First words as president
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"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."- Article II, Section 1, United States Constitution
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The inaugural addressThe custom of delivering an address on Inauguration Day started when George Washington read a speech in the Senate chamber after taking his oath on April 30, 1789.Every president since Washington has delivered an inaugural address.
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“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”- Abraham Lincoln, 1865
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In the words of a witnessReuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason wrote a witness piece about covering President Obama's first inauguration in January 2009.
The day started early. Journalists gathered near the Obamas' temporary quarters at 7:15 a.m. for a security sweep and then watched as family members left the house on their way to an early service at St John's Church.
When the future president came out with his wife, he helped her into the waiting limo before walking to his side to get in.
Beneath the stained glass windows of the Episcopal church, Joel Hunter, one of the pastors who spoke, exhorted people sitting near Obama to reach out and touch his arm or shoulder as part of a physical blessing.
I bet the Secret Service loved that.
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If you want to look back, you can read full transcripts of previous inaugural addresses here and see more archive photos here.If you want to get up to date on President-elect Trump's inauguration, join Reuters live politics coverage here.
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Assad blocks access to Damascus for EU envoys: diplomats
BRUSSELS Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has revoked special visas for European Union diplomats and officials traveling regularly between Beirut and Damascus, complicating efforts to distribute aid to civil war victims, three senior EU diplomats said.