Donald Trump sworn in as 45th US president

Will eradicate Islamic terrorism from the face of the world: Trump

Pledging to put America first, US President Donald Trump told an anxious world at his inaugural ceremony that his administration would seek friendship with other nations and work with allies to destroy “radical Islamic terrorism” from the face of the earth.

“We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilised world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth,” he declared.

Donald Trump, the 70-year-old Republican billionaire became the 45^th President of the United States of America on Friday, after he placed his left hand on a bible used by Abraham Lincoln and recited the 35-word oath spoken since George Washington.

“We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and restore its promise for all of our people,” Trump told a crowd of hundreds of thousands massed on the National Mall.

“Together we will determine the course of America, and the world, for many, many years to come,” he said.

“From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first.”

Trump’s inauguration caps the improbable rise to power of the Manhattan real estate mogul, who had never before held elected office, served in the government or the armed forces.

A crowd of hundreds of thousands looked on, including outgoing president Barack Obama and Trump’s defeated election opponent Hillary Clinton, who narrowly missed out on becoming America’s first female president.

“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 said.

“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 description of the issue. The Obama Administration had resisted and opposed linking any religion to the menace of terror. Many Muslim leaders throughout the 2016 election campaign had criticised the use of such terms as ‘Islamic terrorism’.

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 — signalling 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 organisations held demonstrations to protest his statements on the 2016 campaign trail.

His remarks clearly signaled that America would no longer follow globalism as practised 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.”

“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.”

“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.

Meteoric political rise

When Trump descended the escalators of his glitzy New York tower in June 2015, his run for office was dismissed and even mocked.

His staff, many shunned by friends for supporting a man who has been labelled a racist and bigot by his critics, will become power players in the White House.

In the primaries, Trump dominated a crowded Republican presidential field with smash-mouth rhetoric and star power. He rode that same wave of anti-elite sentiment to victory over Clinton in the November election.

For Trump’s critics, there was disbelief that a man who 19 months ago hosted “The Apprentice” is now leader of the free world.

Time-honoured traditions

At 70 years of age, Trump is the oldest man ever to begin work in the Oval Office.

He has vowed to tear up Obama’s policies and re-examine decades-old alliances with Europe and in Asia. Beginning Friday, his team plans a rolling series of daily executive orders to roll back Obama’s agenda.

His inauguration was notably more sparsely attended than that of Obama in 2009 and 2013.

Inaugural addresses — from Lincoln to John F Kennedy — echo across American history. Phrases like “malice towards none” and “ask not what your country can do for you” have been carved into the vernacular.

Trump aides promised an address that is at once short — at around 20 minutes — and philosophical.

Earlier in the day, Trump had traced the steps of many presidents past, attending a prayer service at St John’s Church before heading to the White House, where he was greeted warmly by Obama.

“Mr President-elect, how are you?” Obama asked his successor, after having deposited a letter in the Resolute desk and left the Oval Office for the last time.

After his speech, Trump attended a luncheon inside the Capitol, before heading back to the White House to begin the business of governing.

Vandalism erupts at anti-Trump protest

Police fired gas to disperse protesters after stones were thrown and windows broken in Washington on Friday ahead of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration.

As Trump, his supporters, former presidents and other dignitaries gathered on the National Mall for the swearing-in ceremony, opponents marched in nearby streets and were confronted by a heavy police presence.

Most of the noisy protests — including those by an array of anti-racist, feminist, pro-immigration, anti-war and marijuana legalisation groups – were peaceful.

But in at least one incident, black-clad youths emerged from the crowds to smash windows in a bank and fast food outlet and throw stones, as riot police deployed pepper spray.

Marchers chanted: “No deportation, no KKK, no fascist USA!” A 27-year-old financial worker from Tampa Bay in Florida, who did not want to give his name for fear of retaliation by his employer, said Trump’s election victory had left him fearful.

“There is nothing to hope for except for grassroots efforts to oppose him,” he told AFP.

Public interest lawyer Renee Steinhagen, 61, came down from New York to protest against Trump’s inauguration.

“I’m doing this to express resistance to the change that await us,” she said.

“This administration seems more extreme than any other. This is a simple act of resistance. It’s better than staying at home.”

A few blocks away, Trump’s supporters chanted “USA! USA! USA!” as the president-elect arrived at the Capitol to be sworn in as the 45th US president.