First inauguration of Donald Trump

The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States happened on January 20, 2017. This event marked the start of Trump’s time as president and Mike Pence as vice president. About 300,000 to 600,000 people gathered at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. for the public ceremony, which was the 58th presidential inauguration.

The swearing-in ceremony took place, with Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts helping Trump take the official oath. Trump placed his left hand on two Bibles—his own and the famous Lincoln Bible—while taking the oath. Before Trump’s oath, Pence also took the oath to become vice president, with Associate Justice Clarence Thomas helping him.

At the time, Trump was the oldest person to become president, at 70 years and 220 days old. Later, Joe Biden became older when he took office, but Trump was the oldest again when he was inaugurated for a second time in 2025. The inauguration was part of many events held in Washington, D.C., from January 17 to 21, including concerts, a parade, inaugural balls, and a congressional luncheon. Some people around the world protested these events.

Context

The inauguration was the official end of Donald Trump's presidential transition, which started after he was elected on November 9, 2016. Trump and his running mate Mike Pence were chosen by the Electoral College on December 19, 2016. Their victory was certified by counting the electoral vote during a meeting of both parts of Congress on January 6, 2017.

Planning

The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States was planned by two main groups: the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and the 2017 Presidential Inaugural Committee. The election happened on November 8, 2016, but planning started earlier.

The Joint Congressional Committee chose the theme “Uniquely American” to show the special tradition of peaceful change in leadership. They planned the swearing-in ceremony and a special lunch for the new president and vice president.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee organized other events like concerts, a parade, balls, and a prayer service. They raised a lot of money for these events, more than any previous inauguration. Some of the money went to charity, while the rest paid for planning and holding the events.

Pre-inaugural events

On January 17, 2017, then-President-elect Donald Trump arrived in Washington, D.C., for a special dinner called the "Chairman's Global Dinner." This event brought together foreign diplomats and officials who would work with the new Trump administration. Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence spoke to the guests.

A public concert called "Voices of the People" took place on January 19 at the Lincoln Memorial. Many school groups, bands, and performers shared their talents.

Later that day, Trump and Pence attended a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, where they honored those who had served their country.

That evening, Trump held a concert called the "Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration" at the Lincoln Memorial. Famous musicians performed, and Trump spoke to his supporters.

On the morning of January 20, Trump and his family attended a church service at St. John's Episcopal Church, a tradition for presidents on their inauguration day. Afterward, they met with outgoing President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House before heading to the Capitol for the inauguration ceremony.

Inaugural events

The ceremony took place at the West Front of the Capitol building. Many important past presidents and their families attended, including Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The weather was cloudy with a temperature of 48 °F (9 °C).

Mike Pence was sworn in as vice president by Justice Clarence Thomas. Then, Donald Trump took the oath of office to become the 45th president, using two Bibles for the ceremony. After the oath, Trump gave a speech talking about many topics, including promises to bring change to America.

After the ceremony, Trump and his family joined others for a special lunch at the Capitol. Later, they watched a parade featuring many bands, military groups, and other performers. In the evening, Trump and his wife attended several celebrations called inaugural balls, where they danced and celebrated with guests. The next day, they attended a prayer service at a cathedral with leaders from many different religions.

Crowd size

Before the event, officials expected between 700,000 and 900,000 people to attend. Donald Trump said he thought many people would come, maybe more than ever before.

The National Park Service does not give numbers for how many people attend events at the National Mall. Instead, people look at pictures from above and count how many people used public transport to guess how many were there.

The public transport system in Washington reported that 193,000 people used it before 11 a.m. on the day of Trump’s inauguration, and 570,557 people used it during the whole day. This was less than the usual number for a weekday. A news report noted that many seats along the parade route were empty.

Experts said that about 160,000 people were on the National Mall an hour before Trump’s speech. One expert thought the total number of people was between 300,000 and 600,000. This was less than the 1.1 million to 1.8 million people who attended Obama's 2009 inauguration, which was a record number and celebrated the first African American president. CNN shared a very detailed panorama of the area.

Protests and demonstrations

Further information: Protests against Donald Trump § Presidential inauguration

Many people wanted to show their feelings about Donald Trump's first day as president. Some groups asked for permission to hold protests, including Bikers for Trump and the Women's March on Washington. The Women's March happened the day after the inauguration and had many participants. People at this march talked about important issues like fairness for all races and genders, and access to healthcare.

During the inauguration, most protesters were peaceful, but a few groups caused trouble by breaking things and being noisy. Some police officers and a few people got hurt, but most of the protests were calm. Many people were arrested, but most of them were later let go or found not guilty in court.

Sixty-seven Democratic U.S. representatives chose not to attend the inauguration because they disagreed with some of Trump's policies and actions.

DeploraBall

DeploraBall was created in early November 2016 by a marketing team to celebrate Donald Trump's election as president. The event was originally planned for January 19, 2017, the night before the inauguration, at a ballroom in Arlington, Virginia. However, the venue changed its mind after selling over 500 tickets, saying they hadn't signed a contract. The event was then moved to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The DeploraBall took place on January 19, 2017, at the National Press Building. It sold out all 1000 tickets. Some planned speakers, like journalist Milo Yiannopoulos, did not attend. The event was broadcast live. A second ball called "Gays for Trump DeploraBall Gala" happened the next evening in Potomac, Maryland, with over 200 people attending. Many other DeploraBall events were held across the United States and in a few other countries around the time of the inauguration.

During the DeploraBall, some people outside the building protested against Donald Trump. There were clashes between protesters and police, who used safety measures to keep everyone safe. Some protesters acted in ways that led to arrests later.

Viewership

Nielsen ratings showed that 30.6 million people in the U.S. watched the inauguration on TV. This was more than the number who watched Obama's second inauguration in 2013, but fewer than those who watched Obama's first inauguration in 2009 or Reagan's first in 1981. Trump's inauguration was also the most streamed Twitter video ever, with over 6.8 million views.

About 16.63 million people watched Trump take the oath of office and give his speech on the three big cable news channels: Fox News Channel, CNN, and MSNBC. For Obama in 2009, this number was higher at 17.06 million, and for 2013 it was lower at 6.73 million. Nielsen data reported that 30.64 million people watched Trump’s inauguration across the 12 networks that broadcast it live.

Source: Adweek

Investigations

Many groups looked into different parts of Donald Trump's first time as president. Some groups checked if there were any wrong things done during the big celebration when he became president. They wanted to see if any rules were broken or if any money came from places it shouldn't have.

One big group, led by a special person named Robert Mueller, looked closely at the money used for the celebration. They talked to many people and asked questions about where the money came from. They found out that some money may have come from people in other countries, which is not allowed.

Another group looked at a man named W. Samuel Patten who helped during the celebration. He said he did some things wrong and told what he knew to help the investigation. These groups worked hard to make sure everything was done fairly and by the rules.