
Black Lives Matter and
feminist groups also made
their voices heard. Outside the
International Spy Museum,
protesters in Russian hats
ridiculed Trump’s praise of
President Vladimir Putin,
marching with signs calling
Trump “Putin’s Puppet” and
“Kremlin employee of the
month.”
Friday’s protests spread
across the nation.
In San Francisco, thou-
sands formed a human chain
on the Golden Gate Bridge
and chanted “Love Trumps
hate.” In the city’s financial
district, a few hundred
protesters blocked traffic
outside an office building
partly owned by Trump.