The bipartisan leaders of the 60th Inaugural Committee kicked off the Inauguration Day swearing-in ceremony by highlighting the importance of American democracy as the country is close to celebrating 250 years.
“Our great American experiment, grounded in the rule of law, has endured. So as we inaugurate a new president and vice president, let us remember that the power of those in this room comes from the people,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the committee chair, said in her speech.
Klobuchar spoke at the start of the swearing-in, calling the audience to order before the ceremony began.
The Minnesota Democrat has a prominent role because she chairs the joint committee overseeing preparations for the inauguration.
Her Republican counterpart, Sen. Deb Fischer, who donned a green set as she took to the podium, echoed Klobuchar's sentiment.
“Our democracy promises the American people the power to change, to chart their own destiny,” Fischer said. “That’s the beauty that is the importance of democracy. It allows endurance, the permanence of a nation and never change.”
Trump in his first remarks as the 47th president declared that the “golden age of America begins right now.”
Politics
“From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world,” he said.
Trump marked the fact that his inauguration is occurring on Martin Luther King Jr. Day., saying in his speech that his administration will “strive together to make his dream a reality.”
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“We will make his dream come true,” Trump vowed of the Rev. King.
This is the third time a president has been sworn in on the federal holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also were sworn in for their second terms on the holiday.
The holiday honoring the civil rights leader was established nearly 40 years ago. It is observed on the third Monday of January every year.
The Constitution places Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.
Klobuchar said the coincidence is “a further reminder we must strive to uphold the values in our Constitution.”
