sure sounds like our next horizon. sure sounds like our country, and it sure sounds like donald trump. our president has surmounted formidable challenges. he has been often underestimated. but it never let it stop him from succeeding. we wish him similar success as he turns to the charge of governing. he will face many challenges, but we have been challenged before and emerged stronger. we live in changing times, but that some things ensure. we celebrate one today. this inauguration is a remainder of our common story as americans. on this

most uniquely american of occasions, i ask you to stand and join me in raising a glass. mr president, may you find every success in the years ahead. the union unite our country behind a common vision and renew the promise that makes our country so great. thank you very much. i did not think

anybody wants to hear me speaking anybody wants to hear me speaking any more today, so i will cut it short. we have so many of the cabinet members here. and also the generals who will keep is so safe. these are central casting and if i was making a film, he would be in it. we had a very interesting talk. he thinks we are doing great and the cabinet level, but we will do just fine. there is something that i did wa nt to fine. there is something that i did want to see. i was very honoured when i heard that president clinton and hillary condon were coming today. i thought that was

tremendous. i would like you to stand up —— clinton. applause. honestly, there is nothing more i can see because i have a lot of respect for these two people, so thank you for being here. you brought us many years of peace and prosperity and we will be working very ha rd to prosperity and we will be working very hard to emulate that. we are all living together and want the same thing. whether you are a republican or democrat, it does not make any difference. again, thank you very much, it is a great honour

and you have done a job. there are spectacularjob. thank you very much, everybody. applause. two quick final things. please remain standing. one, we need to mention the guests of this event. there are some low carbs and a beautiful box put together. they represent all three branches of government. they were done by an

artist friend of mine, brent fisher. there is also some fantastic woodcraft in there. again, that is also a beautiful bit of glass. let us pray. the chaplain addressing members ahead of the session. the president singling out hillary clinton and her husband. very gracious words. and the consolatory zero for the people who did not

support him during the course of the election. he said they both want america to be strong and fit and fear all good. more consolatory beer at the lunch than he was in his inaugural address. they will begin the parade up to the white house. currently, appear being said. they will be moving from capitol hill, to the white house. what is a lake on the white house. what is a lake on the streets? i have been stuck up here all day. what is the mint like? it is one of the country in

transition. on the journey here, it is one of the country in transition. on thejourney here, i saw dozens of protesters. not the violent protesters, just people holding placards. one person holding up holding placards. one person holding upa sign holding placards. one person holding up a sign saying bring back christian values. what we are seeing is two very different sides of america know coming together and president trump says he wants to bring the country together, but speaking to some of the people who did not vote for him, they do not feel that. what was the size of the code? i believe it was around 550,000. there is no confirmation of that. it was a lot smaller than we might have anticipated. definitely much more than it was for the last

couple of inaugurations. yes, certainly we were standing halfway down. last year, we could got get nowhere near that. it was not as coded as it had been. what do we expect no. the inaugural parade will be happening very shortly. that is the bit where the pomp and ceremony of the inauguration. it is the first situation clearly president and the first lady sometimes get out of the carand first lady sometimes get out of the car and have a walkabout. there is some speculation that he may casually get out at his own hotel, which isjust casually get out at his own hotel, which is just up the road from the white house. they are going along the just over my shoulder. there's a

little bit of rain, which may dampen things a bit. the president said it will be shorter than the historical parade, which will be about 90 minutes. it is shrunk down, as opposed to the four hours that obama heard. —— heard. it looks as if they are looking at to leave no. things seem to be a bit behind schedule. there is the family. they willjoin the parade. there are high school brands, military bands. it is a big pageantry park of any inauguration

ceremony. president trump and his wife will arrive at the white house andy sit behind a viewing stand, behind bullet—proof commerce, it should be said. it is believed that president trump does not like hanging about tools, which is maybe why they have cut down the length of this parade. after the inaugural address, paul was the mood amongst his supporters? it was a sense of relief, in many ways. all of the supporters said we told you so. we said he would win. i supported him from the start, even when he was a candidate in the primary elections. there was definitely a feeling that

the time had come. i should also say that i did see a lot of protesters in the code. there was a sense behind us and we told them to be quiet, but by the end of it, we had become friends. we have also seen inside capitol hill, we have seen these fancy lunch, but outside, we have seen some very violent protests. we' re real have seen some very violent protests. we're real use to peaceful protests. we're real use to peaceful protests at the inauguration, but this is something we have never really seen before. it looked very much like an organised violence provoked protest. many of the protesters wearing balaclavas to

hide theirfaces. they protesters wearing balaclavas to hide their faces. they were running away from the police. you do not see that very often. exactly. i did see something from a former official of the last administration saying that the last administration saying that the protesters who were violently are ruining it for the people who wa nted are ruining it for the people who wanted to protest peacefully. there are many people who want to make their voice heard, but to do it peacefully. they want to have a discussion. but some people see the need to get violent to get noticed. we can go to know of the people who has been protesting, but peacefully. why did you come to washington?”

actually live in the city. i was so protesting because a lot of us see the threat that the incoming administration poses to our community. i was protesting with a coalition of immigrants and we need to stand together to build our communities and resistance over the next four years. what do you think of the pictures of violent protests taking place? i think we have overwhelmingly seen peaceful protests. it is important to know that there are thousands of people in the streets marching, rallying, chanting and singing who are not taking part in any violent action. that is the people you should be talking about. they are building a resista nce talking about. they are building a resistance to the policies which this administration is going to put

in place. you would not necessarily protest the violent protesters. you do not think they are helping the situation. people are angry. people are angry both at the result of the election and seeing how so many people voted for another candidate but the electoral college system in this country gave the election to president trump. they are angry about what has already happened. we have seen an increase in heat came, came againstjewish communities, immigrant communities and african—american communities. people are taking action in dramatic ways. but i think it is important to

recognise the fundamental wire anger permeating this country. every change of power, this happens. it is pa rt change of power, this happens. it is part of the american system of government. there is a new party that takes over and somebody has lost the election. do you feel this is different from normal transition of power? i do think it's different the reason is because president trump one has election on a platform of white supremacy. he talked about banning all muslims from our country, he wants to deport millions of people from our country, people who have made their home here. many of them are pillars of the community and he wants to tear it. do you think he will do that once he comes in to government do you think that

was just campaign rhetoric?” in to government do you think that wasjust campaign rhetoric? i have no to believe he will not. i would like to think it was just rhetoric, the people will not be deported, but there is no reason to not believe him at his word. thank you very much for joining him at his word. thank you very much forjoining me. him at his word. thank you very much for joining me. ethan, him at his word. thank you very much forjoining me. ethan, who has been protesting, peacefully, i note. we are seeing pictures of hillary clinton in her car. president trump very graciously singled her out at the dinner and asked the code to give her a standing ovation. it has been a difficult day for her. this cannot after the bruising

election campaign she was too and the fact she did win the popular vote by 3 million, this has not been an easy day for her but she turned up an easy day for her but she turned up and got a president from —— present from president trump. we can now listen to the inauguration speech from president trump earlier today. for many decades, we've enriched foreign industry at the expense of american industry. subsidised the armies of other countries, while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military. we've defended other nations‘ borders while refusing to defend our own. applause and spent trillions

and trillions of dollars overseas while america's infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay. we've made other countries rich while the wealth, strength and confidence of our country has dissipated over the horizon. one by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions and millions of american workers that were left behind. the wealth of our middle—class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed all across the world. but that is the past. and now, we're looking only to the future. applause

we assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power. from this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. it's going to be only america first. america first. applause we are awaiting for president trump to leave congress and head towards the inaugural parade. we are looking at pictures though. the

congressional lunch that he posted with members of congress from both parties has just finished. with members of congress from both parties hasjust finished. you can see pictures of some of the bands who are lining up ready for the inaugural parade. this is a bbc news special on the day that president trump takes office. our correspondent anthony zurcher joins me from our washington studio. president trump, we just played a few moments ago has inaugural address, what do you think we are the highlights of what type of policies he is going to enact straightaway? it was a very

confrontational address. we wondered the third was going to be a call for unity, which was predicted. it was more a call to arms. he was saying we need to rally the troops and go up we need to rally the troops and go up against the established elite. already, we are seeing some indications. he has already released some statements and put some things on the web page. that tells us he will look to roll back the policies on the environment of the previous president, for instance. perhaps increasing the amount of drilling on federal land. also, ifjohn immigration. this famous wall on the mexican border, allocating funds to help the construction of that. also,

further funds to law enforcement. finally, talk about the missile defence system, improving the system to protect against potential attacks from iran or north korea. i have also hear of the subsidised ridges fee in housing loans. that is something that obama did very late in his term. they are looking to draw things like that obama has stunned in the last few years. a lot of the things he has done in the last few years when we have not had the power to put legislation through, a lot of the stuff was put through, a lot of the stuff was put through by obama by executive order

and much of that may be rescinded. he needs to get the support of people in the senate and the house of representatives, but he has the advantage because the republicans control both, but what hurdles could he face? that is one of the big questions. what was this an italian establishment rhetoric all about? is he going to go nose to nose with congress? it is very much the establishment, traditional republicans. or is he saying about giving poor to the people, covering fire that will allow congress to advance their agenda. these are very early on that they want to rescind obamacare although

early on that they want to rescind obamaca re although there early on that they want to rescind obamacare although there has not been a lot of talk about what it would be replaced with. there is talk about rolling back serious other regulations. but they have to pass both chambers of congress and the still love to get us democrats, who have a0 votes in the senate. that means the democrats can block quite a lot unless the republicans find a way to jog round that. he will have do in list some sort of bipartisan ground in order to flourish. president trump it is about to leave congress and embark ona about to leave congress and embark on a parade. tellers about the significance about this parade. there is a lot of pageantry involved. president trump will

symbolically make the journey to his new home, white house. that is often high school bands, military bands. we will be watching people from across the country in that parade. thank you forjoining me. stay with me forfurther coverage thank you forjoining me. stay with me for further coverage of the presidential inauguration. you are watching bbc news. we can now catch up with the latest weather. it has been a beautiful day in the uk. this is not farfrom the snowdonia hills. but although the sunshine has been more abundant today, there have been areas stuck under the clouds still. this is southern scotland, east lothian. but the cloud is creeping northwards. dry for most of us, but colder than it has been this week.

it is —a and —5 quite widely overnight. potentially freezing fog for scotland, northern ireland and eastern england. kuwait ‘s person frost for many places. scotland will enjoy the sunshine tomorrow. there will be subtle changes through the day tomorrow, but for most of us, it is dry with a good deal of sunshine. hopefully, more for scotland and northern ireland. also western parts of northern england. the main changes tomorrow coming in from the north sea. after very little sunshine in the south all week, it looks much betterfor the likes of glasgow and edinburgh. in the north—east, but weather front

pushes through bringing through the odd drop of rain. possible the odds that of snow in the pennines. not quite as sunny as it has been in many parts of the country. tomorrow night, clearly called once again. maybe not quite such a widespread frost, thanks to the cloud. on balance, sunday looking not quite as bright as tomorrow. the odd spot of sunshine, but the site pleasure with is to the beginning of next week. —— her a pleasure. you are watching a bbc news special, on the day that donald trump became

president trump. we can bring you live pictures of president trump and vice president mike pence, as they stand on the steps of the us capitol, and there is a line of military, and military guard, there as well. donald trump has already taken part in a congressional lunch. that is now finished and what you can see now are marching bands, as donald trump will eventually, along with his wife melania, the new first lady of the united states, make their way to take part in the inaugural parade. i think we are slightly off with the times of things are slightly delayed from what they were expected to be. certainly earlier events were. you can see president trump and his wife melania trump watching the military bands as they march past. and you

can hear the military bands playing there. this is all part of the inauguration tradition. and this section now, donald trump being sworn in as the a5th president of the united states, and this is all about celebrating that now with the inaugural parade. the inaugural parade will effectively take him to his new home at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. we will let you hear a little bit of the parade... there are more than 8000 people from a0 different organisations taking pa rt a0 different organisations taking part in the parade this afternoon. including members of the military

from texas, kansas, kentucky, virginia, ohio, florida, allacross america. of course donald trump is now their commander—in—chief. he ta kes now their commander—in—chief. he takes on the very important role of heading up the us military, as well as of course being the president of the united states. so there we have the united states. so there we have the president, their first lady, of course the commander in chief as well, then we also have vice president mike pence and his wife, and as you can see their this is all pa rt and as you can see their this is all part of the tradition of the inauguration. we can cross now to demetri sevastopoulo, the financial times' washington bureau chief. thank you very much forjoining us, demetri, and can you tell us how you would assess donald trump's

inaugural address, that of course we saw a couple of hours ago? well, ahead of this address some of his aides said he had studied the address as president really —— president kennedy and president reagan had given, so some thought he would speak about bringing the country together, but instead what we got was a slightly more refined version of a campaign speech donald trump gave over and over again over the past year and a half. he spoke about america being destroyed by other countries, the wealth of the country being stripped away and sent to other nations, he spoke about the politicians in washington lining their own pockets and not doing anything for the people of the country. essentially it was a very in—your—face speech. president carter, president clinton, barack obama were in the audience, george w bush, and he repudiated a lot of the things they have stood for over the yea rs. things they have stood for over the years. it was quite an aggressive speech. i would see the difference was it was a little more refined

than the language we are used to from donald trump. demetri, in that address he spoke about bringing power back to the people and taking it away from washington. of course that was something we heard a lot in his campaign, how he wanted to drain the swamp. but of course donald trump now becomes part of that swamp in many ways? he does, and i think one of the interesting things is if you look at the cabinet he is building now and some of the top advisors he has hired in the white house and elsewhere, he has done two things. he has put a strong emphasis on the military, picking several generals, including james mathis, a retired general to head the pentagon. retired generaljohn kelly, and retired general michael flynn who will be his national security adviser, but beyond that he has basically gone to business titans and former wall street executives. he has five people who have worked for goldman sachs in his

inner circle, so i think he is basically gambling that the american people who voted for him will be happy for him to bring in wealthy people, kind of plutocrats, as long as they are not from washington. demetri, you see the people who voted for him, but of course he did not win the popular vote, and there area not win the popular vote, and there are a lot of people who did not vote for him. how can he reach out to them? the first chance he had to reach out to them was today, in the address that he gave, and i think he missed an opportunity. he clearly decided he was going to speak very directly to the people who sent him to the white house and less to the people who were concerned about the rhetoric he has employed over the last year and a half. we did not see really a ny last year and a half. we did not see really any sign of an olive branch to those people who did not vote for him, andi to those people who did not vote for him, and i think, you know, his words today were interesting, but really what counts is the action that comes out of the white house and his different government

departments over the next weeks and months, and whether he does things that will reach out to all americans, or whether he will focus ona americans, or whether he will focus on a more narrow set of interests. demetri, do stay with us, but i am just taking our viewers back to the pictures we are watching, donald trump and first lady melania trump, so trump and first lady melania trump, so the president and the first lady have just entered the presidential car, known as the beast. that means they are on their way to the inaugural parade. if you are just joining us here on bbc world news, you're watching live pictures of president trump and first lady melania trump as they are about to embark upon and inaugural tradition, the inaugural parade. and that is the inaugural parade. and that is the car, the beast, as it is known. inafew

the car, the beast, as it is known. in a few moment it will move on. it is just leaving the us capitol. as we can see, through the glass, the first lady, malign neal trotman. —— first lady, malign neal trotman. —— first lady, malign neal trotman. —— first lady, melania trump. this is pa rt first lady, melania trump. this is part of the pomp and ceremony of a presidential inauguration, isn't it? it is, and today is all about pomp and ceremony will stop with the exception of the inaugural speech it is about dinner, lunches, tonight there will be an array of balls n'gala dinners, and many people have flown in for that. it is generally a day of celebration for those who wa nt to day of celebration for those who want to donald trump to enter the white house —— balls and gala dinners. we have seen protests, the majority of which have been peaceful, but some did - a bit gfiére phi“ with the trump presidency,

forward, with the trump presidency, or do you think this is something just happening because we are on the first day of his presidency and he has just been sworn into office? first day of his presidency and he hasjust been sworn into office?” suspect a large part of this is it is the first day of his presidency, people have a large marked in washington, the women's march, protesting donald trump again. but i suspect during the course of his presidency as he does things that antagonise certain parts of the population you will see these things p0p up population you will see these things pop up over and over again. actually some of the protests you mentioned arejust one some of the protests you mentioned are just one block from our office andi are just one block from our office and i was outside about 30 minutes ago there, and it was people shouting and screaming and saying, our right to protest, this is what democracy is, we do not like donald trump comedy is a funky of vladimir putin, but for the most part it has been relatively peaceful —— donald trump, he is a flunky of vladimir putin. i would say it has generally been boisterous rather than aggressive. you mentioned there will

bea aggressive. you mentioned there will be a huge march you're in washington, dc tomorrow. can you tell our viewers a bit about it, women's march on washington? yes, basically a large number of women, but there will obviously be men there as well, who have decided to make a point to express their opposition to donald trump, to some of the aggressive rhetoric he used towards women, towards minorities, whether hispanics or muslims, during the campaign, and send a message that whilst he may be the president there is a large part of the country that wants him to act in a different way than he has shown himself to do over the last year and a half, and they are making a big statement, and one of the interesting things we need to look ahead to see whether it continues over the next few months and years, as to whether this grows into a larger protest movement or not. ok, well, thank you so much for joining us, demetri sevastopoulo, from the washington financial times

bureau. thank you forjoining us on bbc world news. you are looking at the shots of the parade route donald trump and melania trump will be embarking upon. you can see the presidential car, the beast, and he will make the journey from the us capitol where he was sworn in as president, to his home, 1600 pennsylvania, the white house. i'm joined now by laura trevelyan, who's at the us capitol. she is actually along the parade route at freedom plaza. can you tell us route at freedom plaza. can you tell us what it is like where you are? yes, iam us what it is like where you are? yes, i am here at the other end of the route from you and, as you can see, the crowds are here. not as many people as were here... i was here in 2013 for barack obama's second inauguration, and not quite as many people here as there were for that one, but nevertheless many

loyal donald trump supporters. you can see the hotel he owns in the shot. he will go right past that hotel, that controversial hotel of course, where he has been accused of having a conflict of interests, but he will donate profits from the hotel to the federal government, his way of getting around that one, but a divided america very much on display as people await the inaugural parade, both protesters and very loyal supporters of donald trump. one of those is with me now, jerry gibbons from texas. thank you for being with us here on the bbc. can you tell me, what are you most hoping for from donald trump's presidency?” what are you most hoping for from donald trump's presidency? i am hoping for change. i am hoping donald trump's presidency? i am hoping for change. lam hoping he backs up his word and does what he says he will do and brings change and calls out both sides. i have beena and calls out both sides. i have been a republican all my life but i am hoping he calls them out, brings term limits, like he said in his speech, it is time to clean house. i hope he brings the change he is

saying. we need fair trade and we need jobs back in america.” saying. we need fair trade and we need jobs back in america. i know you worked in the car repair trade, you worked in the car repair trade, you and the parking lot. is that an industry you feel was badly affected by trade? i mean, with the auto repair shop by trade? i mean, with the auto repairshop and by trade? i mean, with the auto repair shop and the car sales, car sales were down tremendously over the last several years. i mean, with a drop since 2008, it affected us, probably down about 30%, we were, over the last three years. that is why we sold out. with all the regulations and the epa and the repairs and everything, itjust changed tremendously, and it is not making it business friendly but making it business friendly but making it business friendly but making it really hard on the small business owner. you mentioned the epa, the environmental protection agency, so epa, the environmental protection agency, so donald trump is promising to get rid of unnecessary regulations on business. that could have helped you, you feel, perhaps stay in business? i do. i believe a lot of regulations put on small

business are on fire. we cannot compete with the big boys when they do that. we still need a clean environment —— are unfair. but we cannot be killing the small business like a lot of the policies have been over the last several years. we can see this divided america behind us. we chatted about how there are both trump supporters and protesters here. he did not do much in his inaugural address to reach out to the other side, did inaugural address to reach out to the otherside, did he? inaugural address to reach out to the other side, did he? no, you didn't, but he has reached out tremendously over the last few weeks, i feel. tremendously over the last few weeks, ifeel. i tremendously over the last few weeks, i feel. i feel it is time for us weeks, i feel. i feel it is time for us to all come together and just back our president. steve harvey here, recently with a meeting with him,| here, recently with a meeting with him, i believe it is time we come together and i think trump believes that as well. he is calling on both sides, even in his inauguration speech, he said it is time to clean house, both sides. he didn'tjust point to obama... he has pointed out everybody, and it is time he brings

change to america. but he is coming in with very low approval ratings, somewhere around a0%. do you like the way he uses twitter to communicate, or do you think maybe he should lay off it for a bit now he should lay off it for a bit now he is president? it is a tough question, but these are the same polls that said he was losing as well. it is one of these things, i do not know if i totally believe that polls that are out there. but the twitter feed, do you think it is presidential? i like it but i don't think it is presidential. laughter that is a contradiction! fair i like it but i think he should hold off a little bit because it is time as i would like to see, but i like it. a great way to communicate with the american people and a lot of the time you cannot get everything through the news —— and a lot of the time you cannot get everything through the news -- yes, i like it. i do not know if he will

or not. i love reading it. it is like a train wreck... so not necessarily a great presidential thing, but i enjoy it! you enjoy it, 0k. thing, but i enjoy it! you enjoy it, ok. behind us, behind that clock tower, that is donald trump's hotel, his critics see an example of this conflict of interests. should he be president and have money going into that hotel, even though he says he will give profits to the federal government? are you worried he says he wants to drain the swamp, and yet you he is still a businessman in office? i think it is great we have a businessmen in office who will confront some of the changes. he doesn't have to do a blind trust or separate himself. it is in the federal law that he does not have to separate himself as much as he has done. i think he has done more than enough. he has done more than enough to separate himself, putting his sons in charge, and knowing him that would be hard for a man who built his business to step away. i think what he has done is more than enough. 0k, what he has done is more than enough. ok, now, this was a very bruising campaign, wasn't it? both

sides left feeling like it was pretty vicious. how do you want to see donald, bring the country together now? what does he need to do? that is a tough question. i don't know what will need to be done at this point. i think even after obama took office eight years ago it was a tough time for healing. we did not want to see that at that point. and the country is more divided as trump is coming in. i think over the la st trump is coming in. i think over the last eight years the country has become more divided than it has ever beenin become more divided than it has ever been in my years on this planet. didn't donald trump contributor that with a pretty divisive campaign in which he called out immigrants and all the rest of it? i think... i mean he reached out to a lot of immigrants. ithink mean he reached out to a lot of immigrants. i think he is being called racist when he is not racist. he is pointing out what needs to happen in this country and has a good vision there. i do want to see, though, can reach out to the other side, because we're all in this together. he called out republicans as much as he called out democrats.

he needs to keep reaching out to both sides when it is wrong on either side, call it out. and i like... you know. i know you like that bit, but do you worry that he might pursue a protectionist agenda in office and in trying to protect americanjobs actually in office and in trying to protect american jobs actually put up barriers that are bad for america's economy? right now we have... i mean, trade deals in place that are hurting the country. we have never had a businessman run this country the way i am hoping that he does. i am hoping the changes bringing in, and we are already seeing for it and all these other companies come back and say... i think a lot of those deals were made before. but a lot of them said were happening... you know, because of the 35% tax. a lot of people are saying it is not him but i think a lot of his policies point to the fact that it is him. i

think it is unfair to say... you know, i think a lot of those jobs would have moved out of the country, i really do. tell me, what does it mean to you to be here right now? we can see the lights are on there, the police sirens, the parade is beginning shortly, it will come past us. beginning shortly, it will come past us. what does it mean to you to witness this? it is history in the making. whenl witness this? it is history in the making. when i heard on the radio earlier today from george washington and the first few presidents, saying the peaceful transfer of power from one president to another, and just seeing a peaceful transfer of power from obama to trump, the people voting, and you know what, he knows in four years if his ideas don't work, you will be voted out. i am for trump 100% but you know what, it is the accountability that is there. the american people will hold him accountable if things do not happen andi accountable if things do not happen and i hope he brings america together in that aspect, because i

wa nt together in that aspect, because i want another four years. that is me. jerry gibbons from texas, thank you s0 jerry gibbons from texas, thank you so much. they arejust jerry gibbons from texas, thank you so much. they are just speaking jerry gibbons from texas, thank you so much. they arejust speaking over us so much. they arejust speaking over us here so we will leave it. that was jerry us here so we will leave it. that wasjerry gibbons us here so we will leave it. that was jerry gibbons from us here so we will leave it. that wasjerry gibbons from texas, one of many trump supporters here, so thrilled to see their president sworn in and excited for the parade. back to you. thank you, laura. laura, we are looking now at pictures of the beast as it makes its way up from where we are, actually... we can see it looking down on the street, as it makes its way up from the capitol building, and it is escorted by what is known as and it is escorted by what is known as the presidential escort, and military formation that escorts the president all the way down. past presidents in inaugural parades have sometimes got out of their cars, haven't they? they absolutely have to. it has been the tradition that

pretty much a roundabout where i am, at the opposite end of the route before they turn right and get to the white house, theirfinal destination, absolutely, ba rack obama and michelle obama have walked a block or so. george w bush did the same, and right behind me, rajini, is donald trump's hotel, where he is leasing the building, so i wonder, being the type of showman he is, i wonder whether he may get out in front of that hotel, but of course security is always a big concern and thatis security is always a big concern and that is why most of the ride sees the president inside his vehicle. but the crowds are all here, rajini, and they desperately want to see their president, that is why they are here. and donald trump being the exhibitionist showman he is i would not be at all surprised if we did

see him get out, yes. laura, just tell us what the crowds are like where you are. at this end i am looking down at a viewing stand that is not completely full, but are there in large —— either large crowds where you are on pennsylvania avenue? i would say they are less than they were, i would say, for barack obama's than they were, i would say, for ba rack obama's second than they were, i would say, for barack obama's second inauguration in 2013, and it seems to me anecdotally the crowds are a bit thinner than they were then, but certainly the stands are filling up. earlier on they were empty and we we re earlier on they were empty and we were told by the organisers that although it was arranged seating they were going to then open up the stands so the public could get up there, because they had not filled up there, because they had not filled up at that moment so, yes, it is a healthy looking crowd where i am, for sure, but as you were reporting earlier, rajini, there are many protesters. the divided america is on display, and this is even before tomorrow's mass women's march,

expected like others throughout the country. there are protesters as well supporters, and when i was lined up to go through security they seemed at that point to be evenly divided. now you can see far more trump supporters and protesters, but definitely all of the divisions after this bruising election campaign are on display right here. 0k, campaign are on display right here. ok, laura, we are looking at pictures now of the people lining up for the parade. it certainly looks like large crowds lining the streets down along pennsylvania avenue there, and we can see president donald trump and first lady melania trump, making the way with the presidential escort along from the capitol building, towards the white house, which of course will be donald trump's new home. you can see

the military lining the streets as well. the parade begins officially at the corner of fourth st and tinsel vinnie avenue. when it gets to the white house itself —— and pennsylvania avenue. when it gets there, the president and the first lady were actually watch the parade from a viewing stand outside the white house. there is going to be more than 8000 people from over a0 different organisations, marching bands, school bands, university bands, school bands, university bands, military veterans, serving members of the military, who will all take part in that inaugural parade. watching pictures, if you arejust parade. watching pictures, if you are just joining parade. watching pictures, if you arejustjoining us on the bbc, of president donald trump travelling in

the beast. his high security car, that is. with the presidential escort along washington, dc on the day he was sworn into office. he is now the a5th president of the united states of america. i'm joined now by laura trevelyan, who's at the us capitol. she is at freedom plaza which is on the parade route. laura? rajini, yes, thank you. here we are, this historic day, donald trump has been sworn in as president. i think he was perhaps as surprised as anyone when he won in november. i was there that night at his election headquarters. at the beginning of the night his supporters thought it would be a wake. by the end of the night they were ecstatic, their dream had been realised. this now is the culmination of the dream. behind me you the culmination of the dream. behind me you can see the culmination of the dream. behind me you can see the cavalcade, you

can see the police presence. that means can see the police presence. that means that donald trump has started the inaugural parade, he is coming down here, coming down pennsylvania avenue, past the hotel that bears his name, the hotel he is leasing from the federal government. a hotel which indeed has been controversial. his critics have said it shows he is in breach of himself well he is president but he has pointed out profits from that hotel will go to the federal government, but that is the federal government, but that is the man, that is donald trump. you can see behind me the crowds of his loyal supporters who are turning out to see him, but also protesters are here as well. this is a divided country, after this incredibly bruising election campaign. both supporters and those who are against donald trump are here. but by the very nature of this inaugural parade, you can see it is a different washington. there are 8000 members of this parade and there is definitely an emphasis on a connection to the military. there are many members of the military who

are many members of the military who are taking part in this parade. donald trump spoke in the campaign about the need to rebuild the military, the need for america's vetera ns to military, the need for america's veterans to be looked after more. you are also seeing much more representation from rural america in the groups taking part in this parade. under barack obama, there we re parade. under barack obama, there were a lot of marching bands, a lot of civic groups from america's cities, and now you're seeing what donald trump has referred to as the forgotten america, those small rural towns, much more representation for those groups in this parade. so it really is a changing of the guard in more ways than one that you are seeing. the america represented by barack obama, the cities, the liberals, and america much more of minorities, i mean, this crowd here right now is very weight compared to the crowd i have seen a previous inaugurations. i was here in 2013

for barack obama's inauguration now at this crowd is much less diverse —— this crowd here right now is very white. this is very much blue—collar america. people i've been speaking to in the crowd today, some are very concerned about the divide within america. some, even very loyaltrump voters i have been speaking to today, they were disappointed by the fa ct today, they were disappointed by the fact that the president did not reach out more in his address to those who voted against him, because after a ll those who voted against him, because after all he did lose the popular vote to hillary clinton by nearly 3 million, but also amongst people here today i have been speaking to in the crowd there is a real yearning sense, hope that donald trump will bring back and america they feel has gone, and america where you can have a decent manufacturing job, where you would know what your wages would be, where you could leave school at 16 and have a life ahead of you that was stable, and it is also just fascinating to see, from those who

are here achieving donald trump today on this inaugural parade, how they hope that vision of a small—town america, a cosy america, and america where traditional values, marriage, the church, that these things will come to play centre stage more. so this is really a historic day. donald trump there, the a5th president of the united states, and you can hear speaking of me the announcer. he is mentioning that we have the cavalcade, being led by the police on their motorbikes, and donaldj trump himself will be at the head of that parade shortly. he will be making his way down pennsylvania avenue, and you can just his way down pennsylvania avenue, and you canjust imagine how the star of the reality tv show will be savouring this moment. he is very much the producer, and this is quite the production. there is nothing like the inauguration of the

president which is taking place here today. for his supporters, this is a joyful moment, a moment of hope. they hope he can deliver now on his promises to bring backjobs, to protect america's borders, but there are also many protesters here right now, too. so the divided america is on display. you are watching bbc news. this is our special programme here now. donaldj trump has become the president of the united states. it seems like the most improbable unlikely rise, but this is the culmination now of his incredible journey to the white i'm philippa thomas here with the

bbc special programme as donald trump becomes the a5th president of the united states. he has now taken pa rt the united states. he has now taken part in the official parade after taking the oath of office. he is now beginning hisjourney from taking the oath of office. he is now beginning his journey from capitol hill to the white house which has been vacating by the obama family. it will be donald trump and his new first lady melania trump taking