--- title: Donald Trump: Inauguration Is His First Test as President description: Nobody knows how Donald Trump, who on Friday at noon becomes the 45th U.S. President, intends to make use of his moment in history. canonical: https://time.com/4640005/donald-trump-inauguration-test/ author: Alex Altman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-20T11:00:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T07:14:05.935Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Faces His First Test as President og:description: It's unlikely he will heed the road map sketched by past Presidents. og:url: https://time.com/4640005/donald-trump-inauguration-test/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d53d51865b68cca/6988b658e20a875ac2a93d15/donald-trump-president-inauguration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP-INAUGURATION-CONCERT og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Faces His First Test as President twitter:description: It's unlikely he will heed the road map sketched by past Presidents. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d53d51865b68cca/6988b658e20a875ac2a93d15/donald-trump-president-inauguration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Faces His First Test as President > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=bfee9310-c615-4012-82c8-4b5d55a875a2&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Twice a week | time.com/newsletters, September 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=bfee9310-c615-4012-82c8-4b5d55a875a2&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=bfee9310-c615-4012-82c8-4b5d55a875a2&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=bfee9310-c615-4012-82c8-4b5d55a875a2&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Donald Trump Runs for President: A Look Back [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump Runs for President: A Look Back](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dgn8DCbB.m3u8) (7:19)  _Published 2016-10-31. In one of the most shocking U.S. elections in modern political history, Donald Trump has defeated Hillary Clinton._ by [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/) and [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/) Jan 20, 2017 11:00 AM UTC by [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/) and [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/) Jan 20, 2017 11:00 AM UTC The inaugural address is tradition’s gift to a new President, a chance to gather the country together before the hard business of governing begins. Donald Trump’s predecessors have seized these historic moments to issue calls for unity. Barack Obama, who took office in the midst of deepening economic crisis, used [his first inaugural](https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/01/21/president-barack-obamas-inaugural-address) to steel the nation for the hardship ahead. George W. Bush, who became President in 2001 in the wake of a contested election, urged a “a new commitment to live out our nation’s promise through civility, courage, compassion, and character.” Nobody knows how Trump, who on Friday at noon becomes the 45th U.S. President, intends to make use of his moment in history. But there is little to suggest that he will heed the road map sketched by past Presidents. Trump has spent the weeks since Election Day practicing the same brand of us-against-them politics that won him the job. He’s feuded with U.S. intelligence chiefs, mocked political opponents and the media and carried on public spats with such luminaries as civil-rights icon Rep. John Lewis. He has treated the presidential transition as a new phase in a permanent campaign, seizing chances to rally his core supporters and making few overtures to his opponents. He has refused to be boxed in by precedent. That may have contributed to the fact that Trump will step to the podium on the west front of the Capitol as the [least popular incoming president](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-trump-draws-low-marks-for-transition-response-to-russian-hacking/2017/01/17/0926302a-dc25-11e6-ad42-f3375f271c9c%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.c8a384421ff5) in at least four decades. Dozens of House Democrats are boycotting the ceremony, though Obama and both Bill and Hillary Clinton will attend. His inaugural address is a prime chance for him to try to reset his image and bind the wounds of a bitter election. Aides have been tight-lipped about what to expect. Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said the address will clock in at around 20 minutes. It will be a “philosophical document,” Spicer added, that lays out the themes that will anchor his first term. According to aides, the President-elect wrote the address personally. Lest anyone doubt it, Trump tweeted a photograph of himself with papers and a pen. (Upon closer [inspection](http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/01/why-doesnt-donald-trump-have-his-own-desk-at-mar-a-lago.html?mid=twitter-share-selectall), however, the picture appears to have been taken at a receptionist’s desk.) Specifics aside, the world is watching to see if Trump will deliver on his promise of becoming “so presidential,” or whether he will stick with what he knows. He has proven able to rein in the drama and theatrics when he wants to, such as in [a speech he delivered last year about Israel](http://time.com/4267058/donald-trump-aipac-speech-transcript/). Still, he favors free-wheeling, stream-of-consciousness addresses. Meeting with supporters on the eve of his inauguration, he departed from the remarks he drew from his jacket pocket to mock a senior Republican senator, John Cornyn of Texas, for soliciting donations from him over the years, and bragged that his Cabinet had [the highest IQ in history](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/01/19/trump-toasts-his-nominees-by-far-the-highest-iq-of-any-cabinet-ever-assembled/?utm%5Fterm=.cc90de636e9f). Another unknown is who, exactly, will be running the country once Trump’s team arrives after the short bus ride from the Capitol. None of the members of his inner circle at the White House—chief of staff Reince Priebus, chief strategist Steve Bannon and senior adviser Jared Kushner, the President-elect’s son-in-law—has served in government before, let alone at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. A sober speech would begin to alleviate widespread fears among members of both parties that the incoming President and his cohort are not prepared for the tasks ahead of them. Of the 690 political jobs that require Senate sign-off, Trump has [nominated](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trump-transition-agencies-233811) just 28\. It is likely that Trump will spend his first weekend in power with just two Cabinet secretaries confirmed. Many of the fellow Republicans who will attend the speech have been left to rely on scattered hints about how the Trump era will begin. Trump promised during the campaign to reverse many of Obama’s executive orders and restore some from the George W. Bush days that Obama scrapped. But even top Republicans have not been able to glean specifics and are likely to find out at the same time the public does. Trump campaigned in broad promises to Make America Great Again, a phrase he copyrighted, as well as to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. Questions about the specifics seldom drew answers; his supporters were willing to project their views and protect their candidate. The fury of an America First agenda powered him to the highest office in the land and is likely to be the gist of Trump’s first speech as President. It’s up to Trump to chart that course now. There really is no turning back. ## Transcript I am officially running Aah, yeah [ APPLAUSE ]. for President of the United States [ APPLAUSE ] and we are going to make our country great again. The American Dream is dead, but if I get elected President I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again. I was called by a major major reporter whose name I won't use. And he said to me what you've done has never been done Male 1: In the history of United States politics. And more and more people are resonating to what I'm saying. That's why I'm leading in every poll. We will have so much winning if I get elected that you may get bored with winning. I think I have to win. I'm about winning. Male 2: It's been amazing to follow and exciting because you say some shocking Things [ LAUGH ] You've called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slabs, and disgusting animals. Your Twitter account. Only Rosie O'Donnell Look at those hands, are they small hands? And he referred to my hands, if they're small something else must be small. I guarantee you there's no problem there, I guarantee it. I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters okay? You gotta see this guy, I don't know what I said. I don't remember. [ APPLAUSE ] Here's a guy throwing punches, nasty as hell, screaming and everything else when we're talking. I mean what can happen, and we're not allowed, you know the guards are very gently with him, he's walking out like big high fives. Smiling, laughing, like to punch him in the face. [ APPLAUSE ] USA! USA! USA! When Mexico sends their people, they're not bringing their best. They're sending drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapist. I will build a great great wall On our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall. The former president of Mexico Vicente Fox, he said today, and I'm quoting him. He said, I'm not going to pay for that quote, F'ing wall. How are you going to make them pay for the wall? I will and the wall just got ten feet taller, believe me. Zero tolerance for criminal aliens, zero, zero. Now a different threat challenges the whole world. Radical Islamic Terrorism. Donald J Trump is calling for a total and complete shut down. Of Muslims entering the United States. Donald Trump, let me ask you, have you even read the United States Constitution? You have sacrificed nothing, and no one [ APPLAUSE ] I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I've created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs. Built great structures. I've had tremendous success. Those are sacrifices? Sure I think they're sacrifices. [ MUSIC ] As the proud daughter of your nominee I am here to tell you this is the moment and Donald Trump is the person to make America great again. [ LAUGH ] I humbly and gratefully accept. Your nomination for the presidency of the United States. And we will make America great again. God Bless you and good night. I love you. [ Music ] Ladies and gentlemen, the Republican nominee for President, Donald J. Trump. And the Democratic nominee for President Hilary Clinton . >> You're telling the enemy everything you wanted to do . >> No we're not . >> See. you're telling the enemy everything you wanted to do . >> There are different . >> Secretary, is it President Obama's fault? Wrong >> That is absolutely Wrong . >> Prove over and over again. Wrong. I also have a much better temperament than she has, you know? If Hillary knew how she would have done it already, period, end of story. I won the debate, I stayed calm just like I promised, and it is over. Goodnight, [ INAUDIBLE ]. [ LAUGH ] I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful. I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. [ LAUGH ] Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Whatever you want. Grab them by the ****. I've said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade old video Are one of them. This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues we're facing today. You bragged that you have sexually assaulted women, do you understand that? No I didn't say that at all. I don't think you understood what was said. This was lock Locker room talk . >> Just breaking a damning report from the New York Times that claims Donald Trump inappropriately touched two women, the first nearly [ INAUDIBLE ] That more women now accuse Donald Trump of improper physical contact . >> The People Magazine writer who said that Donald Trump kissed her and groped her in 2005 while she was interviewing him and his then pregnant wife Melania . >> These vicious claims About me, of inappropriate conduct with women. Are totally, and absolutely false. I didn't know any of these women, I didn't see these women. And I didn't even apologize to my wife, who's sitting right here, cuz I didn't do anything. Thank you. Do you make the same commitment that you will absolutely, Sir, that you will absolutely accept the result of this election? I will look at it at the time. I'm not looking at anything now, I'll look at it at the time. And I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election. If I win. [ APPLAUSE ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4640005/donald-trump-inauguration-test/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4640005/donald-trump-inauguration-test/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Faces His First Test as President","datePublished":"2017-01-20T11:00:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-07T07:14:05.935Z","description":"A tradition-smashing candidate steps into history","url":"https://time.com/4640005/donald-trump-inauguration-test/","keywords":["White House","2016 Election","Donald Trump","inauguration","Inauguration 2017"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d53d51865b68cca/6988b658e20a875ac2a93d15/donald-trump-president-inauguration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Altman","jobTitle":"Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/alex-altman/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Philip Elliott","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d53d51865b68cca/6988b658e20a875ac2a93d15/donald-trump-president-inauguration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP-INAUGURATION-CONCERT","caption":"TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP-INAUGURATION-CONCERT","creditText":"Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4640005/donald-trump-inauguration-test/","name":"Donald Trump Faces His First Test as President"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Donald Trump Runs for President: A Look Back","description":"In one of the most shocking U.S. elections in modern political history, Donald Trump has defeated Hillary Clinton.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/dgn8DCbB/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-10-31T20:49:27.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dgn8DCbB.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4640005/donald-trump-inauguration-test/","duration":"PT7M19S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4640005/donald-trump-inauguration-test/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```