good graces, a scene the soon to be former president warned the american public to beware of. >> in an address that called back to dwight eisenhower's caution on the military industrial complex. this time, though, for biden, the industrial complex is tech and his warning that we are allowing the rise of an oligarchy a problem people who study this sort of thing, say, has been building now on the right and left. let's go live to some of our reporters, msnbc senior national correspondent chris jansing is live for the capitol from us. chris, i just mentioned that there will be a number of very notable people here to honor donald trump on this day, who is going to be joining him inside the rotunda. >> we've already seen some of them, katie. >> they came in through what is known as the carriage entrance here, so named because 1837, i think it was martin van buren. >> and andrew jackson came in on a carriage that was made from

wood from the uss constitution. >> and now people come in, of course, on motorcades. >> we have seen members of the trump family. >> we saw some of the congressional leadership. >> this is also the entrance for members of the supreme court who traditionally come in and, of course, attend this. but it is striking, i think, as we watched the interaction between the bidens and the trumps, what an unexpected moment this is. this is without a doubt, traditions, constitutional norms from the most untraditional and anti norm president perhaps we have ever had meeting with the outgoing president, who of course is an institutionalist and who, as has been pointed out, ran against donald trump because he wanted to prevent exactly what we're seeing today. >> among the people who will be here are other former presidents who feel much as joe biden does,

that donald trump could pose a threat to our democracy. >> george w bush and laura bush will be here. >> hillary and bill clinton will be here. of course, hillary clinton came to the first trump inauguration, which she had lost to him and called it an out of body experience. >> but she came because she believes in the constitution and in tradition. >> and barack obama will be here as well. missing will be michelle obama. there has been no official read on why she has decided not to be here. >> she was also not at jimmy carter's funeral, as the other former presidents were. but we do know that she once said that she felt uncomfortable for the first trump inauguration. >> there were no people of color. >> and of course, this is a president who has gone against her husband. he was promoting the birther movement and also is

expected to make as one of his first moves as the president, once he does take the oath of office to revoke some of the di things that president biden has put into place. so one more thing worth mentioning. mike pence is expected to be here. he may be the one person who no one probably would have given a thought to if he had decided not to come, given the history between him and donald trump. but again, an institutionalist, somebody who believes in the constitution and expected to be here, nancy pelosi will not be here. katie, she's 84 years old. she's had a hip replacement. i asked jim clyburn about that and he said, you know, there will be people on the democratic side who will not want to be there. and now, in many ways, some of them won't have to make that decision because, as you know, they're expected to be hundreds of thousands of people out on

the other side of the capitol when they moved it inside because of the cold weather. and i can affirm, as you can, that it is cold. it's fewer than, i think, 800 people who can sit inside for the actual swearing in ceremony. and then there is another area below where they can get in something under 2000 people. >> but an extraordinary day, something politico called katie. >> and i'll throw it back to you with this calling the inauguration a stuffy interlude between two trump rallies. >> something else we'll see later today. >> donald trump will do something no other president that i can recall has done. >> he will leave. he will do some of the traditional things like the luncheon. but then he has a rally later today, as he has so often, and you've gone to so many of them. katie. yeah, no, no parade. but this time there will be a rally to greet some of the supporters who are able to get in. >> we're seeing some more arrivals now inside the capitol. there's two former speakers, kevin mccarthy, john boehner, also behind them, newt gingrich,

another former speaker with his his wife, callista, who is donald trump's, as you know, chris, ambassador to the vatican. let's go inside of the capitol right now to andrea mitchell, our chief washington correspondent. andrea, i'd like to talk to you about the pardons. but first, get to get into a little bit of who's going to be inside this room and what it's going to look like. the last time that this was held inside was 1985 for president reagan, and this time in the rotunda, of course, will be the families, the invited members of the house and senate. >> it's unclear whether the spouses of all of those house members, 435 house members, will be there because they were going to be sitting for the first time in the back of the reviewing stands on the west front, where i was supposed to be, where they were all supposed to be. they may not be in the rotunda itself, because there are 800 seats in the rotunda. it is very

tight indeed. so there are going to be behind me in this what's called emancipation hall, which is under the capitol, in the visitor's center here are going to be 1800 more people, 1300 in this room, 500 more in an adjacent room, in an auditorium here, donald trump is expected to come after he signs the documents, after he says goodbye to the bidens. he's going to be coming in after the speech and the swearing in in the rotunda, and make a separate speech here to these invited guests who can see all of the rotunda on big screens, there was a big cheer that went up when the trumps arrived at the north portico, and you saw them shaking hands and arriving and being greeted by the bidens, and then he goes back inside the capitol building for the traditional luncheon. now, importantly, as chris was talking to you earlier about the fact that the former presidents are coming, the former presidents, the democratic

presidents and their spouses are not going to the luncheon. and they that is another signifying fact. and of course, there's also the pardons that were issued, the preemptive pardons this morning, which is a significant breach. kristen welker was told that president elect trump said that they were disgusting to her in a text that, of course, the parties of the january 6th committee of mark milley, of the members of the january 6th committee, as well as the police officers, the capitol and metropolitan police officers who testified here. >> the anticipation is obviously rising over there in the capitol, as you see the noise level starting to rise as well. as andrea was mentioning, there were the pardons this morning from president biden for a number of people and lawmakers, former military leaders that were worried, there were some worried that donald trump would go after them as a revenge for investigating him, or for not following his orders or for

speaking out against him in the time that he was not president. >> there's also hanging over this conversation inside the white house behind me, where the two men, president biden and president elect donald trump, are having tea about what sort of pardons donald trump might issue today, whether january 6th protesters and rioters, maybe even some of the violent ones, do get a pardon from president donald trump, not to mention the incoming slew of executive orders 50 or so. nbc news is reporting a lot of them on the subject of immigration. we're going to go back inside to msnbc headquarters. rachel maddow picks up our special coverage of the presidential inauguration of donald trump right now. >> katie, thanks so much. >> we did consider all putting on wooly hats just to be in solidarity with you in that visible way. but we are indoors. good morning, everybody. thank you so much for joining us. it's really great to have you here. we know you have every choice in the world of where to watch today's events or not to watch

them at all. so we are all the more grateful that you've chosen to be here with us. i'm rachel maddow here at msnbc headquarters in new york. i'm joined by my well-rested peak of their powers, ready for anything. beloved colleagues nicolle wallace and joy reid and jen psaki and chris hayes. we are conscious of the fact that we are indoors and comfortable in so many of our colleagues are outside in that cold today. we are all the more appreciative of them. this inauguration day has been very busy already. president biden this morning announcing pardons for several people whom the incoming president had singled out as targets of his revenge, and for whom his republican allies on capitol hill have expressed an appetite for punitive prosecution. president biden's pardons will be extended to general mark milley, former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. doctor anthony fauci, one of the countries in the world's giants in public health and infectious disease. all the members ofongress who served on the congressional investigation into the january 6th attack. importantly, all the

staff who served on that select committee investigation. and lastly, and importantly, all of the u.s. capitol police officers and d.c. metropolitan police officers who testified before that select committee in case you needed a more bracing reminder of what this new administration intends to do to the country, consider that police officers who were beaten within an inch of their lives by this incoming president, supporters, police officers who testified to congress about that now need a pardon to protect them from the threat of malicious prosecution by the government, headed by the man who sent the people who beat them in the first place. good morning america. how are you? the pardons from president biden this morning come after he spent his last full day in office in south carolina, attending services yesterday at the royal missionary baptist church, a historically black congregation in charleston. he also gave remarks at the international african american museum. donald trump is, of course, being

inaugurated on today's federal holiday honoring the reverend martin luther king jr. and yes, that is a coincidence. president elect trump and his wife melania are now at the white house for the traditional pre-inauguration tea with the president and first lady, joe and jill biden. they are all scheduled to depart fairly shortly for the capitol, where the inauguration will take place. you may recall that donald trump participated in none of these events with joe biden four years ago, when it was biden coming in as the new president to succeed trump. that was the first time since the 1860s that the sitting american president did not attend the inauguration of his successor, despite trump blowing off 150 years of precedent to skip his successor's inauguration four years ago, he did not break that tradition forever. president biden and all three other living former presidents will be in attendance today when trump is sworn in as the 47th president

of the united states. in terms of how we're expecting this morning to go, it will be shortly after 1130 eastern time when vice president elect jd vance is sworn in. he'll be sworn in by supreme court justice brett kavanaugh, for whom vance's wife, usha, was once a clerk. then donald trump will be sworn in by chief justice john roberts. this is the first inauguration that was is also slated to be attended by foreign leaders. you just saw some of them there in that cutaway shot that we just saw. argentina's far right firebrand president javier milei, italy's right wing prime minister giorgio meloni both accepted invitations to attend. several other right wing leaders and politicians were invited. today. brazil's former president jair bolsonaro says he was invited today, but his passport has been revoked over his attempts to overthrow his election defeat in his country. so, alas, bolsonaro will not be able to make the trip. so it's very unusual that we're going to see these right wing political party leaders and government leaders from around the country. that's the sort of

thing that happens at coronations of foreign monarchs. it doesn't happen at us presidential inaugurations, but we will see that today for donald trump. we'll also see today if there's room in the capitol rotunda for trump's special billionaire section. a gaggle of tech ceos, including trump's biggest donor, the biggest american political donor of all history, elon musk, assuming he can be detached from trump's side long enough to sit with anybody else. that's not counting the dozen or so other billionaires who trump has named for various roles in his administration, and who may be in attendance. today, trump is expected to have the wealthiest cabinet in us history. we see dignitaries and some cabinet nominees arriving there. trump is expected to begin his inaugural address shortly before noon at noon on the dot. according to the us constitution, trump will officially become president. trump will be only the second president in american history to be sworn in for a nonconsecutive second term. who was the other?

we can all say it now. grover cleveland, 1893. that second term in office for grover cleveland starting in 1893, it did not produce much except an economic depression. but it does mean that when they release dollar coins of all the presidents in 2012, grover cleveland got to be on two of them because it was separate presidencies. at the age of 78, donald trump will be the oldest person to ever take the oath of office as president of the united states. he will also be the only convicted felon to ever hold the office. this will also be the first inauguration in 40 years that will be held indoors. trump said he decided to move events inside because of the cold. this has happened once before for ronald reagan's second term inauguration in 1985. they also moved the swearing in inside the capitol rotunda that day. in 1985, it was seven degrees with a wind chill of -25. today is cold, but it's nowhere near that cold in washington. it's expected to be in the low 20s by midday today. that's what people in greenland

might call bikini weather. that's enough to move the inauguration into the rotunda today. the capitol rotunda only fits about 800 people. that's awkward, because over 200,000 people have tickets of one kind or another to the inauguration. steve. republican former senate leader mitch mcconnell there, and his wife, trump's transportation secretary in his first term, elaine chao there. elaine chao famously quitting as transportation secretary in protest of the events of january 6th. trump says with things being moved inside to the rotunda today, that attendees, his supporters have come in from all over the country. they can watch remotely at the capital one arena in downtown washington, where he held a rally last night that said that arena only holds 20,000 people, so there's not much room for most of the people who came to see him from all over. the inaugural parade will also apparently be held inside that arena this afternoon, instead of the usual march down pennsylvania avenue. we don't exactly know what that's going

to look, but we shall see later today, we may see the republican controlled senate confirm at least one of trump's nominees. there's a possibility that marco rubio will be confirmed today as secretary of state. incoming president trump has said he will sign dozens of executive orders and executive actions about energy and the border and discriminating against transgender people and making it easier to fire federal workers and stopping the ban on tiktok, even though that ban is actually law and executive orders can't supersede the law. former house speaker john boehner, former house speaker newt gingrich, his wife and. ambassador callista callista gingrich. excuse me? trump's aides have also said that trump will sign some sort of executive action or order today to stop birthright citizenship. now, birthright citizenship is the core american precept that says, if you're born here, you're born on american soil, you're a u.s. citizen. that is a provision that is explicitly in the

constitution and the plain language of the 14th amendment. but trump today will reportedly try to abolish it with an executive order, even though executive orders can't override the constitution, just as executive orders cannot override the law. but if you needed a theme, that is how we are expecting the second presidential administration of donald j. trump to get underway today. here we go. you see, some of that is that tim cook, apple's ceo there, chris hayes, as you are watching these folks file in not just appointees, but also all the richest people in the country and all the people in charge of the most important tech companies in the country. i know the word unprecedented is banned at this desk, but how else do you feel? >> well, i think that i've been thinking about a long period of these last 20 or 30 years in which we've seen accelerating inequality. >> people have used the term oligarchy, and generally it's meant in a kind of like conceptual metaphorical sense, as opposed to a literal sense, like, not like actually there's

a group of 12 dudes. we haven't seen anything like this before. >> zuckerberg and bezos on screen. >> as you're speaking, concentration of wealth and power, and particularly around the question of who can you know, what who structures the information environment that americans see and hear, who is able to capture their attention at scale? all of this concentrated now in that room with the people that are the heads of the largest, most powerful american corporations and the president. and, you know, one of the things i think that makes this difficult will make it difficult to cover, is it's very hard to have a presumption of good faith with donald trump about the nature of the relationships he's having. and i don't mean to say that about other like all republicans, i think there are people that actually believe things in the republican party. but donald trump has assembled this group in this, like, flagrantly transactional way. and it's the fact that he is so transactional, has a kind of contagion effect around everyone who's around him. so when mayor

eric adams is coming down to join his inauguration this morning, when tim cook is in the room and the tiktok ceo is hillary and bill clinton arriving, you cannot help but question what what are the conversations and what are the deals that offer and whether you, as an american citizen are being considered in those deals. >> and that's the key point is it's not just a consolidation of power and a concentration of power, but it has consequences for the rest of the country. nicole. >> well, i think about what the questions are, right, because so many of our questions leading up to november 5th have been answered. >> does the country want to do this again? yes. and the country tolerate a convicted felon as its president? half of the voting country said yes. is the country bothered by all of the self-enrichment that happened? not just for trump and melania, but for jared and ivanka? yes, the country will tolerate that. and for what? and i think that to keep our attention on the for what instead of what is the country willing to sort of tolerate will be one of the core

missions for us. i think the polling about immigration is both fascinating and ominous for trump. i mean, the poll numbers go upside down very quickly when you get to the more extreme elements, which is what he's telegraphing, he will do today. and so i'm i'm focused today on what the questions are. i mean, never before in american history, not just political history, have people tolerated or made space for all the grifting he i don't understand crypto well enough to understand exactly what he and melania did over the weekend, but everyone said we're fine with that now. and so i think really making sure that that from the privileged positions we sit today, not just climate wise but but but, but the opportunity to still ask questions, what are the questions we don't have answers to? right. and if the grift, as you put it, which i agree with, and the self-enrichment and the as chris puts it, the transactional nature of whatever's going on with him and these billionaires is being viewed sort of as a spectator sport by the rest of the country, like, oh, neat,

these rich people are making themselves even richer. i'd like to be a rich person, too. maybe this is what this is how rich people operate. boy, it seems like it's all upside. the country is about to learn what the downside of that is. when governance is turned to that end, for the people in government and the people who have effectively captured it. yeah, indeed. >> and i mean, i think one of the things that dies on today is this statement that a lot of people like to make, this is not who we are. i think in some fundamental ways, this is who we are. and i thank you for acknowledging that today is mlk day. yeah. and i think for a lot of americans, there's a special pain in the fact that this spectacle is taking place on the day that honors doctor king. and so over the weekend, i was in rural georgia at something called contraband camp with a bunch of black intellectuals and filmmakers and writers and stuff. it was like very healing to my soul. and one of the things i took the time to do was to reread the speech that doctor king gave five days before his death at the washington national cathedral, same place where

jimmy carter funeral took place. and he gave this speech. and it's interesting because the guy who was the dean of the cathedral is actually the grandson, was the grandson of woodrow wilson, one of our most racist and awful presidents. but he was a believer in civil rights, and he wanted king to be there because king was planning this poor people's campaign to come to washington in june to force america to confront the issue of poverty, multi racial poverty, but also of racism. and he gives this speech which is called staying awake through a great revolution. and he gave iterations of it before. but it begins essentially with the story of rip van winkle. and rip van winkle goes into the mountains and he stays asleep for 20 years. and when he goes to sleep, king george the third is on the throne in england and is the sovereign over the united states. and when he wakes up, george washington is the president. he slept through a great revolution, and the point that king was trying to make is that. and he says this incredible line, he says, through our scientific and technological genius, we have made of this world a neighborhood. now, through our

moral and ethical commitment, we must make of it a brotherhood. and he says, we have not done that. and he talks about the technical revolutions that unfortunately we've used for war. we've used to exacerbate rather than relieve poverty. and he said he called upon the country to wake up. a nicer way to say it is stay woke. and then i think the kind of cosmic brilliance of this horrible juxtaposition of the spectacle of the richest people of right wing figures from around the world of, of wealth coalescing inside an arena where even trump's own base can't be, where they have to be shunted off to a side room in addition to the rest of america. but also democrats like important democrats, the former presidents showing up to take part in this spectacle makes me ask, are they awake? are they awake to this revolution? this is not a revolution in a positive sense. this is a revolution of what joe

biden himself called a pure autocracy of oligarchy. and that is oligarchy. if nothing else says oligarchy, it's a bunch of billionaires coalescing indoors so that they won't be chilly. even though barack obama managed to do his inauguration in 20 degree weather. and you know, trump's old, but he ain't william henry harrison. i don't think that's the risk here. so i just say that today because it is king day. all i'm thinking about is who is awake to what we are experiencing in this country and who thinks it's fine. because if you think it's fine, we can't be friends. >> there's douglas emhoff, the second gentleman leaving the white house. we just saw rudy giuliani, who has lost his law license for the way that he tried to keep donald trump in office after he lost the 2020 election. douglas emhoff, accompanied there by usher vance, who will be the second lady, the wife of vice president

elect jd vance jen psaki. you've been there as a on transition days. many there's a lot has to happen. a lot logistically has to happen. but it's also a very emotional day for everybody on the outgoing team. >> very much so. it is a very, in many ways, a wonderful tradition, a strange tradition that this morning, as of this moment, joe biden is president, jake sullivan is the national security advisor, jeff sessions is the chief of staff. and an hour and a half donald trump will be president. mike waltz will be the national security advisor, and susie wiles will be the chief of staff. and there is no holding on crises that are happening. they are then they then have the negotiations over the second round of the cease fire in their hands. they have what to do about the wildfires in their hands. and normally through transitions of power, there is a continuity of a belief in doing what's right for the american people. and i was there. i know, joe joy. this is the point. i was there when we

transitioned from bush to obama, and obviously they had significant disagreements. i mean, barack obama ran in the primary essentially against bush's engagement in the iraq war. that's how he won the primary in many ways. and it was during a financial crisis. and they welcomed all of us in. they welcomed the economic team in. there was an intertwined meetings with members of congress and an agreement, even if they didn't agree on every aspect that we needed to address the crises the country was facing. that's how it's supposed to work. but the other tradition that's very strange, that i was thinking about this morning, is the president wakes up in the white house. there is a team of people in the residence who essentially flips over the entire residence in a matter of hours. yeah, it's like an airbnb and exactly a very nice airbnb. and it's strange for the residence team as well, because even though they serve presidents of different parties, they're serving very different

visions of the country, and they have to put that aside. but that is the responsibility of them to take on in a matter of just a couple of hours, there had been some reporting that first lady melania trump might not come back to the white house and might not stay there. >> she has since confirmed in an interview that she will move to the white house, but she will also spend time in palm beach. she will also spend time in new york. i was reading this weekend about some of the some of the logistics of those of the way the houses the house gets flipped over between first families. ronald reagan and nancy reagan sold the entire contents of their home when they moved to washington, and so they had all of their furniture to move in with them. hillary clinton's stuff got moved out, including the stuff she was supposed to wear to the inauguration, and they had to scramble to scramble to find all of her stuff. her shoes had been put in chelsea's closet. nobody had any idea how to find them. when jimmy carter and rosalynn carter moved in, the single large piece of furniture that they moved into the white house.

the one item was her sewing machine. just like these, these these little details, these very human details, reminds you that these are families, these are individuals. they have individual interests, they have tastes. they have values, a lot of which will be reflected in the gritty details of what happens today. >> jen's point there about that 2008 2009 transition, and the fact that it was in the midst of the financial crisis, i mean, that the timing of that, if you go back and think about it is insane, right? it's like craters right before the election, then after the election, then all this stuff is happening in the in we all know now the grover cleveland trivia question, right? yeah. and one of the things that's really interesting about that, and i really thing to keep in mind that i've just really tried to teach myself, particularly after covid, is events drive so much about history and no one knows what's coming down the pike. grover cleveland was had triumphantly pulled off exactly the same comeback trump had, right? he'd lost and then he'd won. and then right before he took office, the

crisis of 1893 starts, and it's one of the worst financial panics the country has ever seen, plummets the country into chaos. he has to take a bunch of emergency steps to ascend to forestall it is fundamentally unable to. >> and the pullman strike happens, which completely paralyzes all workers in the country. >> yeah. it's crazy. so cleveland comes in with, you know, riding high. i'm like, i've pulled off this great comeback and just immediately jump right into disaster and crisis. >> and i think the thing that i'm hoping for here strongly, because i think about that transition, is like, i'm really rooting for the country. i'm really rooting for the country, really rooting against crisis and disaster and really hoping that this country's resilience in all of its glory, which is all the different parts of what makes america america, it's not just one person who occupies a single office. >> it's all the institutions. >> it's civil society. doctor king never held elected office,

but he towers above the vast majority of those who ever have. those folks are all still here from one day to the next. the occupant of that bedroom changes. but all of that parts of america are still there from one day to the next. >> except. except that the promise of the incoming administration is to wipe away the civic memory of washington, to get rid of and to fire all of the people who normally transition as civil servants from one administration to the next. the promises on the table are 200 some odd executive actions, an attempt to get rid of birthright citizenship, an attempt to do mass deportation which we thought was being threatened on the state of illinois and the city of chicago, apparently, which said, yet you can't come here and do that. and maybe they backed down. we're talking about an attempt to portray this peaceful transition of power with people who were convicted in the

insurrection, attempt, attending with the person who fulminated, who fomented the coup, being sworn in as president, essentially a delay in the completion of the insurrection, the idea that the institutions will hold. we just had a content of their character election, and the person didn't get elected due to the content of their character, to use the phrase, the only thing that some folks on the right remember about doctor king. and so we have now, i believe that this idea of the institutions which the bidens clearly, truly believe in have been completely exposed by this election. you can you know, i was i was talking with michael steele, former rnc chair, outside when trump came in the first time. i obviously was not a fan, had never been a fan. i didn't watch the apprentice, so i wasn't a fan. but i had to admit that, you know what, mark milley, that's a brilliant dude. you know, some of the people in his his cabinet, they seem

pretty normal. i haven't gotten to know olivia troye. it's a brilliant that's a that's an upstanding, good person this time. are we talking about quality nominees? marco rubio is the best choice of all of them. you go down the list of the people. it's no longer a content of their character or great meritocracy. now it is people trump likes to see on television. it's people he thinks will praise him. it's people who will give him what he wants and allow him to do to the american people, to immigrants whom jesus loved. this is supposed to be the great christian president who is promising to attack immigrants, trans people who are already vulnerable. these are some of the executive orders. the cruelty is the point of this coming administration. so it is very hard for me to look at this spectacle of the takeover of the united states by a base mentality of greed and corruption, and say the

institutions will save us because they've not done well for us so far. >> we just saw siouxsie wiles, the incoming white house chief of staff there, and conversation inside the rotunda. we've seen the first lady, the outgoing first lady and the incoming first lady, jill biden and melania trump leaving the white house together. we're now expecting the outgoing and incoming vice presidents. there they are, kamala harris and jd vance. senator deb fischer walking the two of them out looks like a serious moment. not one of vice president harris and for jd vance as he's scooting in behind her. aren't you supposed to go out on the other side? >> he did call her the trash. >> i will, i will note i'm not sure the other side there. yes, he did try to get her to scoot over. >> i think she's like, yeah, we're not friends. we can't be friends. >> well, we don't know. we don't know what's going on between them. i'm sorry. so i'm projecting my own thoughts. we are so seeing the vice presidents, the outgoing and incoming vice presidents there, which means what we will next

expect is outgoing president joe biden and incoming president donald trump getting in the car together again. that is something that should be happening technically for the second time. but donald trump did not attend the last time when biden was succeeding him. let's bring into the conversation now our friend, nbc news presidential historian michael beschloss, who's watching these scenes along with us. we're seeing speaker of the house mike johnson entering the rotunda there. michael beschloss, it's great to have you here. obviously, this is only the second time we've seen it inside. this is only the second time we've seen a nonconsecutive second term from a us president. what's on your mind today as we're watching these, these proceedings start to get underway? >> well, you know, historically i've been trying to think of transfers of power in american history that were more dramatic than this, a bigger change between the predecessor and the successor. maybe obama to trump, but as you have all been been saying, i think in retrospect, trump's first term is going to look much more moderate and much

more establishment than perhaps this one is usually, you know, there's an almost forced contrast between an outgoing president and an incoming president, dwight eisenhower in 1961 was 70 years old, which was the oldest president at the time. >> john kennedy was 43, the youngest elected president. >> and not only their ages, but the fact that they came from different parties. and kennedy had criticized eisenhower during the campaign. so eisenhower, in that famous speech about the military industrial complex a few days before he leaves, says, america is awesome. we've got this enormous military. we've never been more economically successful. and then kennedy comes in and goes to congress about ten days after his inauguration and says, we meet in an hour of maximum danger before my term is ended. >> we may have to test a new whether a nation organized and governed, such as ours, can

endure. >> that's a question today, i call the four years ago looms large today for a lot of reasons. >> obviously it was the preceding inauguration, but we had very unusual situation in which trump refused to attend. we had 25,000 troops guarding that inauguration four years ago. we had a seven foot tall non-scalable fence. we had razor wire surrounding the capitol. that was joe biden taking office not only in the depths of the worst economic crisis since the great depression, in the in the depths of the worst pandemic in a century, but also two weeks after the united states had endured the largest and most violent attack on its democracy since the civil war. that is where joe biden started this. he is leaving the presidency with us out of the covid crisis, with us having an economy that is being described literally as the

envy of the world, with historic investments in infrastructure that i single out specifically because they are likely to pay off economically for all four years of this next term of the new president. the transition here is also one of just marked contrast in terms of what joe biden was able to turn around in, in this country. and i wonder if there's there are parallels for that. >> i think there are. and remember a second ago i was saying that, you know, the outgoing president has an interest in saying how good things are, which joe biden can justifiably do, just as you said, rachel. and then the incoming president comes in and says something like, you know, we're amid a scene of american carnage is donald trump did at the beginning of his first term, what we have heard about the inaugural address today would suggest that he is going to take option b, senator amy klobuchar walking donald trump and joe

biden out of the white house, joe biden leaving office after a single term as president following two terms as vice president. >> donald trump for the second time, taking over as president, only the second president in history to do it in nonconsecutive terms. we tend to get little snippets many years after the fact as to what happens between outgoing and incoming presidents on these car rides, but this is a very unusual this is a very unusual part of, of, of this day in terms of the personal dynamic between these two men. >> no doubt. it reminds me very much of how we felt at the end of the obama administration when trump was coming in, when i used to say, i know we feel like we're living a double life. we have a feeling about this guy coming in, and we have a feeling about what he's going to do. but president obama has asked us to be graceful and to welcome them. and i think joe biden, which everybody in the democratic party is not going to support,

has made the decision that the best way to return to norms is to behave in the way that history has been normal, even when there are strong disagreements between presidents. but it doesn't make it any easier or any more pleasant. i was at the white house last week because karine had her last briefing, and it was a period of time where a lot of people had left because people gradually leave the white house and then people gradually come in, and i was checking in at the same time where a number of incoming trump officials were checking in. and that is that is what has been like the last couple of weeks. so it is it is it is quite challenging. i did have one other which, as i was thinking about what joe said in that, i feel like one of the things i've been thinking about, just having been there for so many transitions, is this evolution of my own perception. maybe all of our perception of trump's power, because when he was elected, it was this shock, and it was, what is he even going to be able to do? how is he even going to be able to

govern? they weren't ready to accept our binders. they didn't know how to approach governing. and he was very much felt like the outsider looking into washington. and now and there's so many symbols of this today. he is kind of the insider deciding who is on the inside of washington. and that is a very strange evolution. i mean, he has become washington. he's become he's long been the leader of the republican party. maybe he's become the swamp, but that there are so many times where we doubted his rise again to power. and today it's it is a reminder of that. >> i guess i would the only thing that i think is different is it's not this skillful grabbing of the levers of power. it's changing the definition of power. >> yeah. >> to harken back to your opening, rachel, it's not skillfully saying, now i know how to negotiate mideast peace. and they've been very involved on that one issue. but it's saying on day one, i'm going to challenge whether the

constitution applies to me and whether the laws of the land apply to me. so it's actually it's actually grabbing the levers of power and shattering them as well. >> and, and testing on day one, whether the constitution and we've had glimpses into this that he'll be i'll be a dictator on day one. >> that's not an investigative journalism finding. that's a declaration on fox news to sean hannity, who said, you don't mean that? he said, oh, bleep yeah, i do. and then testing whether the laws of the land apply to him again, not something unearthed in a foia but something he posted himself on his own social media platform and saying, i will ignore the laws upheld by the members of the united states supreme court and the ban on tiktok. in terms of the visuals that we're seeing here, you see sort of sparse, sparse crowd of pro-trump seems to be pro-trump supporters on the side there. we also passed the empty stands, which would have been for the risers for people to watch the inaugural

parade. the inaugural parade will not happen outdoors, chris. >> yeah, i mean, the i feel like one of the things that we're all wrestling with and jen, i think you articulated as well, is there are sort of two twin impulses at this moment. >> one is to observe dutifully with fidelity the traditions of the peaceful transfer of power, because that's precisely the part of the constitutional order that joe biden, the democratic party, the, you know, pro-democracy part of the country wants to see upheld and at the same time, not pretending that what's happening isn't happening. and i think those are two impulses at tension with each other. one of the things that i think i've seen a little bit in terms of people talking about this day, is that someone winning a national election, it's important that they be given the tools through transition to govern the country. it's important that we have a peaceful transfer of power. in fact, i think it's important the sitting president

is sitting in that car right now with the incoming president. it's important that he's there. but that also doesn't mean that the criticisms of him were not right. it doesn't mean that civil society can't express dissent. it doesn't mean all of those things. we've had presidents before who were reelected, richard nixon, george w bush or two, i think, of who in the end ended up leaving the office where what the critics had said about them, i think, was largely borne out. and so both of those things can sit next to each other, the sort of traditions of the peaceful transfer of power that we're witnessing here, which are important to observe. and it's important the president of the united states right now is in there with the incoming president. i think everyone understands the importance of that. but it's also not the case that people have to go out of their way to pretend that what is happening isn't happening. >> it's also just i should just note, a remarkable thing that we're seeing here is an empty washington. >> yeah, yeah it is. >> aren't there hundreds of thousands of people there? yeah. >> i mean, you can see some people there on the side. it's sort of this sort of sparse a there there are some trump supporters who are there, but

they are they are not very many people there at all. and the protests are also not visible in large numbers. we saw the people's march this weekend in washington, which did have thousands of people at it, but not nothing on the scale that we saw in 2017, but also trump supporters there and much fewer and much smaller numbers. and that may be because the inaugural festivities have been moved indoors. but honestly, i expected this to somebody there with the ukraine flag. i doubt that's a trump supporter. i, i expected there i expected this shot that we had here to be to be 20 deep on both sides of the street the whole way up. and it's really it's really not it's an interesting thing. it reminds me a little bit of forgive me for making this analogy, but it reminds me a little bit of the predictions of mass mass crowds for trump at each of his indictments and court proceedings. when we saw these small little gaggles of people, certainly his supporters turned up, but not in numbers that were anything like, you would think

from the discourse around it. >> and also, joy mentioned this before, but the coldest morning i've ever spent in my life was 6 a.m. to 1:00 on january 20th, 2009, when it was about 20 degrees out, and it was so cold and there were hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people freezing. i mean, truly freezing. so, you know, it kind of does speak a bit to the kind of the sort of lonely progress of oligarchy. >> right? i mean, maga ism isn't a mass movement. it isn't a broad movement among the american people. it's a movement. about of a third of american adults. it's not a movement of great popular culture. i think snoop has found that out over the weekend. and nelly found out that, oh, wait a minute, it isn't a broadly beloved movement. and i think this kind of speaks to it. and when you think about it, it is a movement driven in some sense by people like leonard leo, who constructed the court that immunized donald trump from criminality. essentially, they said, trump essentially is the

king. but throughout the history of monarchies, kings have not always been wildly popular. king george was so unpopular, the u.s. left the kingdom to form a separate country, the united states. so if he is the king, that does not mean that he is a beloved and broadly loved king. it means that leonard leo constructed a court that immunized him, and elon musk funded with $200 million in waving millions, $1 million around in the state of pennsylvania, an election in which he was able to win with roughly the same number of people who voted for him the last time. and with 19 million voters on the other side staying home, it's some sense it's a pyrrhic victory. i think, for him in terms of his need. if you talk to people like mary trump about what his needs are emotionally, that he wants the love and adoration of the american people, but you can't buy that with elon's money. you can only earn that with great

results. his first administration did not have great results. it had a million people dead of covid. so you have to earn that. and he can purchase the presidency and power, but you can't purchase adoration. >> i was interested at the inaugural pre-inaugural rally that he had last night at the capital one arena in washington. the sort of key, the key phrase that he like led up to in his big remarks was this quote, i will act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing our country. all right then, all of them, and go. so we'll see. joining us now is our friend alex wagner. alex, it's good to have you here watching these visuals this morning. some unexpected stuff, some absolutely as scripted and as expected. what's been going through your mind? >> i feel like we all have feelings about what's happening, but i keep thinking about the larger audience for this. >> right? >> there's obviously the

domestic audience in particular. i think, of the migrant families, both documented and undocumented, whose fates very much hang in the balance in the course of the next 12 to 24 hours. >> i'm thinking about women and girls in red states who maybe have some version of bodily autonomy because of access to medication abortion. that too could go away precipitously. i'm thinking about the international audience, where, you know, if you're vladimir putin, it's a great day. but if you're the people of ukraine and vladimir zelensky, it could. this is just a very complicated series of proceedings. i'm thinking, of course, as i always do, about the people of panama, greenland and canada who probably are scratching their heads right now at best. >> you know, it's the implications of this are being felt across the globe. >> and i think that there's a lot of trepidation, certainly some excitement in certain corners of the world, but a whole lot of worry. >> and i do believe donald trump, when he says he's going to try and do things quickly.

>> i think we are. >> i hope you guys have carbo loaded and are prepared, because i think it's going to be a very busy next 24 hours. >> ever since i turned 50, i've been carbo loading. are there other foods joining us now from the east side of the us capitol, where biden and trump have just arrived, is chris jansing. chris, tell us what you're seeing from your vantage point. well, this is an extraordinary moment. clearly, rachel, as we watch the motorcade just arrived for donald trump, a comeback after a clear victory in november, but also someone who left this capital four years ago as something of a pariah, in large part because of what happened inside that capitol on january 6th. but he rebranded that as a day of love. he regretted his own presidency. he rebranded the republican party, and now here he is with joe biden. though as i was listening to your conversation, i was reminded that in many ways, it's exactly what joe biden talked about in his farewell address,

right? about how now it becomes everyone's responsibility. the very first inauguration i ever covered in 1993 for bill clinton, maya angelou wrote an extraordinary poem called on the pulse of morning. >> and one of the lines is lift up your hearts. each new hour holds new chances for a new beginning. >> do not be wedded forever to fear, yoked eternally to brutishness. >> it feels very much like the same message that joe biden was sending. and so, while yes, this is a moment where he is showing his belief in the constitution and traditional norms, him being here, barack obama, george w bush, bill clinton more than photo ops, mike pence being here, the two women that donald trump defeated, kamala harris and hillary clinton. it goes beyond that. it really is, i

think, for them, an important symbol of the message they want to send on this day that belongs to donald trump, he said. four years ago, we'll be back in some form. and that form now is as we watch the folks coming around in the motorcade. that form is soon to be once again president of the united states, rachel christiane saint, for us at the capitol, as we watch there, jd vance and his wife usha arrive. >> we've just seen the senate leadership and house leadership arrive, including democratic leader chuck schumer and the house leader, excuse me, senate leader chuck schumer and the house leader, hakeem jeffries. we saw president biden and president trump arrive looking relatively convivial, like they had been at least been having a conversation. it's a good reminder that they're kind of the same height, that which which is not necessarily they're both big, tall men, which you don't necessarily get the sense

of in any sort of way that you can range against one another. there's dana white, the mixed martial arts promoter, mary madison, the republican mega-donor delphine arnault, bernard arnault, lvmh, the heir apparent to a very important luxury conglomerate. would that be the very fancy check that is the actually the blond in the middle and with the with the turtleneck. >> i can't speak for the elegantly dressed woman in the checks. >> very good. thank you. >> yes. >> so this is we're all going to have to learn a new visual, a visual cast of characters here at this point. again, it's very unusual in terms of the staging here because everybody is crammed into the capitol rotunda for this. this has happened as we've been talking about one other time in 1985. i honestly would expect here comes the cabinet nominees, led by the very controversial defense nominee, pete hegseth. i would have expected, now that we've

seen president biden and president trump arrive, i would i would have expected everybody to be seated. and this all be sort of more more settled down by now. but as you see, it's all still sort of settling into settle, settling into whatever this is ultimately going to look like. nicole, as you watch this, obviously there's a there is a return to normalcy here in the outgoing president respecting the process that is happening when trump broke that precedent four years ago, i think it was an open question as to whether or not that precedent was then permanently broken. president biden and his whole administration choosing to restore what had previously held since the civil war era, maybe means we are back to this as a as a as as a sense of continuity. but to me, it was an open question. you know, i think there's the exercise today of holding today up to history. and then there's the exercise today of holding today up to the last

today. right. so the last today was the first time this happened. and i think that i, i, i read a different sort of swath of clips today. i read about trump's fomo for bastille day and the north korean military parades when he was president last time, he had a real fetish for what happened in france on bastille day and all the pageantry. and rachel, is your commenting on the live pictures out of washington. i mean, there was nothing trump wanted more, and it was really the line of reporting that unearthed what we would later learn to be sourced all the way up to general kelly and chairman of the joint chiefs mark milley. trump's appetite for military parades and military personnel who were not injured serving their country. >> i mean, trump's appetite for north korean displays and military might. >> i mean, there really is a lot that we know about trump on this day from the last time we covered trump on this day, the first time he won and during his presidency. and i think the struggles to sort of ask

questions about whether biden's adherence to the institutions and the rule of law are going to serve the democracy won't be answered for another generation. we won't know the answers to any of those questions for 50 to 100 years. what those politicians do, though, i think we also can't punch holes in because it's all they know. it's all that we've ever known until trump. and so george w bush and barack obama and kamala harris being there, they are there because that's the normal thing to do, is to attend. but i think that one of the frames that i've held trump up to in the last, you know, 60 days has been what trump did last time. and to go back to the people, i mean, chairman milley, mark, general mattis, and i just say that was dan and marilyn quayle, former vice president dan quayle. interestingly, two people whom mike pence consulted ahead of january 6th. i mean, the ties to all the people in attendance today, just just over the last four years is so interesting to me. i mean, quayle and pence ended up on the other side of

trump because of their adherence to the constitution. that document trump promises to blow up if the reporting holds in his executive orders to end birthright citizenship. i mean, i think one of the great sort of measures and yardsticks we can turn to is trump today versus trump eight years ago. oh, interesting. just in terms again of the visuals here to see the cabinet nominees and trump appointees come in sort of formally with tulsi gabbard and vivek ramaswamy at the rear of that procession, it should be noted that vivek ramaswamy is not going to have any sort of government job. he was going to be involved with doge. he is now not going to be involved with doge. there's former vice president mike pence. has to be a harrowing day for him, but he made the decision to be there solo, walking in alone. yeah. his wife at the jimmy carter funeral very pointedly did not stand and greet donald trump when he entered, even though mike pence did. but we saw ramaswamy there. he's not going

to be part of the government. tulsi gabbard there at the end. and then it sort of seamlessly into donors and billionaires who are what are they doing there? and then seamlessly into javier malay and other right wing political leaders from foreign countries, which, again, is not a normal thing to have at a presidential inauguration. but seeing all of those people essentially as an amalgam, which is the way they're they're they're standing there today is itself a bit of a visual metaphor for this strange moment that we are in. >> elon musk and ensuring that they are not chile. they're all there without their coats, without their overcoats on to make sure that they're comfortable. one mustn't allow the super wealthy to be cold. i'm just noting that on this day, retired capitol police sergeant aquilino gonell issued a statement because, you know, the other juxtaposition to nicole's point is the today of four years ago, when donald trump did not attend, when everyone did have to stand outside, when there was a well,

actually, they didn't get to do a lot of the events because of covid. so there really wasn't a lot of ceremony. but he issued a statement today saying on january 6th, 2021, i was just doing my job and fulfilling my oath to defend this country. american citizens attacked the capitol, injuring me and my colleagues. my colleagues and i protected all elected officials, regardless of what party they belonged. i and immigrant nearly lost my life defending the constitution and the rule of law in the building that president trump will walk through to be sworn in, and the fact that he needed a protective, a preemptive pardon that he and other police officers who defended this capitol had to on today, thank the outgoing president for pardoning them for no crimes and for simply doing the job of defending some of the very people in this room. is it is something to note on today,

cotton and bernie sanders preferring their phones to conversation with one another as they sit there together just watching this. >> to joy's point, it's striking. we don't typically, of course, see the inauguration in the capitol building and just the role of the building itself in history. i mean, i've lived in washington on and off for 20 years. many of us lived there at different times in a city of small buildings. this is a building everybody knows that is a big building. and even today, as we were watching trump and biden, we couldn't see them. but watching their car move, i mean, before they got in that car, joe biden preemptively pardoned many members of the january 6th committee. people who had investigated the attack on this very building. we don't know what's going to happen, but after this, the incoming president might pardon the insurrectionists who walked into this building. and so the bookends of this day just do tell the story of just the strangeness, the abnormality about this moment in history. >> i think the crowd at the

capital one arena that's watching this just on screens like the rest of us are at home, reportedly booed when mike pence was seen to be walking out tonight. >> this is just as a matter of stagecraft, such a weird thing that's happening here. >> i mean, i think the divide between what is like the largest backing band of billionaires you've ever seen, right? standing with trump, looking out onto a sea of elected officials. i don't know if that's the actual breakdown, but it really feels like the rich people get to stand next to trump and face out at the people who will serve him in congress. >> that is very, very it's also a choice. >> and nicole knows this well, too. i mean, there's no question the inaugural committee got to decide who was in that room. they could have made the decision. we want 200 seats for normal people, right? they didn't, of course. and that's important to note to bill clinton and hillary clinton arriving again. >> we've seen dan and marilyn quayle, former vice president dan quayle. we've seen vice president mike pence arriving pointedly on his own. karen

pence, if you're watching at home, god bless you. >> she and michelle obama said, not, not, not tonight, not today. >> yeah. >> i'm thinking of the pardons again. >> and caroline edwards is one of the capitol police officers who is still working. and there's george w bush and laura bush. i think maybe one of his most famous quotes ever might have been trump 1.0, some strange bleep, right? that was some weird, weird bleep. yeah, he said after trump's first inaugural. >> it looks like he has some thoughts right now. those are the kushner children. i believe entering alex i feel like we're perfect complements to one another. >> the people who i do not recognize are the people who, you know who they are. >> so arriving on his own, on his own, also arriving on his own. >> former president barack obama, as joe just noted, michelle obama, the former first lady elected not to attend

today's proceedings. she also did not attend proceedings for former president carter's funeral a couple of weeks a few weeks ago in washington. while we're talking about the history of this room, the rotunda, of course, less than two weeks ago, was the host to jimmy carter lying in state that was in this room. >> and it was also incredibly cold. i attempted myself and my anchor producer tried to get to it. we never made it. it was a it was a 3.5 hour wait in about like 9 degrees freezing temperatures. so talk about cold. but the lines and the throngs who did make the three hour wait, it was pretty incredible. the outpouring for president carter and people who were there with their children, in some cases shivering, trying to stay warm, to get into this very space to honor the late and i would say great president carter, while we were watching these scenes, our own anna cabrera is at the capital one

arena. >> we did just have that reporting that when the screens that people are watching at the capital one arena showed former vice president mike pence arriving alone, the capital one arena crowd booed the image of him. anna, thanks very much for helping us understand what we're seeing here. 20,000 people, 20,000 seats at the capital one arena. what's the scene like there as people are watching these proceedings on screens? well, this place is still filling up. >> people are sort of streaming in. >> remember, a lot of the folks here thought they were going to be on the national mall. big change of plans, including where they are witnessing today's historic events. i will say there is a jumbotron of sorts or a big screen in this room, and that's where they're seeing all the activity. you're right, they booed when they saw mike pence show up there. they cheered when they saw elon musk, for example, who's currently on that screen. big boos as well for the clintons when they walked in along with chants of lock her up, obviously referencing

hillary clinton and the first trump election. and now you hear cheers. so lots of cheers. every time you see a trump family member, including the president elect, including his vice president elect, jd vance, and his wife as well, i will say, the folks we've been talking to here had big plans to be part of this big day outside on the national mall, and we're ready to bundle up and take part in it this way. >> they're glad to be warm inside, but they did wait in line. >> since around 430 this morning, some of the folks we spoke to and kind of the front rows of this venue in order to make sure they had a seat in this room so that it wouldn't be offered not to come here, some as far away as american samoa, who traveled 48 hours to be here. so a little different than what they were expecting. but nonetheless, people are optimistic about what's to come, not just today and what they'll hear from soon to be president trump, but what he may deliver

in the next four years. hopes for personal prosperity and also peace. peace at home and peace in the world. i spoke to one man from nebraska who said he believes trump can deliver on ending wars and preventing any future wars during his administration. >> those are their priorities as they await the words of the soon to be new president. >> and just to clarify, the you said people are streaming in. is the capital one arena full and are there long lines to get inside? well, we are inside. there were long lines when we came in a couple of hours ago, but if we can pan up, you can see the nosebleed. still have a few chairs that are open right now. those sections, though have been filling up in the past couple of hours. they were empty when we walked in a couple of hours ago, talking to the folks in the crowd. >> they didn't have to have specific tickets to get into this arena. >> it was first come, first

serve, so we heard some folks started lining up as soon as the event that was here last night ended. but again, folks who were here as early as 430 this morning got front row seats. so again, people are continuing to come in, but we aren't expecting actual action in this venue until later this afternoon, when perhaps there will be some semblance of a parade. we know that was the plan, but how that's going to look? still to be determined. >> we'll keep you posted. >> ana cabrera for us at the capital one arena. ana. thank you. you're seeing the images on the screen there of members of the united states supreme court arriving for the inaugural. it's not like the state of the union where some come and some don't. with the inauguration, they they all come. ketanji brown jackson, wearing beautiful looks like a shell sort of necklace collar over her judicial vestment there. breyer also, justice breyer at the end there. justice breyer of course, not currently sitting on the court, but a very

hale and hearty active retired member of the united states supreme court, taking the opportunity to be there today for the proceedings. we do expect that the swearing in of jd vance will be done by justice brett kavanaugh, one of donald trump's appointees. we expect that the swearing in of donald trump will be done by chief justice john roberts. joining us now from emancipation hall in the capitol is our own. andrea mitchell. andrea, tell us about your vantage point and what you've been seeing this morning. >> it's just extraordinary, rachel, to be here in the rotunda. i've actually been here for previous inaugurals during the reagan years. i was here for one of those, and people were coming in, of course, on their way to the front where we were supposed to be out in front on west executive. so in here there are 1300 people and an additional 500 in an overflow. so this is the overflow room below the rotunda. >> and the last time i was in

the rotunda, the last time donald trump was in the rotunda was for that viewing that you mentioned when he walked in with melania around 6:00 that evening to pay his respects for president carter as he lay here in repose, the i've covered the hill before. i was covering other buildings in this in this city. >> and all of these rooms are so filled with history, but particularly to see the clintons arriving, the quayles arriving, the bushes arriving, and now finally taking their seats there in the rotunda. but only about 800 people can be there. so this overflow room will also include spouses of some of the members of congress who can't fit in. you saw senator klobuchar, amy klobuchar, of course, at the white house. >> that's because she, as the outgoing when the democrats had the majority, she was the chair of the rules committee, which is in charge of the inaugural. >> so she's in charge of this inauguration, all of the planning. and it was not their decision, as was pointed to me

by members of congress. it was definitely the president elect's decision. and as you can see here now, the supreme court has come in. >> you can see the trump family walking in. >> we've walked these corridors before for inaugurals as well, but always to go outside. so that was the decision to come inside. that has obviously changed all of this. and we don't know if there was any tension at that tea at the white house. but certainly those preemptive pardons that were issued by president biden today go right in the face of what president elect trump is planning to do. and all of that will change. we, of course, know about these executive orders, some of which are going to be legally challenged, certainly because those involving civil service are changing laws of the united states to change civil service, to be able to have more thousands, more political appointees. all of that is changing at high noon here in the nation's capital. rachel. >> andrea, thank you for that. as as andrea was talking there, as you noted, we saw some of

donald trump's children arrive. ivanka trump, her husband, jared kushner, who managed to parlay his white house position in the first trump term into a multibillion dollar investment from government controlled sovereign wealth funds in multiple middle eastern countries, each recently announced happily, as his father in law is returning to the presidency, that he added something like another billion and a half to his haul from the countries that he first made contact with because of his role in the white house. we also saw don junior and eric trump, tiffany trump and president's youngest child, barron trump, who is now a freshman at nyu. we were talking earlier about how as the dignitaries and everybody involved in these proceedings, these constitutional proceedings, attends the actual swearing in, the staff at the white house, which doubles not only as the president's office but as the first family's residence, has to scramble really fast to turn everything over, move one family out, move

another family in and one source inside. the west wing tells nbc news that the oval office is being turned over right now as we speak. president biden had a circular rug in the oval office that is being replaced with the same rug that president trump had in there during his first term, which is the sunburst patterned rug that nancy reagan designed for her husband that was used during reagan's presidency. as you look at elon musk figuring so prominently, not just in the transition, but in the inauguration, you think of what timothy snyder, i think described as the clash between those who want oligarchy to get to fascism and those who want fascism to get to oligarchy. >> the feud within maga world between steve bannon and elon musk. and it would certainly appear, optically that elon musk is winning. >> but if you know anything about the maga movement, which we all do, or from studying it with our noses pressed against the glass for the better part of ten years, steve bannon does represent the beating heart, and i wonder what he thinks of this opulence and this billionaires

club and trump, you know, surrounded top bottom, center right left up down with the wealth of the tech billionaire movement and not the people who stood by him for ten years. right. while as as joy noted earlier, the, the base that just grassroots supporters who spent their own money to come to washington to this are at the hockey arena watching it on tv. and as anna cabrera just reported to us, shouting, lock her up at the sight of hillary clinton walking in with her husband, former president. >> and it's interesting because vivek ramaswamy did make it into the warm room. but one of the big breaking points between him and some in the maga movement, some of maybe some of the people who were in that arena, was when he declared his support for h-1b visas, which are visas that allow a lot of people to come in for pretty good paying tech jobs around the country. and elon musk and he were all in for the visas, and steve bannon and a

lot of the trump maga base were very much against them. and the winner of that fight when donald trump declared a winner were the h-1b visas. and the sort of, you know, people who believe in this sort of global talent pool that can be brought in. and it was vivek ramaswamy declaration of the mediocrity of the american workforce that, you know, we don't know why he is no longer going to be on this blue ribbon doge committee, but he's not going to be on it. he did get into the room, though. i just wonder if you calculated the net worth of that room, what it would be. >> let's watch mike pence, the former vice president, being announced and coming in together. to applause and. standing ovation from most of the room.

>> i wonder if you work at the washington post, what you think of jeff bezos sitting there? i was going to say, i just think the story has not been yet written about this. the tensions that these billionaires are going to have to navigate, especially if they sit atop large corporations or newspapers. i mean, it's not a fait accompli that it's all just a gravy train they ride, and definitely right. first of all, there's a natural tension, as you point out, joe joy, in terms of like, h-1b visas for skilled laborers. that's a real question. >> when you talk about mass deportation raids and closing the border and, you know, no more refugee status, and what does that mean for h-1b visas? >> but also, there are a lot of people that read the washington post, right? there are a lot of people that shop on amazon, a lot of people that buy lvmh products. and i, i think to some degree we've seen malaise and a little bit of eyes closed from the american public. but i do think i do believe that once donald trump is sworn in and starts actually acting on some of the promises he's made, i don't know that the road ahead

is one without turns. >> imagine katharine graham sending $1 million to nixon. yes, unimaginable. >> unimaginable. >> there's also, as we're watching, the opulence is the best way to describe it. i mean, one of the lessons all of these tech billionaires have learned from elon musk is if you give a lot of money, you're going to get access. and the inaugural committee, they raised $200 million, which is multiples of what was raised by the biden inaugural committee and by the obama inaugural committee. there are limitations to it. trump can't put it in his pocket, but it's essentially a slush fund that anybody can give to. there aren't limitations like there are in campaign finance. so we've seen that lesson play out over the last couple of months. and the question now is like, well, what happens with that money? what do they do with it? but also what lessons have they learned from here? yeah. >> well, i mean, if you think about the lesson, if you and i don't know if the reporting is, as the bytedance ceo made it to this, he was going to attend.

but if you just look at what happened over the last 48 hours with bytedance, you know, sort of preemptively pulling tiktok access on saturday, not even on sunday, a day before with the post. shut it down with this post saying because of this law. and then 24 hours later on the day, they were supposed to take it down, putting it back up and crediting what they said was president trump, but he's not president yet. and sort of giving him, you know, or sort of sort of promoting and actually sort of force posting to every single tiktok user praise of donald trump. and so i think the lesson that these ceos have learned is, is pretty clear is that, you know, preemptive praise for trump is what you need to do. it's sort of a cost of doing business. >> you see, president obama and president trump there exchanging a word and a smile. bush, bush. i'm sorry, president obama and president trump. president bush, i said it twice. they're exchanging a word and a smile.

let's watch here as the presidents are announced. former president bush cracking up, which is hilarious. >> i want to believe in my mind that he's asking himself, where's his buddy michelle? because that's his buddy and he's got no hard candy. today, roberts junior from her associate justices of the supreme court of the united states. >> chief justice roberts, and the associate justices emerging and. and justice breyer. again, he was a retired justice. but there for the ride. interestingly, when we were speaking with ana cabrera inside the capital one center, where trump supporters are amassed to watch the proceedings on screen, when we saw the supreme court arrive and they saw them on screen, a big a big round of applause for the trump appointees, presumably on the supreme court. the trump movement, trump trump base of

support. sees those three justices, plus the other conservatives as the home team in terms of the american judiciary. expecting the announcement here of president biden and president trump. first lady jill biden and first lady melania trump also expected now.

members of president trump's family may also be announced. at this point, although we have seen jared kushner take his position up with dignitaries at the front. douglas emhoff and jill doctor jill biden approaching the rotunda now. >> tiffany trump and barron trump.

>> and laura trump, the rnc chair. and for a moment, contender for florida senate, sort of moving her husband eric, back in the back in line there briefly. >> she can focus on her music career. >> yes, that's possible. >> she's saying yes, she very much. >> one of the few rnc chairs, maybe the only one to have. >> she released a single in the middle of the campaign you did miss that was heavily auto-tune. this is why we do team coverage. well, one of us falls down, the other picks up. >> well, i'll sing it to you. >> if we take a commercial break, can we take a commercial break? i was told there would be singing. >> kristi noem, the nominee for homeland security, next to apple ceo tim cook. >> how is this happening only in america? >> how is this happening? why

are people with tons of money up on the dais with cabinet nominees and family members? >> it is a message. >> it is a message. >> and i think it and yeah, i think they are up there for the very reason that you probably think they're up there. >> they're it's it is a it is a pivot moment, pivotal moment here. jeff bezos, the billionaire owner of the washington post and amazon and that space company standing in front of rfk jr, the wildly controversial nominee to be health and human services secretary, one who, interestingly, has not yet had his confirmation hearing scheduled. >> and i believe that sundar pichai from alphabet, right in the middle as well. >> cory booker, senator tom cotton has been on his phone the entire time that we've seen him. he's enjoying whatever's happening on his phone. >> candy. candy crush.

>> you called it pivotal. >> it's also a pivot point, right? >> we are sitting here watching junior with a thumbs up. but we're also waiting right for the action. i mean, i think one of the other things to pick up on jen's point from earlier is how different this is. project 2025 was a second trump term in waiting, and now it's creator. it's author is the omb chair, which anyone that worked in the white house knows is the most boring but powerful post in the entire complex. >> republican staff director of the joint congressional committee on inaugural ceremonies miss emily levine, the senate secretary for the minority, the honorable gary myrick, the house of representatives chief administrative officer, the honorable katherine spindler, and mr. bruce fisher.

>> it'll be interesting to see how they do staging today around the various orders and actions that president trump is going to sign. >> mr. douglas emhoff. >> and first lady jill biden with a smile. doug emhoff who we've ever seen look fairly grim today, had the election gone the other way, he would have been in a historic position to become the nation's first first gentleman. instead, he is the outgoing second gentleman, husband of vice president kamala harris. we've had reporting about executive actions and executive orders expected on border issues, on discriminating against transgender people, on declaration of an emergency, at least on the border, if not elsewhere. it'll be interesting

to see both how they how they how they manage some of those things. trump had sort of pounded his chest and bragged that he would be pardoning all the january 6th criminal, criminally convicted criminal convicts within moments of being sworn in. if he's going to actually try to do that, that means it will happen in this room, i guess, or at capital one arena. >> it could happen. >> there was some reporting they would bring death to capital one arena in front of those borders signings there. and it will be interesting to see how many of these actions that he's taking. his day one actions are messaging actions, and how many of them are substantive. certainly the birthright citizenship order, if he is going to sign one of these, as joy was noting earlier, that's a message not only that he wants to change that fundamentally american thing, that you're an american if you're born here, but also that he expects to challenge the constitution. an executive order cannot override the constitution, and birthright citizenship is in the constitution. if he signals that his administration will stop

providing passports and social security cards to babies that are born in this country. and he knows it's unconstitutional. but he has an executive order that says it shouldn't be that way. that's an essentially airmail to the to the supreme court to try to have that portion of the constitution interpreted in such a way that that fundamental american reality will change. that's a signal. again, it will have substantive implications for people who are born in this country in days ahead. but it's also just just a signal of the radicalism of what they're intending. >> well, and also, there's a question of retroactivity, right? because if you're vivek ramaswamy, both of whose parents are were not americans, and his father is still not an american citizen, and his mother only became an american citizen after he was born. are you a citizen now? is he retracting the citizenship of his own supporter? because it's not only liberals and undocumented people who would fall under the

category of people who would no longer be considered u.s. citizens, it would be people like vivek ramaswamy. >> it's also i mean, i was looking back at joe biden's executive orders, and they were largely about covid because that was the crisis we were in and acknowledged crisis. everyone in the country thought he also rejoined the paris climate agreement. so there's some reversal of past president's actions, which is pretty normal. but as people are watching this, it's important to know executive orders have a legal component to them. it is essentially putting something into place. it can still be challenged by the courts. they're not as strong as having a law passed through congress, but executive actions, which they may do as well, are more like messages. they're more like direction. and there is a difference between the two, and they may try to combine them all as they're describing and trying to have shock and awe and awe moments. >> i also wonder if there's also symbolic, you know, actions that presidents can take that don't necessarily have legal meaning but have great symbolic meaning. and president biden did one that i think scrambled it definitely

scrambled my brain in the in this past, over the weekend and also sent people scrambling to understand it. and it was when he, through his social media feeds, declared the equal rights amendment to be the 28th amendment to the constitution, essentially usurping the national archivist who had refused to publish it. and i wonder if that then sets off in some of the people who were pushing for the equal rights amendment, their take on him doing that is essentially he then published it himself. and so then if donald trump decides or if the supreme court decides they don't agree with it, suddenly they would be repealing, in effect, the 28th amendment, because the former sitting president, who as of right now it's 1126, is still the president has declared it to be the 28th amendment. and i think in this moment when women are facing a world in which women's rights are very much in question and women's equality is

very much in question, whether or not democrats choose to make that a thing, they fight on that. women say, you know what? we're going to accept? i mean, i say this on the day of cecile richards passing, somebody who fought so hard for women's equality and women's rights, that is a stake in the ground that president biden left on his way out. that, i think, is something to note and something that if people want to fight for something, it exists. it happened in the world. >> i should just note that we're quite a bit behind schedule in terms of what's happening here, and they obviously want to have the new president sworn in before noon. but we're about, i don't know, 20, 25 minutes behind schedule in terms of their ability to get that done. >> it's hard getting all the billionaires in the building. that's just not something you've had to do. >> i have trouble with it all the time. >> yes. >> yeah, i, i would say joy to your point about and jen about what's going to happen next. i do think some part of it is just going to be the action and the

chaos itself. right? setting aside, actually, whether it holds up in a court of law, especially when it comes to immigration, i just think it's, you know, you suggest you're going to put a citizenship question on the census. it doesn't actually make it through the courts. but there are a lot of mixed status families and undocumented families that don't do the census anymore. right. you say you're going to end birthright citizenship. you say you're going to do mass deportations. it's just the fear alone has the intended effect. so whether or not the, you know, immediate or even medium term reality is that it doesn't go through the climate of fear is already so real that it just takes the words coming from his mouth to some degree. >> i think that's such an important point. i mean, even the reports about there being one related to the department of defense and deploying resources to the border, which my understanding is that they can deploy resources, but the dod troops can't just arrest migrants. that's not what the. and we should talk to a lawyer, obviously, but i talked to some legal experts from dod this morning that so it is a shock and awe. it is still scary to

have potentially the ability of department of defense troops to go to the border. but they can't, as i understand it, unless he invokes the insurrection act, arrest migrants. but it's still provoking fear. it's like what we've seen in chicago and la and philadelphia over the reports over the course of the weekend, and that's part of the objective of the message of today. >> and the objective has always been to manipulate where our eyes go. and so i think, you know, fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me. i think there's going to be a real expectation that the media knows where to look this time. and i think that even you asked trump today. i think it came out during the campaign about child separation. and inasmuch as jacob soboroff has the definitive body of reporting on that issue, trump didn't shy away from it when asked at the time, because the cruelty of that policy was the deterrent in trump's telling. and so i think being able to sift through where the fear that the announcement creates and where the actions

will actually be upheld by a court of law is one of our chief missions. >> we watch their usha vance, the wife of vice president elect jd vance, and melania trump, the once and future first lady, both arriving on the arms of very stern marine escorts. we expect that they will be presumably next to be announced. after that, we will have vice president harris introduced. president biden, introduced jd vance introduced then some more of the administrative leaders of all of this introduced. and then finally the president elect brought in. so we've still got quite some way to go. and it is 1130 eastern at this point. i'm not sure if they will be cutting some of the planned remarks that are due to happen before the actual swearing in in order to in order to get there ahead of the noon deadline. but the program has a lot more in it than 29 minutes would seem to suggest. >> please welcome the armed forces chorus and america's

tenor christopher de macchio. >> i do think just a sort of thing that we might have forgotten is in terms of race and ethnicity and where we are as a country, we should note that there is another family of indian heritage coming into the vice president's house. right? we've sort of forgotten that piece of it, obviously very different politics with little kids. >> yeah. >> one of whom is named vivek, rolling. >> i can hear you calling me. >> you're calling me to. pay true to thee. to thee i will be. >> oh. >> america. no. eating.

>> let the. >> be no wounded. heart. i will keep you in my. keeping. till there be. >> understood. sergio. your name and lead you to the sun. by your. candle. and. we will be. kind. no. america, i hear you. come. your. >> prayer is to the same from your. mountains. grant. and.

although this land you are. >> beautiful to. me. oh! america. you. going? oh, i can hear you. >> calling me. you're calling me to. >> pay. to do, thee to do. >> this. oh, i will be. and we will be as. one.

you are. to me. >> oh! america. calling. i. >> will never. and. teddy. so. >> that was christopher macchio singing a song called oh, america. you see, the congressional leadership, some

of the congressional leadership arriving here, steve scalise, chuck schumer, mike johnson, senator amy klobuchar, jackie barber, the clerk of the house of representatives, the honorable kevin f mccumber. this is the inaugural committee being announced. we had a shot in momentarily ago, moments ago, of president vice president elect jd vance approaching the rotunda. we're expecting him, of course, to be sworn in before president elect trump is sworn in again. the swearing in of jd vance will happen by justice brett kavanaugh. and when it comes to president elect trump, that will be chief justice john roberts.

back to the rotunda. as former and future first lady melania trump and a wide brimmed hat enters with a smile. take her place next to the podium. son barron greeting her. lawrence o'donnell. while we have eyes on what's happening here in the rotunda, you had any first thoughts on what you've been watching thus far today? >> well, there is a there. >> there is. >> i've noticed on social media this morning already some confusion about the nature of this ceremony and the participation in it by people who said that the election of donald trump could mean the end

of the continuity of this government. >> and this ceremony is, of course, to celebrate the continuity of this government and everyone joining. it is supporting the continuity of the government. but there are voters out there who are confused about people participating in it. and i think that's an understandable confusion. serious observers of it understand it and understand the reason why president biden would say something as magnanimous as welcome home to donald trump. >> but there is some confusion out there. >> there's 75 million people who voted for kamala harris for president, many of whom don't understand what this picture of unity is about. and that's something that i think we need to, in effect, teach because it's a lost lesson. and this is a very vivid example of what's at stake in the continuity of government and why those two people who just saw president biden and vice president harris

support it and are trying to support it by being there today. >> hail to the chief plays as president biden and vice president harris arrive in their position at the de facto dais there, standing ovation throughout the room. >> ladies and gentlemen, escorting the vice president elect, the executive director for the joint congressional committee on inaugural ceremonies, mr. michael wagner, senate deputy sergeant at arms and doorkeeper jason bell, and house deputy sergeant at arms, mr. sean keating.

>> ladies and gentlemen, the vice president elect of the united states, the honorable jd vance.

>> ladies and gentlemen, escorting the president elect, the staff director for the joint congressional committee on inaugural ceremonies. >> elizabeth farrar, house sergeant at arms. the honorable william p mcfarland, senate sergeant at arms and doorkeeper. the honorable jennifer a hemingway, senate majority

leader. the honorable john thune, and the joint congressional committee on inaugural ceremonies. house democratic leader, the honorable hakeem jeffries, house majority leader. the honorable steve scalise, speaker of the house of representatives. the honorable mike johnson, senate democratic leader. the honorable charles schumer, ranking member of the joint congressional committee on inaugural ceremonies. the honorable deb fischer, and chairwoman of the joint congressional committee on inaugural ceremonies. the honorable amy klobuchar.

>> ladies and gentlemen, the president elect of the united states, the honorable donald john trump. >> member.

of. >> ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. >> i'm just going to break in here for a moment. i apologize to tell you that as president elect, trump has taken the stage here, we've just had an announcement from president biden, quote, my family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats motivated solely by a desire to hurt me. the worst kind of partizan politics.

unfortunately, i have no reason to believe that these attacks will end. he has exercised his pardon power to pardon his family. james b biden, sarah jones, biden, valerie biden owens, john t owens and francis w biden ceremony outgoing president klobuchar, joe biden issuing pardons to members of his immediate family as his last. what appears to be his last act as president. welcome to the 60th presidential inauguration. >> today, president elect trump and vice president elect vance will take their oaths of office, and we will witness the peaceful transfer of power at the heart of our democracy. for the past year, i've chaired the inaugural ceremony committee, which includes the leadership of congress from both parties. we

thank the committee and capitol staff and law enforcement who worked so hard over the last year and especially the last three days. you've done a beautiful job and you have shown grace under pressure. our theme this year is our enduring democracy. the presence of so many presidents and vice presidents here today is truly a testament to that endurance. we welcome president biden and doctor biden, we welcome vice president harris and doug emhoff, president obama, president clinton and secretary clinton, president bush and laura bush, vice president pence, vice president quayle and marilyn quayle, the justices of the united states supreme court are with us, all nine of them, i

counted. and, of course, the trump and vance families. this ceremony marks what will soon be 250 years of our democracy. it is the moment when leaders, elevated by the will of the people, promise to be faithful to our constitution, to cherish and defend it. it is the moment when they become, as we all should be, the guardians of our country through war and peace, through adversity and prosperity. we hold this inauguration every four years, and today it falls on martin luther king day. a further reminder that we must strive to uphold the values enshrined in our constitution the freedoms, the liberties, and as is inscribed on the entrance of the united states supreme court, equal justice under law. but

what makes this moment more than a passing ceremony is all who are watching it. across the country, the people of this nation, the ordinary people doing extraordinary things. president kennedy, who at one point worked as a senator in this building and would often walk through this very rotunda, once said, in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of interest in politics, holds office. every one of us is in a position of responsibility with that responsibility of citizenship comes an obligation not to seek out malice. as president lincoln once reminded us, but to view others with a generosity of spirit despite our differences. with that responsibility of leadership comes an obligation to stand our ground when we mus, and find common ground when we

can. with everything swirling around us, the hot mess of division it is on all of us. to quote an incredible songwriter who just happened to be born in my state, to ensure that our nation's democracy is our shelter from the storm. there is a reason this ceremony takes place at the capitol. in other countries, it might be in a presidential palace or a gilded executive office building. here it is traditionally held at the capitol, the people's house. it is a fitting reminder of the system of checks and balances. that is the very foundation of our government. three equal branches of government. that is how, for nearly 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, the construction workers who build our country, the teachers and health care workers who nurture us, the troops defending our freedoms. and yes, the firefighters in los angeles putting themselves on the line for us. our democracy's strength and grit must match. may god bless our nation. thank you.

>> good afternoon. endurance through the years is the ultimate test. >> to persevere through. time is the truest measure of an idea, an institution and a nation. our founders wrote the constitution so that america could withstand all the twists and turns of time. they wrote it to guide us and to preserve forever our right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. but as much as the truths and principles enshrined in our constitution remain the same, our democracy promises the american people the power to change, to chart their own destiny.

>> that's the beauty. >> that is the importance of democracy. it allows the endurance, the permanence of a nation through change. it allows nations like our united states both to avoid the obstacles and to seize the opportunities god has placed before us all, while staying true to our founding principles. today is our country's 60th inauguration ceremony. like all the others before it, it is a celebration of our right to set our uniquely american course. the past several years have been trying times for many, many americans and also for the nations of the free world that we humbly strive to lead. in november, americans

chose again to steer this nation towards greatness. the secure, safe and prosperous future that our founders envisioned for all of us. and today, we celebrate not only their decision to do so, but also the simple right and wisdom of a free people to make their own choice so that their nation might endure. and now, allow me to welcome archbishop timothy dolan and reverend franklin graham, who will deliver our invocation. please rise. >> and be still and know that i am god, supreme among the

nations, supreme on the earth. >> let us pray. >> remembering general george washington on his knees at valley forge, recalling abraham lincoln at his second inaugural with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right. as god gives us to see the right. >> remembering general george patton's instructions to his soldiers as they began the battle of the bulge eight decades ago. >> pray, pray when fighting. pray alone. >> pray with others. pray by night. >> pray by day. >> observing the birthday of the reverend martin luther king, who warned, without god, our efforts turn to ashes. we bless citizens of this one nation under god, humbled by our claim that in god we trust. >> gather indeed this

inauguration day to pray for our president, donald j. >> trump, his family, his advisers, his cabinet, his aspirations, his vice president for the lord's blessings upon joseph biden, for our men and women in uniform, for each other whose hopes are stoked this new year, this inauguration day, we cannot, in relying upon that prayer from the bible upon which our president will soon place his hand in oath as we make our own the supplications of king solomon for wisdom as he began his governance, god of our fathers, in your wisdom you set man to govern your creatures, to govern in holiness and justice, to render justice with integrity. >> give our leader wisdom, for he is your servant, aware of your of his own weakness and brevity of life. >> if wisdom which comes not from you, be not with him, he

shall be held in no esteem. >> send wisdom from heavens, that she may be with him, that he may know your designs. please, god bless america. please mend her every flaw. >> you are the god in whom we trust, who lives and reigns forever and ever. amen. >> mr. president, the last four years there are times i'm sure you thought it was pretty dark. but look what god has done. we praise him and give him glory. god. >> let us pray.

>> our father and our god, thou hast said, blessed is the nation whose god is the lord. as the prophet daniel prayed, blessed be the name of god forever and ever, for wisdom and might are his. he changes the times and the seasons. >> he removes kings. >> he raises up kings. he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. our father today as president donald j. trump takes the oath of office once again, we come to say thank you. oh lord our god. father, when donald trump's enemies thought he was down and out, you and you alone saved his life and raised him up with strength and power by your mighty hand. we pray for president trump that you'll watch over, protect, guide, direct him, give him your wisdom from your throne on high. we ask

that you would bless him and that our nation would be blessed through him. we also ask that you would bless and protect melania as first lady. we thank you for the beauty, the warmth and grace that she shows not only to this nation but to the whole world. we thank you for vice president elect jd vance and his wife, usha and their young family. may he be a strength to president trump to stand beside him, to hold up his arms like aaron held up the arms of moses in the midst of battle, the prophet samuel reminded the people it was you that brought them up from the land of egypt. and he said, now stand still, that i may reason with you before the lord. so, father, we take this moment to stand still, to remember the great things that you have done for this nation. >> thank you for the protection, the bounty, the freedoms that we

so enjoy. we remember to keep our eyes fixed on you, and may our hearts be inclined to your voice. >> we know that america can never be great again. if we turn our backs on you, we ask for your help. and we pray all of this in the name of the king of kings, the lord of lords, your son, my savior and our redeemer, jesus christ. >> amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome associate justice kavanaugh to administer the vice presidential oath of office.

>> please raise your right hand and repeat after me. i, james david vance, do solemnly swear i, james david vance, do solemnly swear that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states, that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic, against all enemies, foreign and domestic. that i will bear true faith, that i will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, and allegiance to the same. that i take this obligation freely, that i take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation, without any mental reservation or

purpose of evasion or purpose of evasion, and that i will well and faithfully discharge, and that i will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office, the duties of the office on which i'm about to enter, on which i'm about to enter. >> so help me god. so help me god. >> congratulations, mr. vice president. thank you. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome chief justice roberts to administer the presidential oath of office. >> to. james.

>> please raise your right hand and repeat after me. i, donald john trump, do solemnly swear. i, donald john trump. do solemnly swear that i will faithfully execute. that i will faithfully execute the office of president of the united states. the office of president of the united states. and will, to the best of my ability and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend. preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the united states. >> the constitution of the united states. >> so help me god. so help me god. congratulations, mr. president.

the. of the coming of the lord. >> he is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. he hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword. is. beautifully. done. holy moly!

loading, loading. la la. glory, glory. glory. honor. your name. glory. all the. glory of his goodness. washing of. >> i have seen him in the watch. fires of a. >> hundred separate camps. they have. him in. altar in the evening. use and. dances. i can read his.

>> righteous. sentence in the. >> different. glaring lamps. his day is. much. enough is launching lucky. polynomial. glory, glory! hallelujah! glory, glory. hallelujah! his truth is marching on.

>> in the. beauty. of the. >> christ was born across the sea. >> with thy. in his bosom. >> that transfigures you and me. as he died. to make men holy. >> let us die to make men free. while god is marching on. >> glory, glory, hallelujah. glory, glory, hallelujah. glory,

glory hallelujah. jesus christ is la. hallelujah! glory, glory. hallelujah. glory, glory. hallelujah! his truth is marching one. has. died.

>> ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor and pleasure to introduce to you the 45th and the 47th president of the united states of america, donald j. trump.

thank you. >> thank you very much, everybody. >> well, thank you very, very much. >> vice president vance. speaker johnson, senator thune, chief justice roberts, justices of the united states supreme court, president clinton, president bush, president obama, president biden, vice president harris, and my fellow citizens. the golden age of america begins right now. from this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. we will be

the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer. during every single day of the trump administration, i will very simply put america first. our sovereignty will be reclaimed. our safety will be restored. the scales of justice will be rebalanced. the vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the justice department and our government will end. and our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud, prosperous and free. america will soon be

greater, stronger, and far more exceptional than ever before. i returned to the presidency confident and optimistic that we are at the start of a thrilling new era of national success. a tide of change is sweeping the country. sunlight is pouring over the entire world, and america has the chance to seize this opportunity like never before. but first, we must be honest about the challenges we face. while they are plentiful, they will be annihilated by this great momentum that the world is now witnessing in the united states of america. as we gather today, our government confronts a crisis of trust. for many years, a radical and corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our

citizens. while the pillars of our society lay broken and seemingly in complete disrepair. we now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home, while at the same time stumbling into a continuing catalog of catastrophic events abroad. it fails to protect our magnificent, law abiding american citizens, but provides sanctuary and protection for dangerous criminals, many from prisons and mental institutions that have illegally entered our country from all over the world. we have a government that has given unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders, but refuses to defend american borders, or more importantly, its own people. our country can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency, as recently shown by the wonderful people of north carolina, been treated so badly. and other

states who are still suffering from a hurricane that took place many months ago. or more recently, los angeles, where we are watching fires still tragically burn from weeks ago without even a token of defense. they're raging through the houses and communities, even affecting some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country, some of whom are sitting here right now. they don't have a home any longer. that's interesting, but we can't let this happen. everyone is unable to do anything about it that's going to change. we have a public health system that does not deliver in times of disaster, yet more money is spent on it than any country anywhere in the world. and we have an education system that teaches our children to be ashamed of themselves, in many cases to hate our country

despite the love that we try so desperately to provide to them. all of this will change starting today, and it will change very quickly. my recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal. and all of these many betrayals that have taken place, and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy, and indeed their freedom. from this moment on, america's decline is over. our liberties and our nation's glorious

destiny will no longer be denied, and we will immediately restore the integrity, competency, and loyalty of america's government. over the past eight years, i have been tested and challenged more than any president in our 250 year history, and i've learned a lot along the way. the journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one that i can tell you. those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom, and indeed to take my life. just a few months ago, in a beautiful pennsylvania field, an assassin's bullet ripped through my ear. but i felt then and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. i was saved by god to make america great again.

thank you. >> thank you. thank you very much. >> that is why each day under our administration of american patriots, we will be working to meet every crisis with dignity and power and strength. we will move with purpose and speed to bring back hope, prosperity, safety and peace for citizens of every race, religion, color and creed for american citizens. january 20th, 2025 is liberation day. it is my hope that our

recent presidential election will be remembered as the greatest and most consequential election in the history of our country, as our victory showed, the entire nation is rapidly unifying behind our agenda with dramatic increases in support from virtually every element of our society young and old, men and women, african americans, hispanic americans, asian americans, urban, suburban, rural. and very importantly, we had a powerful win in all seven swing states. and the popular vote we won by millions of people. to the black and hispanic communities. i want to thank you for the tremendous outpouring of love and trust that you have shown me with your

vote. we set records and i will not forget it.e ard your voices in the campaign, and i look forward to working with you in the years to come. today is martin luther king day and his honor. this will be a great honor, but in his honor, we will strive together to make his dream a reality. we will make his dream come true. thank you. >> thank you. thank you. >> national unity is now returning to america. and confidence and pride is soaring like never before in everything we do. my administration will be inspired by a strong pursuit of

excellence and unrelenting success. we will not forget our country. we will not forget our constitution. and we will not forget our god. we can't do that. today i will sign a series of historic executive orders. with these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of america and the revolution of common sense. it's all about common sense. first, i will declare a national emergency at our southern border.

all illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came. we will reinstate my remain in mexico policy. i will end the practice of catch and release. and i will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country. under the orders i signed today, we will also be

designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. and by invoking the alien enemies act of 1798, i will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks, bringing devastating crime to u.s. soil, including our cities and inner cities. as commander in chief, i have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions. and that

is exactly what i am going to do. we will do it at a level that nobody has ever seen before. next, i will direct all members of my cabinet to marshal the vast powers at their disposal to defeat what was record inflation and rapidly bring down costs and prices. the inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices. and that is why today i will also declare a national energy emergency. we will drill, baby drill.

america will be a manufacturing nation once again, and we have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have. the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on earth, and we are going to use it and use it. we will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again right to the top, and export american energy all over the world. we will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it. with my actions today, we will end the green new deal and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great american auto workers.

in other words, you'll be able to buy the car of your choice. we will build automobiles in america again at a rate that nobody could have dreamt possible just a few years ago. and thank you to the auto workers of our nation for your inspiring vote of confidence. we did tremendously with their vote. i will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect american workers and families. instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens. for this purpose, we are establishing the external

revenue service to collect all tariffs, duties and revenues. it will be massive amounts of money pouring into our treasury, coming from foreign sources. the american dream will soon be back and thriving like never before. to restore competence and effectiveness to our federal government. my administration will establish the brand new department of government efficiency. after years and years of illegal and unconstitutional federal efforts to restrict free expression. i will also sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to

america. never again will the immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political opponents. something i know something about. we will not allow that to happen. it will not happen again. under my leadership, we will restore fair, equal and impartial justice under the constitutional rule of law. and we are going to bring law and order back to our cities. this week, i will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of

public and private life. we will forge a society that is colorblind and merit based. as of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the united states government that there are only two genders, male and female. this week, i will reinstate any service members who were unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the covid vaccine mandate with full

back pay. and i will sign an order to stop our warriors from being subjected to radical political theories and social experiments while on duty. it's going to end immediately. our armed forces will be free to focus on their sole mission defeating america's enemies.

like in 2017, we will again build the strongest military the world has ever seen. we will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into. my proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. that's what i want to be a peacemaker and a unifier. i'm pleased to say that as of yesterday, one day before i assumed office, the hostages in the middle east are coming back home to their families.

thank you. america will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful and most respected nation on earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world. a short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the gulf of mexico to the gulf of america, and we will restore the name of a great president, william mckinley, to mount mckinley, where it should be and where it belongs. president

mckinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent. he was a natural businessman and gave teddy roosevelt the money for many of the great things he did, including the panama canal, which has foolishly been given to the country of panama after the united states. the united states. i mean, think of this. spent more money than ever spent on a project before and lost 38,000 lives in the building of the panama canal. we have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made. and panama's promise to us has been broken. the purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. american ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form. and that includes the united states navy.

and above all, china is operating the panama canal. and we didn't give it to china. we gave it to panama. and we're taking it back. above all, my message to americans today is that it is time for us to once again act with courage, vigor, and the vitality of history's greatest civilization. so as we liberate our nation, we will lead it to new heights of victory and success. we will not be deterred. together, we will end the chronic disease epidemic and keep our children safe, healthy, and disease free. the united states will once again consider itself a growing nation, one

that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations, and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons. and we will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching american astronauts to plant the stars and stripes on the planet mars. our ambition is the lifeblood of a great nation, and right now our nation is more ambitious than any other. there is no nation like our nation. americans are explorers, builders, innovators, entrepreneurs and pioneers. the

spirit of the frontier is written into our hearts. the call of the next great adventure resounds from within our souls. our american ancestors turned a small group of colonies on the edge of a vast continent into a mighty republic of the most extraordinary citizens on earth. no one comes close. americans push thousands of miles through a rugged land of untamed wilderness. they crossed deserts, scaled mountains, braved untold dangers, won the wild west, ended slavery, rescued millions from tyranny, lifted billions from poverty, harnessed electricity, split the atom, launched mankind into the heavens, and put the universe of human knowledge into the palm of the human hand. if we work together, there is nothing we cannot do. and no dream we

cannot achieve. many people thought it was impossible for me to stage such a historic political comeback. but as you see today, here i am. the american people have spoken. i stand before you now as proof that you should never believe that something is impossible to do in america. the impossible is what we do best. from new york to los angeles, from philadelphia to phoenix, from chicago to miami, from houston to right here in washington, dc,

our country was forged and built by the generations of patriots who gave everything they had for our rights and for our freedom. they were farmers and soldiers, cowboys and factory workers, steelworkers and coal miners, police officers and pioneers who pushed onward and marched forward and let no obstacle defeat their spirit or their pride. together they laid down the railroads, raised up the skyscrapers, built great highways, won two world wars, defeated fascism and communism, and triumphed over every single challenge that they faced. after all we have been through together, we stand on the verge of the four greatest years in american history. with your help, we will restore america's promise. and we will rebuild the nation that we love. and we love it so much. we are one people,

one family, and one glorious nation under god. so to every parent who dreams for their child and every child who dreams for their future, i am with you. i will fight for you and i will win for you. we are going to win like never before. thank you. >> thank you. ■thank you. thank you. >> in recent years, our nation has suffered greatly. but we are going to bring it back and make it great again. greater than ever before. we will be a nation like no other, full of compassion, courage and exceptionalism. our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent, and

totally unpredictable. america will be respected again and admired again, including by people of religion, faith, and goodwill. we will be prosperous. we will be proud. we will be strong and we will win like never before. we will not be conquered. we will not be intimidated. we will not be broken. and we will not fail. from this day on, the united states of america will be a free, sovereign and independent nation. we will stand bravely. we will live proudly. we will dream boldly, and nothing will stand in our way. because we are americans. the future is ours, and our golden age has just begun. thank you. god bless america. thank you all. thank you. thank you very much. thank you very much. thank you.

>> thank you. good. thank you. >> ladies and gentlemen, performing america the beautiful. >> please welcome the armed forces chorus and carrie underwood.

>> we are awaiting. america the beautiful to be sung by carrie underwood. it appears they're having some audio problems in the rotunda, which we are discerning both from the fact that we can't hear anything and that everybody in the room looks

confused. presumably that will be fixed shortly, and we will go right to it. president trump is now officially 47th president of the united states. that happened at noon on the dot. he then took the oath of office very shortly thereafter. but he was president as of noon, per the constitution, regardless of the exact timing of the oath. his second inaugural address, being delivered indoors in the capitol rotunda. because of the cold weather, gave it more of a vibe of a state of the union address than an inaugural. >> oh, beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties. >> above the fruited plain.

>> america. america. >> god shed his grace on. thee and crown thy good with brotherhood. from sea to shining sea.

>> ladies and gentlemen, senator fisher will now introduce the benediction. clergy. >> i now call on rabbi ari berman. pastor lorenzo sewell, and reverend frank mund to provide prayers of benediction. >> let us pray. almighty god, your prophet jeremiah walked the streets of jerusalem and blessed its inhabitants with the hebrew words baruch. >> and hashem. >> blessed is the one who trusts

in god. thousands of years later, this great nation which adopted these words as its motto in god we trust, stands at a moment of historic opportunity. >> americans are searching for meaning, our merciful father. >> help us rise to meet this moment. >> bless president donald j. >> trump and vice president j.d. vance with the strength and courage to choose the right and the good. unite us around our foundational biblical values of life and liberty, of service and sacrifice, and especially of faith and morality, which george washington called the indispensable supports of american prosperity. guide our schools and college campuses

which have been experiencing such unrest, to inspire the next generation to pair progress with purpose, knowledge with wisdom and truth with virtue. hear the cry of the hostages, both american and israeli, whose pain our president so acutely feels. we are so thankful for the three young women who yesterday returned home and prayed that the next four years brings peace to israel and throughout the middle east. almighty god, grant all americans the opportunity to realize our shared dream of a life filled with peace and plenty, health and happiness, compassion and contribution. stir within us the confidence to

rise to this moment. for while we trust in god, god's trust is in us. the american people. america is called to greatness to be a beacon of light and a mover of history. may our nation merit the fulfillment of jeremiah's blessing. the like a tree planted by water. we shall not cease to bear fruit. may all of humanity experience your love and your blessing. may it be thy will. and let us say amen. >> let us pray for our 47th president. >> heavenly father, we're so grateful that you gave our 45th and now our 47th president a millimeter. miracle. we are grateful that you are the one that have called him for such a

time as this. that america would begin to dream again. >> we pray that we would fulfill the true meaning of our creed, that we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. >> we pray that you use our president, that we will live in a nation where we will not be judged by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character. >> heavenly father, in the name of jesus, we are so grateful today that you will use our 47th president. so we would sing with new meaning. >> my country, tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee i sing. >> land where my fathers died. land of the pilgrim's pride. from every mountainside let

freedom ring. >> and because america is called to be a great nation, we believe that you will make this come true. >> so let freedom ring. >> from the prodigious hilltops of new hampshire. >> let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of new york. let freedom ring from the heightening alleghenies of pennsylvania. let freedom ring from the snow capped rockies of colorado. >> let freedom ring from the curvaceous hilltops of california. >> but, god, we're asking you not only that. >> let freedom ring from stone mountain, georgia. >> let freedom ring from lookout mountain of tennessee. let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill in mississippi. from every state, every city, every village and every hamlet.

>> and when we let freedom ring, we will be able to speed up that day. >> when all of your children, black men and white men, protestant and catholic, jew and gentile, will be able to sing in the meaning of that old spiritual, free at last, free at last. thank god almighty, we are free at last. if you believe with the spirit of the lord is there is liberty. come on, put your hands together and give your great god great glory. >> almighty and eternal god, we

gather here today in reverence, joined in our shared hopes and dreams for our beloved nation. in this sacred moment of the inauguration of president donald j. trump and vice president jd vance, we turn our hearts to you, seeking your divine assistance and abundant blessings upon this pivotal moment in history. we come before you with profound gratitude for the many gifts you have bestowed upon our land. thank you for the freedoms we cherish, for the strength of our communities, and for the resilience of our spirit. as our president and vice president embrace their newly appointed roles, we humbly implore that your everlasting love and wisdom will envelop them. grant them the clarity of mind to navigate the challenges that lie ahead, and the compassion to serve all

citizens with fairness and integrity. >> may their hearts be filled with a giving spirit and sincere understanding for those whom they represent. >> may they be beacons of hope in times of uncertainty and prophetic voices. in defending the dignity of all created life. >> we pray for a spirit of collaboration to flourish in our government and across our nation, fostering an environment where dialog and heartfelt listening will prevail over division or discord. >> may each decision made by our president and vice president reflect the values of justice and peace. as we embark on this new chapter, we also seek your comfort, o god, for those who feel lost or disheartened in this time of transition, may

your light shine upon them, reaffirming their belief in a brighter tomorrow. may we all strive to lift one another, supporting our fellow citizens with kindness and empathy, recognizing that together we can overcome any adversity. >> grant us the strength to endure the courage to face our fears, and the clarity to see the light that remains even when clouds of uncertainty may gather. >> inspire our new leaders to be champions for the vulnerable, and advocates for those whose voices are often silenced. >> may they pursue policies that promote the well-being of all, seeking to build bridges that will foster unity and belonging. >> as we stand witness to this inauguration. >> we hold fast to the faith, to our faith in the goodness of

each of us, and the possibility of change. >> we trust that with your guidance, o god, our nation can move forward to a future filled with promise, prosperity, and understanding. and finally, we lift our hearts in gratitude for the beloved parents of president trump. without mary and fred trump, this day would never be the miracle that has just begun. >> from their place in heaven, may they shield their son from all harm by their loving protection, and give him the strength to guide our nation along the path that will make america great again. >> let us go forth now with these words of president trump's emblazoned on our hearts. as long as we have pride in our beliefs, courage in our

convictions, and faith in our god, then we will not fail. >> we stand tall. we stand proud because we are americans and americans. >> kneel to god and to god alone. amen. amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing for our national anthem. >> oh! say. >> can you see. by the dawn's early light. what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last?

>> gleaming? >> whose broad stripes and bright stars. >> through the perilous fight. o'er the ramparts. we watched. were so gallantly. singing. and the. rocket. pale gray. heavens bursting. in air. gave proof through the night. that. our flag. was still there. oh, say, does that star. hagar? that way? for the land, for the. he. and

thou. over. they. >> ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain at your seats while the president and official party depart the platform. >> thank you. >> thank you.

>> thank you. see the new president and first lady. and now the new vice president and second lady leaving the dais as the official parties will now depart at this inauguration ceremony for the 47th president of the united states. we just

had a very energetic rendition of the national anthem there, followed by that followed tripartite benediction from a number of different clergy. you see now, former president biden and former first lady jill biden, departing along with former vice president kamala harris and her husband, the second gentleman, doug emhoff, are now seeing members of the inaugural committee leave as well. the second inaugural address did in my take on it, was that it had more of a vibe of a state of the union address than an inaugural address, i think in part because it was indoors. and that made it sort of feel like he was addressing a joint session of congress, even though he wasn't. even though this was an inaugural address, president trump spoke in his sort of trademark low monotone, gave his list of grievances. among his grievances. this time was an assertion that there was not even a token effort made to fight the los angeles fires, which was a very unusual

assertion. if this inaugural address is remembered, i think, as a as a signal of what's to come, it may be the part where he said, we're taking it back. when talking about the panama canal. he pledged to be a president of peace and to not start any new wars, but did also pledge to forcibly take another country's territory. while president trump was speaking, a relatively large group of proud boys, the pro-trump armed paramilitary group marched in full colors and their trademark black and gold in downtown washington to the capital one arena. just before the inaugural address, just before the swearing in, outgoing president biden issued pardons to members of his family, noting that while they had done nothing wrong, he believed the threats and promises of politicized persecution of people who the

new president has decided are his enemies warranted what president biden would have otherwise never considered doing? >> nicole, let me do three things. i mean, we lost cecile richards today. she lost her battle with an aggressive form of cancer. and this statement came out as i was starting to sort of take notes on the speec. her family quoted her and said, it's not. if you'd like to celebrate, cecile, today we invite you to put on some new orleans jazz. gather with friends and family over a good meal and remember something she said a lot over the last year. it's not hard to imagine future generations one day asking, quote, when there was so much at stake for our country, what did you do? the only acceptable answer is everything we could. if that moves you in any way, we now know where help might be needed. trump had the most detailed policy announcements on the border. i'm actually going to quote one more person here. katie rogers of the new york times tweeted this as that section ticked through, quote, as trump disparages migrants as criminals and outlines his

plans, they're not just millions. there are not millions and millions of criminal aliens. as he claims today, a largely white crowd is applauding in the rotunda. so these are the specifics and the atmospherics as outlined by the new york times in the room. trump's actions today include declaring a national emergency at the southern border. as far as we know, the latest reporting is that there isn't one at the southern border. those are some of the crossings are at the lowest. they've been in two administrations. he announced that troops will be sent to the southern border and a designation of cartels as, quote, foreign terrorists. he often he also invoked the alien enemies act and said it will be used to target gangs. the swirl of activity today is the point. the specific policies that we can focus on and drill down on. again, one way to respond to what was really an earth two address describe the country as a catastrophic disaster, a

hellscape. there is an audience for that. there are people that believe that. but again, we do have now some more information on where the earliest policy directions will have the federal government pointing. >> judd. >> i know we're not living in normal times, as we've been discussing for three hours, but i think it's important to remind everybody that in normal times, the inaugural address is actually not political at all. i mean, it is a political the result of a political outcome of an election, but it is typically a president of either party discussing where the country is now and where it needs to go moving forward. it doesn't mean you're not discussing challenges. that's a part of it. you're discussing opportunities. but what struck me about this address was it was not just politicized, it was very personal. and there were a couple of things that i highlighted for myself. i mean, when he said, i've been tested and challenged more than any president in our 250 year history, and i've learned a lot along the way. i think we would all disagree with that characterization with, as we're

discussing, i was saved by god to make america great again. never again will immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political opponents. something i know something about. typically, a president is not discussing themselves. even though they won the country, elected them. they are discussing the country they are about to govern. and that struck me the last thing i would say, just to build off of what nicole said is, of course, there are always crises going on in the country. the border is broken. it has been broken for some time, but border apprehensions are down. he talked about crime. crime in major cities is down. he also talked about oil production. the climate is in crisis. meanwhile, the country, the united states, produced the largest amount of crude oil than any other country in the world last year. so that also struck me as him projecting upon us crises that are maybe not the right definition of the crises we're actually facing. >> it is remarkable that he said in his inaugural address as part of what appeared to be his prepared remarks, that i was saved by god, not talking about personal redemption in terms of

his religious experience as a private individual, but rather saying that god saved him in order to make him president again. and you heard the whoops of response in the room, which gives a sort of imperative to claim that god sent you is something that we don't expect in political life. we expect it in other parts of life, maybe, but it's going to give an unusual imperative to some of the most extreme things that he wants to do. if past campaign promises and the like are anything to go by. chris. >> yeah, the point that jim was just making there, i mean, i remember being in that on that stage right next to president barack obama during that very, very cold morning and the two inaugurations of barack obama and joe biden happened at moments of palpable, ubiquitous and severe crisis the worst financial crisis since the great depression, the worst pandemic in 100 years. i mean, thousands of americans dying by the day, america not knowing whether the entire economic system and foundation was going to erode beneath them. compare that to

the two times donald trump has been inaugurated in which those crises were not there. there was not the same acute sense of crisis. and yet the theme in both of them, and the obsession of trump's rhetoric, is always a theme of national decline and national humiliation. and there's something strange about hearing it the second time. of course, the first one was the american carnage. it's a little like a cult leader who keeps predicting different days for the end of the world, because it's kind of like, okay, the first time you did this, we've had all these corrupt, terrible elites, and they've taken i'm here as your retribution. i'm going to make america great again. and then it's like, well, you did try that once. i mean, the degree to which the first term has been just completely taken away from everyone's memory, how he kind of ran as a person who'd never actually held office before in this campaign. >> and to hear a very similar thematic speech that promises just around the corner on the other side, that's when the next end of the world comes. >> that's when the next time we are bathed in holy light. that's the next time when everything turns around permanently for the

united states. when we heard exactly that on january 2017 and he had a run at it, there is something very strange about hearing that kind of vision and prediction a second time. like like the cult leader taking a mulligan and telling you paradise is around the corner again. >> democratic senate leader chuck schumer winning the headwear fashion alert prize thus far of the day in his smurf cap. >> so in donald trump's lifetime, the inaugural address has gone from a president asking, saying ask not what your country can do for you. >> ask what you can do for your country to drill, baby, drill. and it was donald trump who supplied the second one. i want to do two quick fact checks on this and then to a larger point. well, one thing we will send astronauts to mars. >> that's not going to happen during donald trump's lifetime, so don't expect it. >> during his his four years. >> he said we will tariff and tax other countries. if any country in the world could tax

another country, that country would do it, and the people living in that country would pay no taxes. there is no such thing as taxing other countries. >> he will use tariffs. but and tariffs do equate to taxes. >> and that tax will be paid only by us, by americans. >> and then on the la fires, he referred to his billionaire friends in the room and said, you know, some of them with los angeles homes. he said, they don't have a home any longer. that is a lie. >> and it is not common for presidents to tell lies in an inaugural address. >> in fact, i've never heard one other than in a trump inaugural address. >> jeff bezos's house in los angeles was never threatened for a single moment by that fire. >> the most important thing, though, was that the very beginning of his speech, because the substance of a trump speech is always the same. this was a rally and he began the speech. the way these speeches always

begin by addressing directly the former presidents in the room, he said, president bush, president clinton, president obama, president biden, donald trump is the only former president who has never attended that moment so that he could have been addressed four years ago as a former president. and so we have returned to normalcy in that recitation. >> and the normalcy was presented by donald trump, who was in the process highlighting his own violation of that protocol, that responsibility and that duty as an outgoing president to welcome in the incoming president. >> just noting what we're looking at here. we're seeing some what appear to be heartfelt goodbyes and some greetings here. we are expecting now former vice president kamala harris and her husband, doug emhoff, to depart here by

motorcade. they'll get into a car and drive away. that's what we're seeing here now as they move to leave the white house. the end of her term as vice president. as soon as they have left in this motorcade, we expect that now, former president joe biden and his wife, the first lady, jill biden, will depart by helicopter. let's just watch this moment here.

we are. >> at. the.

>> to see that president trump and first lady melania trump, vice president vance and second lady vance saying goodbye to president biden and first lady jill biden. and now we will watch as the helicopter takes off it. we think of it as marine one seeing a president get on board. technically, it is no longer marine one that is no longer the designation that it has once once. it is a former

president on board rather than the president himself. we'll be watching today, over the course of the day, to see what substantive executive actions and orders the new president signs. his team has made much of the fact that they're going to do a lot on day one. we've already seen some surprise departures. the acting director of the fbi, who has been in his job since yesterday, unexpectedly resigned today. so it's not at all clear who is running the fbi at this moment. there is there was no clear acting secretary of defense until a few moments ago when a low level defense official who nobody's is not somebody who's who's well known. a man named robert salazar was named as acting defense secretary. that was a surprise. and there was some period of time when the pentagon did not know who the acting secretary of defense was. it's not clear to me at this moment who the acting attorney

general is. it may be emile beauvais, who was one of president trump's defense attorneys he's installed, or he is in the process of installing four of them at the top of the us justice department. but of course, regardless of what happens with executive actions and with people stepping in to assume control of government departments, this inaugural address goes down in history now as the second inaugural of donald trump. joy, you were watching that along along with us. i wanted to get your take on both what we are seeing here now as as president biden takes off to become former president biden. and as, as we absorb that address. >> well, i think to echo lawrence, you know what? one of the things that is remarkable is that this is the thing that didn't happen when president biden was inaugurated. donald trump essentially boycotted the inaugural and treated it as essentially an insult to him because he was still claiming that he had won the election. the last time we saw donald

trump give an inaugural address, it was american carnage. and, you know, i think to chris's point, he did return to the notion that only his presence makes america great. what makes america great is that he is running it. he's in charge of it. a few of the things that i will notice. but before i note that i do have to note, just based on my text messages, lorenzo sewell, the detroit pastor, his speech was quite over the top, quite performative. he is for those who are asking, and including those who are texting me and asking you who he is. he is the detroit area pastor who held a rally, an event for donald trump during the campaign at which it was reported as a black church and many of the members are african-american. but that day, the audience inside of the church were white maga supporters who had been in a rally nearby. but the last thing i'll say is it was a it was a speech that was quite over the top. and i'm not sure what the point was, other than he is

becoming quite famous in maga world. donald trump in this address declared himself to be a peacemaker and a unifier. not long after declaring that he would end diversity, equity and inclusion in all of government. rename the gulf of mexico, the gulf of america, and slight indigenous americans by returning mount denali, which is the indigenous name to again be called mount mckinley. mckinley, being someone who believed in something that donald trump repurposed for himself, manifest destiny, which is one of the most racist concepts in the history of america. it was the empire and colonization principle that america had a right, and in fact, a duty to colonize and take over nonwhite places in the world and own them. and he made that direct threat against the nation of panama, which owns the panama

canal. and he made sure that he included a slight to the late jimmy carter for having made the deal to return the canal to the government who owns it? panama. so not sure that peacemaker and unifier was much evidenced in the words that he said. vice president again, there you go. >> former president biden and former first lady jill biden that is technically called hmx one rather than marine one. once it is a former president on board, they are going to joint base andrews. that's going to be about a 45 minute excuse me, that's a quick flight to joint base andrews. and then they're expecting to have sort of a short farewell with their nearest and dearest staff before they are back to delaware. former vice president. there's joint base andrews there. very helpful with the map. former vice president kamala harris and her husband, doug emhoff, will be flying to california to los angeles this afternoon. that

c-17 will be operated by an all female u.s. air force crew. it's the first time an all female crew has operated a c-17 for the us air force. when they land in los angeles, they'll visit a local fire station to thank firefighters who've been on the front lines actually fighting the la fires, even though, weirdly, trump said during his inaugural that those fires were not fought. they'll also be distributing food to people who have been affected by the fires. with the help of world central kitchen. what we're looking at here is emancipation hall. president trump is expected to make some unscripted remarks to the crowd, sort of the overflow crowd from the rotunda, who was not in the room to see him sworn in. but here at emancipation hall, we think that we will be getting unscripted remarks from him as he as we're waiting for that. andrea, i believe you're on on site there in emancipation hall. can you just tell us what you're seeing? >> yes, we understand that he is in the hall. there was some cheers a little while ago. the photographers came in, so he's about to enter and go up the

stage. but he is in the room. there are about 1800 people in all, 1300 in this room, 500 more in an overflow room. but you can see that he's about to come and be announced. that was certainly an extraordinary speech, but it was cheered here in the hall, especially the panama canal. comments. the comments about gender die, all of the things that are cultural issues, standing ovations frequently from people here. many are the spouses of members of congress, other invited friends. this is unusual, of course, because this is an indoor ceremony, but this has a lot of less pomp and circumstance than the rotunda. obviously, this is usually used for tourists and for other events up here as the visitor center. >> it was built only within the last decade, really, underneath the capitol. >> so you can hear the cheers now as he is visible to people

here and is about to be announced. >> president trump's triumphant return to the white house. right now. already this morning, you can feel it around the country. we certainly felt it here in the city. america is coming together and roaring back again. and it begins today, as the president just told us, i know we'd all rather be gathered together on the national mall with hundreds of thousands of our closest friends. but our disappointment is well overcome with our excitement for the future that we feel today. we have the chance to make the next four years the most consequential period in our nation's history. and as speaker of the house, it is my great pleasure, my great honor, to introduce to you the man who will lead us to this new golden age, the decisive winner of the electoral college and the

popular vote, the 45th and the 47th and the greatest president of our lifetimes, donald j. trump. my name. >> usa today.

usa, usa. usa. >> well, thank you all so much for being here. >> and was that a hell of a speech or what? >> that was man. >> that was a good way to start it off. you know, i didn't know

exactly what the president would put in that speech. >> and i hope to myself that he wasn't going to hold back. >> and, sir, you didn't hold back. that was a hell of a way to start the next four years. >> but i just want to say from the bottom of my heart, and i know i speak for the president and for all of us. >> thank you, thank you, thank you for making this possible. >> we love you. >> we wouldn't be here without you. >> and we're going to make america great again together for the next four years. >> and the last, the last thing i'll say is, you know, having stood outside for about five minutes to wave goodbye to the bidens, thank god we moved that thing indoors because it was a beautiful ceremony. >> it was cold as hell outside. >> so, sir, the 45th and 47th president of the united states, donald j. >> trump. >> no, he's right. i looked i said, oh, look at this beautiful sunny day. and we blew it. we

blew it. and then i went outside and we were freezing. you would have been very unhappy. the sun was very deceptive. i will tell you, it is cold out. and i'm sort of saying, you know, that was so beautiful today. maybe they should do it there every four years. does that make sense? i don't know, because, you know, the outdoor thing is really good, but it gets a little cold around this time of the year. some people have noticed and a lot of times they suffer through it. there was no suffering in that room. it was 72 degrees. it was perfect with the best of the best acoustics i think i've ever heard in a room. this is not so bad either, but i just want to say you're a younger, far more beautiful audience that i just spoke to, and i want to keep it off the record. i want to keep that off the record, because i don't want to have all those big shots up there. i don't want anything. you're more powerful than them. you look better than them, and i

love you. now. we just had a great time. we just had a great day. this was amazing. you know, when you think we took a journey. i mentioned in the speech, a lot of people said that was not a journey that was possible, and it was indeed possible. i didn't really know too much about what they were saying when they said that, but a lot of people felt it, and we hooked up with jd very early. i watched jd over a period of time. i endorsed him in ohio. he was a great, a great senator and very, very smart. the only one smarter than him was his wife. that was, i would have chosen her. but somehow the line of the line of succession didn't work that way. right? but now she's great and he's great. this is a great, beautiful couple. and unbelievable career. i just said to him, you are very upwardly mobile because he hasn't been doing it that long, but he picked it up so quickly. remember, the first week was a little bit like the fake news

was hitting them really hard. and i said, this may be tough, but after that it was smooth sailing for him. he took on everybody. he took on the meanest. i don't want to use the word corrupt because we're into a new system. so let's wait till the corruption begins, because it will. but he took on some pretty mean people and he handled it well. i want to also congratulate mike johnson for the job that he's doing. steve, we gave him a majority of almost nothing. and then i said to make it tougher on him, let me take 2 or 3 of the people, right. i said, he'll only have to suffer with that for about three months. how are they doing, by the way? are they is that moving along? i said, do you mind if i take this one, that one and a couple of others? it's. he didn't mind. he can handle it. no. he's a man that's liked by everybody. i've never met a man like this. you've got two. how

many is it? two. 19 or 2? 20 or 2? 20. and of the two 2219 really like him? i noticed he got one negative vote once, about two weeks ago. but i think even 220 like him, if you want to know the truth. and that's very unusual. i know a lot of nice guys in congress and they have 35 people that hate them. so if you have 35 people that hate you and you only have one or 2 or 3 votes, you'll have five, i think. but that's that's going to be like, you know, the good news is when we get to that five number, it's going to feel like a massive majority. we you could be really nasty to a couple of them at least you know. so it's going to feel like hitting your head on the wall and stopping. it feels so good to stop. but he's done a fantastic job. and steve scalise is he's our hero. because, you know, i was with him. you talk about being shot. i was with him. he got some bad ones and his incredible wife, and she really loves him. you know, you

never know about that. i've been with other people. they were doing poorly. and the wife is like looking at her watch. he can't get out of the hospital fast enough. how's he doing? i don't know, he's all right. that woman was a mess. she was crying and crying. no, they're going to take him. they're going to take him. i told steve when he finally woke up. it was a while, too. the doctor told me it was the most blood they've ever transfused in any patient. they've never done anything like it. and here he is, the picture of strength, right? and he's been a great friend of mine. right. with the family because of a family. and what a job you did. it worked out pretty much pretty much better than we even thought. right. and i did have a couple of things, you know, to say that were extremely controversial. and between jd and melania and anybody else that had. please, sir, it's such a beautiful, unifying speech. please, sir, don't say these

things. i said, i'm telling you it's going to play great. they say you're right for this group of people. it's going to play great. you're the only ones i hurt by. not. oh, but we had some beauties, didn't we, melania? she said, sir calls me sir when she's angry. i said, no, no, i'm only kidding. i better say i'm only kidding. the press is going to pick that one up loudly. no, but she said no. i think it would be terrible. it's such a nice speech. i think it's, you know, it all depends on your delivery. how was the delivery? was it good? oh. but she said it's such a beautiful, such a beautiful speech. you can't put things in there that you were going to put in. and i was going to talk about the six hostages. but you'll be happy because, you know, it's action, not words that count. and you're going to see a lot of action on

the six hostages a lot. and i was going to talk about the things that joe did today with the pardons of people that were very, very guilty of very bad crimes, like the unselect committee of political thugs, where they literally i mean, what they did is they destroyed and deleted all of the information, all of the hearings, practically not a thing left. they deleted all the information on nancy pelosi having turned down the offer of 10,000 soldiers, you wouldn't have needed 10,000. you could have had 500, and it would have stopped because we may have had a million people that day. the people that were there, you don't see any photographs, but we have a lot of great photos. but you don't see those photographs. they don't put them in. they show the people at the capitol. but i was talking about that. i was going to talk about

that. they said, please don't bring that up right now. you can bring it up tomorrow. i said, how about now in front of the very i'll bring it up right now. you know, this little time delay is good because we're getting great reviews on the speech. now watch. they'll take the speech and say, i didn't like it because he left there and he talked to people. but we're giving you a little more information than we gave up. says no. they pardoned a lot of people. they pardoned before we even get to today. they pardoned what is it, 33 murderers, absolute murderers, the worst murderers. you know, when you get to death sentence in the united states, you have to be bad because they don't give it much. and he pardoned almost everybody having a death sentence. and if you went through the crimes that were committed, you wouldn't even believe them. the level of violence, the people that were killed, the innocence of people that were killed and children killed by these people. and he pardoned them for whatever

reason, he spared them. and but they didn't spare the people that they killed. and you know, who knows what happens in the future? it's one of the worst, because a lot of times they let them out early after that, you know, they say you're going to be in for life, but then all of a sudden they get let out for good behavior and then they go on a rampage. you know, it's one of those little things. right? but i was going to talk about that, but i was really going to talk about the level of, you know, what's going on. why are we doing this? why are we trying to help a guy like milly? why are we doing milly? he was pardoned. what? he said terrible. what he said. why are we helping some of the people? why are we helping liz cheney? i mean, liz cheney is a disaster. she's a crying lunatic and crying, crying adam kinzinger, he's a super crying. i never saw the guy not crying. he's always crying. i looked at him. i remember years ago he was actually on my side. and then one day, you know, when you

don't want to kill people in wars, they turn against you. liz cheney hated the concept of not going to war with everybody. let's kill everybody. let's spend a lot of money on military equipment. you know where her father works, right? and but what she did was incredible. think of it. they destroyed and deleted all of that information that went on for almost two years against trump. and the reason they did, because it was all false. like the person that said, i tried to strangle a secret service agent. that's one of the toughest human beings i think i've ever seen. i actually had a friend say, please don't change that, sir. you are the coolest sucker in history. remember? she said, i put my hands around his neck and because he wouldn't go to the capitol, it made up fiction and i was rebuffed. and the guy on the right is a massive weightlifter. probably stronger than me. do you think he's stronger than me? honey, you know who i'm talking about?

possibly stronger than me. slightly younger than me. like, i won't say how many years because i don't want to talk about that. but a lot of years. but i had a friend that said, why are you disputing that story? that's the coolest story i've ever heard, that i would attack a karate champion, get slightly rebuffed, and then throw my arms around a guy with a neck about this big. even though there are bars, you know, there are bars that you can't really do that anyway. so. so i wanted to talk about that, but all of that stuff got deleted. and the reason it got deleted is they were all caught in lies, you know, secret service testified and they said it didn't happen. actually, the two guys were very embarrassed. they're suffering because their friends are saying, did trump really do that to you? but they gained a whole new respect for me. but it was just make believe stuff. and there were a lot of make believe stories made up. so rather than suffer the wrath,

like the story with nancy pelosi, i offered a 10,000 soldiers. >> donald trump is giving unscripted remarks in emancipation hall after his inaugural address, sort of giving a sort of fantasy riff about strangling people on the right side of your screen. president, former president biden and first lady jill biden are addressing their family and staff and friends at a hangar at joint base andrews. let's dip in there for a moment. >> you heard me say before, no president gets to choose the moment they enter history, but they get to choose the team they enter history with. >> and we chose the best damn team in the world. you are. now. it's because of you. i mean this from the bottom of my heart. because of you, we got so much done for all americans. i look down there, my secretary of state, tony blinken, and sheathed only by his wife, who works in reverse. >> look, i only hope to look look back on these years. >> i hope you look back on them.

the same pride i have of all you've done. you know i'm proud. >> i'm proud of is that you did it. >> upholding the core values of honesty, decency and integrity. >> i mean, no scandal. i mean, it's incredible what you did. >> and you represent the best of who we are as americans. >> and that's not a joke. >> that's real. >> now, i relied on your ideas and resolve and counsel. >> we also also relied on your families. >> to all your families. thank you, thank you, thank you for the sacrifices you made. i mean it you for being part of this journey every day. >> i'm deeply moved by all we all did for this country. >> i really mean it. this is going to mark down just what you did, you know? but the point i want to make today is to make clear my farewell address, as we all do have more to do, a lot more to do. we heard the inaugural address today. we've

got a lot more to do. i look, i know for many years they experienced their up and downs, but we have to stay with it. my dad taught me the measure of a person. heard me say before is how quickly they get back up when they get knocked out. that's what we have to do right now, and we've always done our best as americans. we never, never, never give up. never. we're leaving office. we're not leaving the fight. you're smart, you're skilled, you're passionate. >> the country needs you again. so all of you can stay engaged and all the ways you can, whether it's in public service or the private sector or philanthropy, academia, running for office yourself or anything else you choose to do. >> i give you my word. we believe in you. >> we, jill and i, our family, believe in you. just as i've said, how the laws we enacted,

our seasons are going to grow and bloom for decades to come. >> i say that to you as well. >> i have no doubt, no doubt you'll make this experience and take in the friendships you made. >> you made to continue to do amazing things in the decades to come. that's why i see a future. all, all of the leading the way by you all. you know, so take some time to decompress. >> reconnect with your friends, spend more time with your family. >> but most of all, take care of yourselves and each other. i mean it. >> let me close where i began with my sincere gratitude, and i really mean it in the bottom of my heart. >> i've been doing this for 50 years and the best group of people. >> it's hard to say. it's been the honor of my life to serve as your president. and i tell you what. greater honor is being

able to serve with all of you. >> you're incredible. >> you really are. you really are. >> mark my words. >> history is going to judge what you've done as one of the most significant contributions that's been made by all of america. >> look, folks, you know, let me close with that poem. >> you heard me quote before. >> seamus heaney wrote, once in a lifetime, the longed for tidal wave of justice will rise up. and hope and history rhyme. you made it rhyme louder than it's rhymed. >> in a long time. >> i really mean it. >> we're on the cusp of real change. >> so let's make hope in history. ron. >> i love you all. i'm keeping you too long. but thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. >> part of my heart. thank you. thank you. >> can i go off this way? thank you.

>> god. thank you god. thank yo. god. kennedy. john. >> the chants of thank you, joe. thank you joe. staff and friends and family. of president joe biden and first lady jill biden. if we know anything about joe biden, i think we can expect, even though it's very cold in that open airplane hangar, that he's probably going to spend quite some time personally greeting people and saying his goodbyes before he and his wife travel on to delaware. you see karine jean-pierre there in the foreground, greeting her boss, the white house communications director anthony blinken, outgoing secretary of state. jen psaki. i just have to ask you, having been through these moments, that goodbye to family and friends, the that part of the transition is a very informal but potent thing. >> it's exactly that. and i'm

just going to note there's also steve ricchetti. i see mike donilon, ben labolt. he's basically surrounded evan ryan, who's the wife of secretary of state tony blinken, who he referenced in his speech. so these are some of the people who have been surrounding joe biden, not just for the last four years, but for some of them for 20 years, for 30 years. and there is so what you can't exactly see in this picture. and i was here when president obama left. i was there is you have a bunch of people who were just a couple of hours ago in charge of essentially the free world in a variety of ways at different levels. and they're all there, many of them wearing jeans and sweatshirts, and they're there because of their gratitude for their time and service, but also to the person who brought them there. and i think what we just saw was quite a split screen. i'm just going to have to say going from trump to biden there, president biden, not not not perfect. i don't even think he would say that as a president or as a person, but he has a deep love for the country, for public service, something he's been in

for 50 years. this is the end of it for him as well. so i think for a lot of people there, this who knows when they will see him next. they may not see him next. and it is a release of time, energy, love, passion and running at 100 miles an hour. and that's what you're seeing. the scene when i was, when i went to president obama's goodbye. i'm not a day napper. i don't know if you all were, i wish i was. i completely passed out in the car on the way home because you just have given everything you can through through the through the fields here. but yes, i would guess he's going to stay there. he's going to honor the people that served for him, thank them. and that tells you a lot about who he is as a person. >> this is the personal side of that. running through the tape moment of the end of an administration. we're joined by ari melber and stephanie ruhle as well, our friends who have been watching all these proceedings along with us this morning. stephanie, as you've been watching this, we saw events at the rotunda. we saw the second inaugural address of

donald j. trump. we then saw the off the cuff remarks that he gave in emancipation hall, where he was fantasizing or talking about how cool it would be to strangle somebody and was complaining about the january 6th committee. really? back to very vintage trump. we now see president biden saying goodbye. what have you been thinking watching all this unfold? >> during that second speech, i just kept thinking, all of those tech billionaires, those tech magnates that were right behind him during the inauguration, closer than his his incoming potential cabinet secretaries. >> i wonder what they're thinking now, right? >> tim cook, ceo of apple who is never a supporter of donald trump before. who who was there, right. >> even bill gates, who wasn't there, but in the last week said he met with donald trump and was so impressed. i'm wondering what those people were thinking about that second speech that donald trump gave. >> of course they weren't there. >> you know, he was flanked by steve scalise and mike johnson, who are, of course, going to applaud him.

>> but but those ceos who are not just the richest people in the world, they're not just typical ceos, they're not running, you know, halliburton or exxon or even walmart. >> these are the people that run the biggest communications outlets in the world. >> and that who that is who donald trump is choosing to have closest to him. so what i'm thinking is, what are we actually going to see? what are we going to hear in the next four years, given their amount of control and how much they are now? >> i'm not going to say in his pocket, but very close to this and what's what's dangerous or bad about that in terms of the rest of the country and our democracy. >> just pick one thing. >> artificial intelligence is going to change almost every element of our daily lives. >> in the next 5 to 10 years, donald trump has never had a position on something like this. and now these people who have huge interest, right. >> sam altman was there. obviously elon musk was there. jeff bezos, they're going to have a direct line into this president. and so remember, tomorrow marks 15 years since

the citizens united decision. >> what we need to pay attention to in the next four years, whose interests is this administration working for? >> is it the american people? remember, donald trump wants to take control of the panama canal because of china control. yet he's welcoming the tiktok ceo and that company back. tiktok, a chinese owned company. ari. >> well, on days like today, we think of what, what is and not what might be. there'll be many days to talk about what might be, i think what is what we just witnessed is the return of donald trump as much more of the establishment. >> when he came in in 2016, he was the disrupter. he came in with fewer votes and a republican party that was still trying to figure this out. and today, the speech we witnessed, the people attending, stephanie, was just educating us about tech and business leaders. this is a swing at the establishment. and

so he returns in certain forms as, yes, someone who has been convicted, someone who has been documented for certain activities and malfeasance in our system. >> that's part of our government system. but he also returns, having won more votes and with those business leaders and others. >> so it doesn't sound like an aberration in the hall where he gave the speech. i do think over time people will have to assess the campaign promises, the agenda that is for the public versus himself. >> and so ultimately, if this was an election about the price of eggs and post covid adjustments and concerns about your life, and what you get in return is we're renaming the gulf of mexico, or we're personally profiting off cryptocurrency at the elite level, then the public. and what i'm calling what might be will play out over time. >> but i was really struck by in the visual that actually matched where the political economy and business class is, was him

returning not as an aberration. yeah. >> let's go to claire mccaskill, former united states senator claire mccaskill, who has not only been watching these proceedings unfold along with us today, she's been in touch with some of her former colleagues and friends who are who were there at the proceedings, including in the rotunda. claire, what have you been seeing and what have you been hearing? well, i think really an important point to make and underline it and put an exclamation point behind it is that in washington, most of my former colleagues know full well this had nothing to do with the weather, you know. yeah, it was in the 20s, but it's been in the 20s before. i, along with others who've talked about it, set out in a very cold inaugural in january of 2009. this really was about trump wanting to control the image, maybe worried about his hair, but really worried about crowd size and whether or not the crowd size would be big enough with the cold weather to support the ego that he has

behind that particular metric. so what everyone was talking about, one text i got from a senator said unifying my bleep, and i'm not saying the word. another one said same song, different verse. another one said low energy and 100% political. but the overriding theme from everybody i've talked to is how he disrespected the maga crowd. the maga crowd is stuck over in an arena, and there's only 20,000 people that could even fit in there, and the rest of them came to town and spent a lot of money. >> and frankly, he he didn't really care about them. he put the billionaires before his cabinet on the dais. and that's what everybody was astounded by, that there seemed to be no. and even in the second rambling speech he gave down in, in the visitor center, those people in that room weren't weren't the maga faithful. they were donors. they were wives of congressmen. they were spouses of

congresswomen. they were not what you'd see at a rally. i think the reporters that are on site would confirm that. so he never really thought about the people who put him there. he thought about what can you do for me now? the maga faithful got him there, but now the people who can do something for him are those folks that were sitting right behind his family on the dais. >> and that's the people that control the algorithms and social media around the globe. >> claire, i have to tell you, the speech in emancipation hall is still going. >> he went down. he it's getting to be castro in here. he was he started off with talking about the january 6th committee, a string of falsehoods about the committee having deleted evidence, which didn't happen. he said that had there been 500 troops at the capitol, which nancy pelosi made sure didn't happen, then january 6th would have never happened. and by the way, it was a million people. and he has great pictures of it. i mean, just just a string of

falsehoods. and now he's been rambling about the border for a long time. we've seen mike johnson and jd vance standing just behind him in matching trump outfits, who who keep laughing, appearing to try to create the impression that all of these things that he's saying that are sort of nonsensical are a joke. so we are getting a visual of what it means to be sort of a trump supplicant, even among the people who are at the highest levels of the republican power structure around him. i feel like it's not on the republican side. it's easier to be cheering for a guy at a rally than it is to be standing there while the guy is giving however long a speech, rambling about stuff. that's not true, and you have to pretend the whole thing is funny. >> yeah, and you notice that melania was smart enough to get a chair. i think she kind of knew this was going to be a venting session of a lot of his nonsense. >> but i got to say, i will say this about my former colleagues

in the senate. >> they are hyper focused about not getting distracted about what he says, but rather every day. i think hopefully being disciplined about what he does in terms of this landmine of broken promises that's going to occur. and also, the other thing is that he's not going to be helping those folks that got him there. and i think hopefully they've learned that we need to ignore a lot of the stuff, he says, and pay much more attention to the stuff he does. >> that's exactly right. and we will not take our eye in terms of the one thing that he said that i'm definitely going to stick with, it was his line at the rally, the pre-inaugural rally last night where he said to the crowd, quote, i will act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing our country. that's one thing that he said, that i'm definitely going to do a lot of reminding about as we head into the into the real world and the start of this administration. claire. thank you. i know we will be back with you. joining us now is michele norris, senior

contributing editor here at msnbc, who has been watching these proceedings along with us. michele, i'm curious to hear what has been on your mind and what observations you've been able to make while we've been watching everything that happened this morning. the inaugural itself and now since. well, we were told that this was going to be a speech that was about unity. >> we should just say clearly that it was not. >> it was very polarizing. >> and the things that he laid out, and that was made even more clear when he went downstairs to the visitor center. >> rachel, it feels almost like he is presenting himself as both the arsonist and the fireman, painting this picture of america in decline and presenting this picture as if he is the only person that we are all in a house that is burning in some way, and he is the only person that can put the fire out and making a lot of promises, as you noted in the rally last night and then again today. and some of this is going to be very hard for him to carry out. you know, it's not easy for him to create

a department without the help of the members of congress in the senate. and it's not it's not clear that they are on board for a department of external revenue, for example. but i'm also thinking about the coincidence on the calendar. i guess we could say the collision on the calendar of his inauguration happening on the same day that we as a nation commemorate a civil rights icon, martin luther king. >> you know, to hear someone in that overly performative resuscitation of doctor king's speech almost felt like trolling when he when donald trump said that he is going to try to create an america that will live up to doctor king's dream. >> and at the same time, talking about changing the name of mount denali, at the same time, talking about removing diversity efforts at the same time presenting a cabinet that is probably has the most questionable qualifications and is the least diverse that we've seen in some time. >> and, you know, doctor king said in his last book that was was based on a question, where do we go from here? >> and i think that that's the question that we face as a

country. and doctor king's case, the second part of that title was chaos or community. >> i'd like to think that we'll reach for community, but we're going to see a whole lot of chaos, and that's going to happen right away. >> donald trump is going to go. and before he even gets back to the white house, it's reported that he's going to sit at a desk at the convention center and start signing these executive orders. lawyers are already rolling up their sleeves because there will be significant legal challenges when he talks about removing birthright citizenship. that's not something that he can just easily do. it's in the fortress of protection provided by the 14th amendment. so i, i think that we're going to have to figure out as a country how to take a deep breath and as individuals and as communities figure out what kind of country that we want to live in. and we're probably going to have to dig deep and figure out how to fight for the things that you believe in. and given what he spelled out today, it probably is going to be a significant fight for the soul of america to that point. >> michelle, as as we have been talking even before his second

speech started, which is still ongoing right now, he's still talking in emancipation hall downstairs at the visitor center at the capitol. public citizen and a number of other groups have already filed the first legal challenge to one of the announced actions that he talked about in his inaugural to the creation of the department of government efficiency. they've already sued him as of essentially immediately upon him becoming president, challenging his ability to do that. so, yeah, the chaos and community in that, that bifurcated reality ahead of us, we're already seeing it play out. michele norris, thank you. i know we will be back with you. joining us now from the us-mexico border in otay mesa, california, is our own jacob soboroff. jacob there as the new president, as the 47th president announces a state of emergency is officially now in effect on the border. does it feel like an emergency where you are standing? >> it feels no different than 20 minutes ago, or 30 minutes ago,

or an hour ago. when we got here early this morning. >> rachel, the one practical change that we do know that has gone into effect here is that that cbp, one app that was put into place by the biden administration, part of their effort, statewide effort to have a more fair, safe, humane, orderly process at the border has been discontinued by the trump administration and president trump. >> i have to say, i've reported from this spot over the course of four different presidential administrations for nbc news and msnbc and the obama administration. they told us that they managed with what they have, according to borderrol agents on the ground, about the wall and about the resources here. nevertheless, the trump administration the first time around. replace that wall with what you see behind me. two fences, a primary and a secondary one. and all of the immigration policies that you know. well, the biden administration kept some of those policies in place despite the fact that they had promised a fair, safe, humane, orderly system resulting in the numbers

today, rachel being as low as they were when donald trump was leaving office and during similar times during his presidency. >> and now here we are again, at the same spot along the border where you heard president trump mention ending catch and release. >> that was a euphemism for the family separation policy. >> and here in otay mesa, this is the location of where the namesake of that lawsuit that stopped the policy, miss el, was separated at the port of entry here. >> and that was a policy. this location has effectively ground zero for what the republican appointed judge who stopped it called one of the most shameful chapters in the history of the united states of america, 5500 children deliberately taken from their mothers and fathers for no other reason than to harm them. and the facts, as journalists we can report today, bear all of that out. and while the president, president trump, is not promising family separation at the border, he is and did today promise the largest mass deportation effort in the history of the country. and that

includes not taking children from their parents at the border, but taking parents from their children in the interior, including potentially in cities all across the country. i was in los angeles covering the wildfires just days ago with many undocumented immigrants who were participating in the cleanup effort in the recovery effort, where is this all going to play out? how is it going to play out? he has said he's going to deploy the military to the border and enact federal task forces to go into the interior, to work with local law enforcement, to deport more people than dwight d eisenhower, an operation that deported over a million mexicans and some mexican americans with a name so racist that i'm not going to say it right now on television. >> that is the stated goal of this incoming administration. >> you heard it there in the capitol in washington, dc, and we are watching for the effects of it down here on the border right now. >> rachel. >> jacob, let me just underscore one news point that you just made there, which is about the disappearance, the cancellation of the cbp one app, customs and border protection app. the purpose of that, if i'm correct

and correct me if i'm if i'm wrong, was just to give people a way to make appointments with customs and border protection, essentially to try to rationalize and just make slightly more orderly our famously very disorderly immigration system. that is the app that has been canceled, that has disappeared as of today. and is it also true that all appointments that were made through that app that were still pending appointments, they have all been canceled? >> correct? canceled, reportedly about hundreds of thousands, actually, of scheduled appointments have been canceled. and to basically outline what it did, what that app did. yeah. decades ago you might see thousands of people at any given time crossing at this spot behind me. that app was essentially put into place to mitigate those types of crossings along the border, to give people an opportunity to show up, to have an asylum hearing, to have an interview with officials at the border. the san ysidro port of entry behind me is one of the largest land border