President Donald J. Trump's inaugural address, on Jan. 20, offered little deviation from the fiery, isolationist rhetoric that proved to be one of the hallmarks of the New York real-estate developer and reality-TV star's presidential campaign.
In a speech signaling that government would heretofore put "America First," Trump described myriad difficulties facing the nation, among them rampant crime, a moribund economy and global trade and military pacts that have failed to work in the United States' favor. Many commentators objected to the America First moniker, which, they noted, was the same name of the 1930s organizationmade famous by Charles Lindburgh, its principal spokesmanthat advocated for United States isolationism.
The size of Trump's audience stirred controversy between the Trump administration and the mainstream media Jan. 21. After a photo-comparison went viral illustrating that Trump's audience in the National Mall was only a fraction of the audience at former President Barack Obama's inaugural ceremony in 2009, White House officials called a press conference to refute the reports and said that the media had been dishonest in its reporting.
Trump made no mention of LGBT rights in his speech. Shortly after he was sworn in, however, the White House website was updated, and LGBT rights were among many public issues that were removed as topics on the site.