What Happened?

On Friday, Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of United States. Here are some of the highlights from the ceremony:

Swearing-In

At noon on Jan. 20, Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Trump was joined on the platform of the U.S. Capitol Building by his wife Melania Trump, his five children and Vice President Mike Pence. Four former presidents — Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter — also joined them on the platform.

Inaugural Address

The 16-minute inaugural address touched on key promises Trump made throughout his campaign, including uniting against Islamic terrorism, strengthening relationships with other countries, creating new jobs, defending U.S. borders, repairing infrastructure and dethroning the Washington D.C. elite.  

Crowd Size

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer spoke at a press briefing following the ceremony, in response to various news reports that compared photos of the crowd at Obama’s 2009 inauguration to Trump’s, which was noticeably smaller. Spicer called the media “shameful” for “attempting to lessen the enthusiasm of the inauguration.” He stated that it was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, “both in person and around the globe.” According to Snopes, a political fact-checking website, there is no reliable data to back up this claim.

A final count has not yet been determined; however, Keith Still, professor at Manchester Metropolitan University in England, estimated that the crowd size was one-third the size of Obama’s using aerial photographs, according to Snopes.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority reported 570,557 Metro rides on Jan. 20, which fell significantly short of the 1.1 million rides that took place during Obama’s first inauguration in 2009 and the 782,000 that were recorded during his second inauguration in 2013.

Ratings

The Nielsen Company, an information, data and measurement company, reported that 31 million people tuned in to watch the presidential inauguration on Friday on television. Ronald Reagan’s 1981 inauguration still holds the record for most viewers at 41 million and Obama’s 2009 inauguration is second with 37 million.

On Monday, a poll from Gallup, a research-based performance management company, released Trump’s first approval ratings, which at 45 percent, are the lowest ever recorded for a new president.

Executive Actions

During his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order to decrease penalties established by the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, pending congressional repeal of the program, according to CBS News.

Trump also signed an order to suspend a program that would cut fees on Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance, which would help middle-class homebuyers purchase houses. The program was supposed to begin on Jan. 27 and was going to save homebuyers who borrowed at least $200,000, approximately $500 on their annual insurance premiums, according to CBS.

On Tuesday, Trump issued an executive order to revive the Dakota Access Pipeline construction, a controversial project which attracted strong opposition due to its potential to contaminate major drinking water sources in North Dakota. The project was suspended by Obama in December.

White House website

Changes to the White House website following Trump’s inauguration have captured widespread media attention, when the sections on climate change, LGBTQ rights and the Spanish translation option disappeared and were replaced by a “Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community” section.