It's official: Reality TV star, real estate magnate, and Republican businessman Donald Trump is now the 45th President of the United States.
It was a classy ceremony at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. attended by thousands of observers clad in 'Make America Great Again' hats. Trump, wearing his signature red tie, took an oath of allegiance to the American people, and vowed to put the power of the White House back in the hands of voters across the political spectrum.
"Washington prospered, but the people did not share in its wealth... the establishment protected itself... their trials have not been your trials," he said. "January 20, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again."
The statement was met with thunderous applause from his fans.
Some observers were alarmed that just minutes after Trump's inauguration, the White House climate change website was taken offline and replaced by an "America First Energy Plan" site that pledges to "take advantage of the estimated $50 trillion in untapped shale, oil, and natural gas reserves" on government-owned land.
Also, even though Trump emphatically said America will be "protected by God", one of the first things his new administration announced was a plan to develop a "state of the art" missile defense system to protect against attacks from Iran and North Korea.
Inauguration met with protest
Yet despite great support and enthusiasm at the ceremony, only hours before the inauguration, support for the newly-minted president polled at a record low 40 per cent approval rate. Outgoing president Barack Obama, comparably, came in at 78 per cent. Needless to say, Trump is one of the most controversial presidents to ever take office in the U.S.
Outside the ceremony, police held the line as protesters flooded in the streets, shouting a wide variety of anti-Trump slogans. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton appeared at the inauguration wearing white for women's suffrage, and will lead the Women's March on Washington to protest Trump's presidency. Police fired tear gas at demonstrators, forcing many to disperse.
Trump pledged from this day forward to put "America first" in everything from trade, to taxes, to international relations.
"I will fight for you with every breath in my body and I will never, ever let you down," he said. "Americans 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."
But the team Trump has picked to deliver these promises has already sparked incredible controversy. His choice for education secretary, Betsy DeVos, caused a stir earlier this week after she defended the idea of guns in schools to protect children from grizzly bear attacks. His labour secretary pick, Andrew Puzder, is CEO of Hardee's and Carl's Jr., has been known to be a fierce critic of minimum wage increases. Puzder is also known to oppose legislation that makes more workers eligible for getting overtime pay.
At the very least, it appears as though Trump tried to keep his tweets controversy-free in the hours before his inauguration. He focused on thanking people rather than taking shots at "haters and losers" who opposed his victory:
He'll soon be tweeting from his new @POTUS account, featuring a header photo of Obama's 2009 inauguration in the background. The account remains unused for the time being.
Here's what voters are saying on Twitter
Throughout the ceremony, voters disappointed with the election results took to social media to express their frustration. Here are some of the highlights.
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