Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 45th president of the United States of America, taking the reins of a nation that remains starkly divided over both his personal aptitude for the job and the sweeping changes he has promised to drive through.
On a historic day in Washington DC the property tycoon and former reality television star took the oath of office just before noon outside the US Capitol and in front of a crowd of hundreds of thousands of jubilant supporters gathered on the National Mall despite a forecast of rain.
Among the political figures in attendance were four of the five living former presidents. The fifth, George Bush Sr, is recovering from pneumonia in hospital in Houston. Also present was Hillary Clinton, Mr Trump’s vanquished Democratic rival who won the popular vote by 2.8 million but lost the electoral college because of the Republican’s stunning success among disillusioned blue-collar white voters in the rust belt states of the Midwest.
At 70 years of age President Trump’s accession makes him the oldest new occupant of the White House as well as the first man to hold the post without experience of either elected or military office. He comes to the role after the most rancorous US election campaign in living memory, a contest between two candidates that the majority of American people neither liked nor trusted.
Mr Trump begins his tenure saddled with the lowest approval ratings for any incoming president since records began: a consequence of festering resentment over his shock election victory in November, a string of controversial if unconfirmed cabinet appointments, and his own searing social media attacks against critics and the media at large that have continued unabated since his triumph.
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However, he also takes control of the White House with advantages that his predecessor, Barack Obama, lacked for most of his eight-year tenure: a friendly Congress, an opposition party in disarray and a Supreme Court that is likely to be tilted in his favour by his nomination to fill the vacant position left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last February.
Mr Trump awoke this morning in Blair House, the official guest house opposite the White House where every president-elect since Jimmy Carter has spent the night before the inauguration.
True to form he was up early and in touch with the world via Twitter, writing at about 7.30am local time: “It all begins today! I will see you at 11:00 A.M. for the swearing-in. THE MOVEMENT CONTINUES — THE WORK BEGINS!”
Reince Priebus, the incoming White House chief of staff, arrived at the guest house just after 8am. Mr Trump’s former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway and communications aide Hope Hicks were also seen arriving.
At some point during the morning or before Mr Trump will have undergone a solemn rite of passage: the classified briefing given to every incoming president that explains how he can order a nuclear attack. The timing and location of the briefing was not confirmed but several past presidents have said that they received it at Blair House in the hours before their inauguration.
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Mr Trump’s first engagement of the day was a morning prayer service at St John’s Episcopal Church, one block away. Mr Trump arrived dressed in a dark suit and red tie, accompanied by his wife, Melania, in a powder blue ensemble, and his family.
From there the couple were driven to the White House, arriving shortly before 9.45am, where they presented Barack and Michelle Obama with a large box in the distinctive robin’s egg blue packaging of the jeweller Tiffany & Co.
After about an hour the 44th president and his successor emerged in thick coats, deep in conversation and walking slowly towards “The Beast”, the armoured car in which they travelled together through the streets of Washington to the Capitol, the home of Congress.
Ahead of them, Mrs Obama rode in a limousine with Mrs Trump, while Vice-President Joe Biden was accompanied by the incoming deputy Mike Pence.
The streets of the US capital were lined with military as the cavalcade made its way across the city, passing the Trump Hotel on its way.
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Checkpoints around the National Mall opened early to begin admitting guests, some of whom wore red “Make America Great Again” baseball caps. Long umbrellas, selfie sticks and coolers for drinks were all banned.
Thousands of anti-Trump protesters have also descended on Washington, some of whom smashed windows, damaged buildings and fought with police and Trump supporters overnight.
Huge crowds are expected for the Women’s March on Washington tomorrow, with similar protests planned across the United States and around the world.
