this is 15 minutes. ♪ >> ♪ we know what is right just one life we will keep this world from pushing us around ground and our and we won't back down hey baby ain't no easy way out ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome mr. john gray, director of the smithsonian national museum of american history. [applause]

>> the 13th secretary of the smithsonian institution, dr. david gordon. [applause] and the first lady of that united states, mrs. melania t rump. [applause] john gray: good morning and welcome. i am john gray. and i have the privilege of being your director of your national museum of american history. we are so honored to extend a very special welcome to first

lady trump. it is a thrill to have you with us, and we are so privileged to have this donation ceremony in our flag hall. the secretary of the smithsonian, dr. david gordon, and the designer of the dress, mr. diaz. to our board chair, ambassador nicholas townsman many members , of our board who are with us, and to all of our distinguished guests, we welcome you and thank you for your support. millions of americans, and so many other visitors from every corner of the world, walk through our first ladies gallery -- galleries each year. they experience not only the importance, grandeur, and elegance of the first ladies, but they reflect on how in our american democracy transitions of power are celebrated peacefully. exhibitions and collections like the one that will house mrs. trump's gown require this skill and passion of our extraordinary

staff at the national museum of american history. they create with the public sees and loves, creating the transformative experience that only history can offer. and we thank all of the staff who have worked on this. just behind us lies the hallowed star-spangled banner, preserved for future generations with our stories of america. and to my right is the iconic statue of george washington offering his sword and the power it represents back to the people. these two national treasures reminds us of our responsibility to foster the strongest and most vibrant democracy. later this morning, mrs. trump's inaugural down, our newest national treasure will be , installed in the first ladies exhibition, another beautiful symbol of the enduring power of our democracy. mrs. trump, it is a tremendous

honor to have you and your guest to join us at the smithsonian in a tradition that goes back more than 100 years, the presentation of the first lady's inaugural gown to the smithsonian's national collection. and we thank you. [applause] mr. gray here at the national : museum, we preserve a collection of national treasures on the behalf of the american people to demonstrate the power of american history, to help us make sense of the past, and shape a more humane future. we are working to bring the nation together around those fundamental american ideals like -- and ideas like freedom, opportunity, and democracy that join us as a people. mrs. trump, we are grateful to you for entrusting us with this magnificent gown. and we assure you it will be

cared for in the same spirit and with the same it attention as all of our national treasures. in just a few hours when the gallery reopens to the public, the nation and the world will share this moment forever. it is now my pleasure to introduce the 13th secretary of the smithsonian, dr. david gordon who embodies so many , fundamental american ideas. a first-generation american, cardiologist, flutist, university leader champion of , arts and humanities, and an advocate for the most important issues of our time. secretary's gordon -- scorton. [applause] >> thank you, john. thanks everyone for joining us. mrs. trump, thank you for donating this and being part of the smithsonian. thank you. distinguished guests, welcome to the smithsonian's national

museum of american history on the national mall of the united states. this museum, as director gray said has been collecting gowns , for the first ladies collection for more than a century. and it is and remains, one of the most popular exhibitions in the entire smithsonian. on behalf of the smithsonian, i went to write you again, mrs. trump, for allowing us to add to this collection. i began with my thanks and admiration to you, mr. pierre, for the design of this beautiful gallon. since its opening in 1964, this museum has embodied the smithsonian's dedication to telling america's story to millions of national and international visitors every year. we tell that story through the words and actions and people, both famous and obscure. we inspire students through educational programs that reach them here in our museums and in

their homes and classrooms across the nation. and object and artifacts help put that history into sharp focus and context. this gown is the height of fashion, something that pleases us aesthetically with its beauty and craftsmanship and elegance. the aesthetics that drive artistic endeavor also captive us. it is our uniquely human response. product -- prada said fashion is instant language. these gowns tell us much about the accomplished women who wore them. each first lady left an indelible mark on the white house and this nation. and now mrs. trump's inaugural gown will take its rightful place among the collection that includes martha washington's pink handpainted silk gown,

michelle obama's white silk chiffon gown, and many others. and because this is an inaugural down, like many others in the first ladies collection, it also helps underscore our values as a nation. gown asn as director -- director gray said is emblematic of the peaceful transition of power that is the hallmark of this democracy. it reminds us that our ideals still resonate over 200 years later. that for all of our flaws this nation is founded on a government by the people, for the people, and will endure. thanks to the administration, and congress, and everyone here at the national museum of american history for helping us in our mission to educate and inspire. and now it is my honor to ask you to join me in welcoming the first lady of the united states, melania trump. [applause]

mrs. trump: thank you, so much. thank you for your warm welcome. it is an honor to be here today. i want to start by thanking director john gray and the secretary skorton for the wonderful introduction. the staff here at the smithsonian has been a true pleasure to work with. thank you for everything that you do to preserve part of our nation's history. as historians and curators, you have such an important role on behalf of our country. while i may be the one on stage, i want to take a moment to introduce you to the person behind my gorgeous couture piece. thanksigner, mr. pierre,

you, herve. please stand up. [applause] for all thatrve, you did to create such a wonderful piece. you are a true artist and a real professional. as most of you know, before being elected president, my husband was never in politics. so you can imagine after he won, we were very busy with all that goes into preparing for a new administration, and all of the changes that we, as a family, would be facing. to be honest, what i would wear to the inaugural ball was the last thing on my mind. in fact by the time i got around , to thinking about my wardrobe choice, he was only given two

and produce this couture piece. we had never worked together before, but i knew of his stellar reputation and wanted to work with someone who would do more than just design a dress. i wanted someone who would be willing to collaborate with me. and herve exceeded my expectations. i have had a passion for design from a young age, and had a very precise idea of what i wanted for such a historic evening. when sitting down with herve to discuss my vision, i expressed a desire for modern, sleek lines, unique and unexpected look. i must tell you that it is a daunting task to choose an outfit that will be memorized and become part of our nation's

story and forever history. i was so pleased with our end result. and is now my hope that this piece is one of the many great begetting to our family's history here in washington, d.c. the president, baron, and i love being here, and we are honored to represent this country. the smithsonian has the unique honor and ability to freeze time and tell future generations the story of our nation's history. i am so honored and grateful to become part of this history, and thank you all for being here with me today. god bless you, and god bless the united states of america. thank you. [applause]

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♪ announcer 1: the five former u.s. presidents have been enjoying the benefit concert underway at texas a&m university. they are raising money for all of the areas recently affected by hurricanes. president trump is also scheduled to take part. on the right now, singer sam moore, and the president's sitting in the past presidents sitting in the -- and the presidents sitting in the audience. this is live coverage from c-span. >> ♪ the one i like. dreamer ay i'm a i'm not the only one but i hope someday

u'll join us talking about you and i and this world will be as one one more thing i would like to say before i go try der if you'll a brotherhood of men imagine all the people can you hear me world in the say i am the dreamer

believe i don't believe, i don't believe i am the only one but you see, i hope someday they will join us and the world will be world the world it's our world now nk i will try it you sure? will be

will be -- ♪ [applause and cheers] >> incredible sam moore. [applause and cheers] lee greenwood: wow. that is incredible. soul man ♪ lee greenwood: everyone feeling the music as much as i am? i see everyone and their cell phones taking pictures with all the lights and rethink in the balcony. let's -- and everything in the balcony. let's all take a look selfie. -- a selfie. get them out.

can we get the crowd? what you want to do is help your fellow americans with your donations by texting "one 555 and donate $10 or donate any amount. we will take any amount. now a few words from the 45th president of the united states, donald j. trump. [applause and cheers] donald trump: my fellow americans, the heartbreaking devastation caused by hurricanes harvey and irma and maria and nate along with the terrible wildfires in california have impacted many of our fellow americans. as a nation we mourn for those who died, and we pray for those who lost their homes or their livelihoods. in the aftermath of these terrible storms, the american people have done what we do best. we came together. we held one another -- helped

one another, and through it all we remained resilient. we came together as one as we rest to the aid of texas, louisiana florida, puerto rico, and the u.s. virgin islands. as we begin to rebuild, some of the finest public servants are spearheading the one america appeal. through this effort all five living former presidents are playing a tremendous role in helping our fellow citizens recover. two presidents jimmy carter, george h.w. bush, bill clinton, george w. bush, and barack obama, melania and i want to express our deep gratitude for your tremendous assistance. this wonderful effort reminds us we truly are one nation, under god, all unified by our values and devotion to one another. i also want to thank every person including everyone here tonight who has contributed to this vital effort.

there is a lot of work ahead of us, and i want to thank groups like the points of light for making such a big difference in the desert -- the disaster response efforts. we will rebuild, and we will come back stronger and better than ever before. thank you, god bless you, and may god bless the united states of america. [applause and cheers] lee greenwood: president trump. as texas, florida, and puerto rico ace the aftermath of purvey, irma, and maria -- harvey, irma, and maria, points of light has stepped up to the long road to recovery. here to talk more about the foundation and to present awards is president and ceo of points of light nalley kaplan and chairman neil bush. much, mr. leeo

greenwood, for your outstanding patriotism and for being such a great mc tonight. thank you to all the artists here tonight for volunteering your time and talent. i am proud to cheer points of light and to support my father's legacy of service and volunteerism. it is my privilege to share the moving stories of everyday americans who acted on an impulse to help others. in my hometown of houston, a half-mile from our home, entire neighborhoods and entire neighborhoods like so many communities in the bayou were flooded. my wife and i went down the street to help. we were inspired by what we saw, a neighborhood darkened and flooded. it was shining with the bright light of neighbors helping neighbors. community rising up. we worked side-by-side with groups from the first baptist

first and young and 400 -- churches, service clubs all across the city. the mayor's office have been. proactively helping their members, parishioners, and employees. getting rid of contaminated flooring and property. volunteers all united in service. when it came to pulling people out of homes and pulling up damaged floors, no one cared whether you were rich or poor. black, white, brown, christian am a jew, atheist, gay or straight. the truth is service unites. [applause and cheers] and people committed to serving others unite around our common humanity. strength, resiliency, and generosity close of those simple

act of service -- flows from those simple acts of service. creating kinder and gentler communities, and it defined us as a nation. the recent natural disasters have shown us neighbors help neighbors, and fellow americans help each other regardless of where they are. there was ans, group of volunteers led to used and where they had efforts to track -- get animals trapped in homes. rafael from his home in chantilly, virginia organize a group that shipped 120,000 pounds of relief aid with the support of the 113th air national guard way. -- wing. howe stories have shown there is a common cause, making a difference in the lives of others.

[applause and cheers] ♪ light are the souls of america. they are ordinary people. .> who reach beyond themselves care and friendship. >> given generously of themselves. his remark of his death remark you let -- remarkable individuals. >> what all of us can become. >> we were seeking refuge. we heard it was a shelter. when i walked to the doors, it started powers outcome of the dropped ceilings had fallen. sewage running in and out of the bathrooms. >> we have 150 people here. help to 19, they wanted to . they were not sure. i asked, who is ready to work,

and all of them raise their hands. when you are in a position to help others, when they cannot help themselves, it is your duty. it is a we situation. ♪ >> seeing the storm as it was coming and hurricane andrew, i remember what it was like. i did not want someone else to go through that. media, puttingl outposts, a group of veterans are looking to help. who needs help? i was nervous i did not have the means to put up shutters, clear debris, do any of the dirty stuff people shied away from. you just put it out there and ask others around you, how can we do this? that gets you started. methe story begins with being a wedding planner and having a couple that was getting married on september 3.

and a text that i sent to them with a photo of downtown, which was where our location was submerged. from there i asked them if they would like to spend the weekend doing of recovery initiative. they loved that idea, and they thought they would have 100 people at their wedding party that would join them. this was a selfless act that ignited an incredible idea. so there is a plunge to find you and there you up with an initiative. >> that went viral. >> we found cleared 250 homes and thousands of volunteers to recover. night, i middle of the thought about, how do we do more ? how do we engage more individuals quickly, help those hundreds of thousands of families? we were able to mobilize 700

at the center we were able to do truckloads of milk and water. we were able to organize more people to get the carpets, the sheets. whatever we can do to show we can help human beings, to show we can improve their quality of life, that is the best thing god has on all of us. >> this kind of volunteer work is different than traditional volunteer work. we built resources that are really helping people with recovery, with rescue. if it was not for the rescue act , people would have been stranded. it was flooding, rising water. so it was really impactful. ♪ volunteers, being there for somebody in their time of need

matters. in the spirit of point of light, you are that for someone else. >> we just did what we needed to do, because that is what humanity does. to help a follow brother and sister -- hello brother and sister be one -- >> a lot of what we did, i like to believe helped people make it through this time when they were just looking, praying for there to be held. -- help. >> people get overwhelmed thinking they have to do something huge to have an impact. it is really something like going to your neighbor and asking if they need help. >> i am able to help one person, one fellow being, but it is great to see tomorrow, when i need help, i can count on my neighbor, my community, my country. ♪ [applause and cheers]

jimmy carter: it is a great pleasure for me to be here with the other presidents to carry out this project. i have just enjoyed seeing what the points of light does for the country. i have seen it for many years. i like to remind people that it is located in georgia. with habitat for 36 years, one week each year. and it is known for volunteer work. we are ahead of any other nation . last year there were 67 million americans who volunteered to help other people in america.

that came to 8 billion hours of work, worth $184 billion, so that is what volunteers did last year. this year they will do more. five ofabout one out of a total population. we want to see what the other four people do. build 6000 agreed to houses in a devastated area, and -- [applause] jimmy carter: and to do this, all of us habitat volunteers will raise $100 million. and we have already raised $20 million, so we have got a long way to go. this is a wonderful project, and thatu want to contribute, is fine. if you want to contribute to 1-800-habitat.er

so let's all work together. and make work together america still a greater volunteer nation. thank you very much. [applause and cheers] bill clinton: when president george h.w. bush was trying to persuade the congress to pass the americans with disabilities act, he said, our problems are great, but the heart of america is greater. that is what we are here to celebrate. us,ere all citizens, even

before we were politicians. and after our time was over, we became citizens again. we have been volunteering since before our constitution, when benjamin franklin organized the first volunteer fire department in philadelphia. our neighbors, our friends have gotten an enormous amount of equity from these volunteers, and a lot of money, but make no mistake about it. these were grievous storms back to back. there is still work to be done , and ourand in florida friends in puerto rico and the american virgin islands have only begun to dig their way out of what could be still a calamitous disaster. but it can be a new beginning if we just do what we ought to do and prove that the heart of america, without regard for race

or religion or political party, is greater than our problem. [applause and cheers] >> howdy, texas. [applause and cheers] barack obama: so all of us on this stage could not be prouder of the response of americans when they see their neighbors, and they see their friends, they see strangers in need, americans step up. [applause and cheers] barack obama: and as heartbreaking as the tragedy that took place during texas, in florida, in puerto rico, in the u.s. virgin islands, have been,

what we have also seen is the ,pirit of america at its best when ordinary people step up and do extraordinary things. is a part of that process. i want to thank presidents george w. bush and most of all in outstanding american, somebody who has always shown grace and character and courage, and served america nobly throughout the years, president george h.w. bush. we are so proud to be with you tonight. [applause and cheers] barack obama: he sets an example for all of us, as does first lady barbara bush. [applause and cheers]

barack obama: and that spirit of volunteerism, that spirit that says we are all in this together , that in dire times and ignores all the differences we had before, that spirit is five pointsby the of light recipients whose stories you just saw on the screen and who are here tonight. so it is my great pleasure to bring these outstanding americans to the stage so that you can acknowledge the extraordinary work they have done, i hope everybody who is watching is inspired by the work they have done. [applause and cheers]

>> in 1989, in 1989, president george h.w. bush created the daily point of light award to celebrate the power of an individual to make a difference in the lives of others. he was the first president in american history to institute a daily presidential recognition program from the white house. the work he began has taken root in america's fabric and has been built upon by every succeeding president. points of light proudly stewards his legacy by continuing to individuals with daily point of light awards, over 6000 to date. we are grateful to have

president carter, president bush 41, president clinton, president bush 43, and president us.a stand with recognize andwe honor the following individual points of light. zachary bering, for his volunteer leadership at an evacuation shelter. [applause and cheers] natalye paquin: leah albina for using her technology skills to be a virtual volunteer for storm survivors in texas and her home state of florida. shani for mobilizing 2500 members of the islamic imam

fleet and volunteers. for using her professional skills as a wedding planner to organize volunteers to begin rebuilding more than 250 homes, and derrick o'keefe for organizing volunteers to prepare for and respond to hurricane irma and for coordinating the supply ships to puerto rico and after hurricane maria. congratulations, and thank you for all that you do. [applause and cheers] [applause and cheers]

george w. bush: thank you. it is first of all i am thrilled 42,e able to introduce 39, and 44 to one of the finest universities in the united states. [applause and cheers] george w. bush: i too am here to urge you to give to this fine find, and i want to thank -- all ofnd i want to thank the volunteers. i speak for the folks when i say we admire and love george h.w. bush. [applause and cheers]

george w. bush: points of light recipients and to our five very gracious -- announcer 1: this has been live coverage of the hurricane relief on certain with all five former formerrage with all five presidents. we on friday, c-span sat down with hillary clinton to discuss her recent book "what happened. she spoke about a recent speech given by former president george w. bush on the current state of american politics. bush talked about the cruelty in american

politics. he did not mention the president by name. your reaction to what he said? ms. clinton: i thought it was an important speech and i appreciated president bush delivering it. he talked about how white supremacy is an absolute blasphemy to the american creed. he talked about the importance of listening to each other and working with each other. i did not always agree with president bush, as i think any democrat sitting across from you would say, but i never doubted his patriotism and i never doubted that he worked really hard all day. he went to bed worried, woke up concerned about what he would do. i was in the oval office with him two days after 9/11 as a senator from new york. i looked into his eyes, i understood a lot of what he was having to face. out appreciate him coming and making a thoughtful critique of where american politics is right,