Inauguration Day begins with church, tea

UPDATE: Police in Washington, D.C., have made numerous arrests after clashing with protesters on Inauguration Day. More than 1,000 protesters confronted police in downtown Washington, where officers used pepper spray to stop people from damaging cars, setting fires, and destroying property. Some protesters have thrown objects, including water bottles and chunks of concrete, at police. Interim Police Chief Peter Newsham told The Washington Post more than 90 people had been arrested by early afternoon today for causing “significant damage to a number of blocks in our city.”

UPDATE (12:58 p.m.): President Donald Trump used his inaugural address to make sweeping promises about America’s future, pledging to unify the country with a rising swell of patriotism.

“From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it’s going to be only, ‘America First,’” Trump said in a speech that clocked in at just 16 minutes.

Trump took the oath of office with his hand placed on two Bibles, one belonging to his family and one used during President Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration.

Check back later today for more coverage of Inauguration Day from WORLD’s Washington bureau.

UPDATE (11:30 a.m.): President-elect Donald Trump has just arrived at Capitol Hill in preparation for taking the oath of office at noon. While the soon-to-be-president had tea with his predecessor, Barack Obama, supporters and other political dignitaries began filling up the rows of chairs in front of the inaugural stage.

Hillary Clinton, on stage at the inauguration with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, took to Twitter to explain her decision to attend the ceremony: “I’m here today to honor our democracy & its enduring values. I will never stop believing in our country & its future.”

Other former presidents, including Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush, also are in attendance, along with their wives. The only former president missing is George H.W. Bush, who is hospitalized in Houston, recovering from pneumonia.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (10:45 a.m.): President-elect Donald Trump started his Inauguration Day with a tweet: “It all begins today! THE MOVEMENT CONTINUES - THE WORK BEGINS!”

Trump’s pre-dawn social media message offered a modern spin on a day shaped by history and tradition—a fitting combination for the man who staked his claim to the Oval Office with a pledge to upend the status quo.

But the rest of the day promises to be much more formal and scripted. Not long after sending out his morning tweet, Trump headed to church with his family. The service at St. John’s Episcopal Church, across from the White House, customarily kicks off Inauguration Day ceremonies, although Trump’s detractors decried the church’s decision to participate in the day’s events. The Rev. Robert Jeffress, a vocal Trump supporter during the campaign and pastor of First Baptist Dallas, led the service and preached a sermon from Nehemiah titled “When God Chooses a Leader.”

After church, the Trumps headed to the White House for tea with President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, another Inauguration Day tradition. The two couples will travel together to Capitol Hill for the noon swearing-in ceremony. Trump plans to keep his inaugural address short—just 20 minutes—and focus more on philosophy than policy. Spokesman Sean Spicer said the new president would talk about his vision for what it means to be an American.

As a light rain fell on the nation’s capital, Trump supporters mixed with protesters along streets and on the National Mall. Some protesters wearing orange jumpsuits with black hoods over their faces tried to block visitors from getting through security checkpoints. Police in riot gear kept a conspicuous watch.

Trump arrived in Washington Thursday and spoke to supporters last night at a concert at the Lincoln Memorial. He joked about the downpour forecast for today and repeated one of his post-election pledges: “We’re going to unify our country.”