--- title: What Donald Trump Will Say in His Inaugural Speech description: At 12 pm we will witness the remarkable ritual of the peaceful transfer of power from President Obama to President-elect Donald Trump. canonical: https://time.com/4640676/what-donald-trump-will-say-in-his-inaugural-speech/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-20T13:56:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T02:49:37.446Z article:section: Politics og:title: What Donald Trump Will Say in His Inaugural Speech og:description: At 12 pm we will witness the remarkable ritual of the peaceful transfer of power from President Obama to President-elect Donald Trump. og:url: https://time.com/4640676/what-donald-trump-will-say-in-his-inaugural-speech/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Morning Must Reads og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Donald Trump Will Say in His Inaugural Speech twitter:description: At 12 pm we will witness the remarkable ritual of the peaceful transfer of power from President Obama to President-elect Donald Trump. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Donald Trump Will Say in His Inaugural Speech > Sponsored content. 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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=9f7e2a70-0520-4450-8108-46de151363b4&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jan 20, 2017 1:56 PM UTC  The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jan 20, 2017 1:56 PM UTC Good morning from the nation’s capital, where at 12 pm we will witness the peaceful transfer of power from President Obama to President-elect Donald Trump. In the midst of all the partisan acrimony, it’s sometimes hard to remember just how remarkable this four- or eight-year ritual is. The day begins at Blair House, where the President-elect overnighted. He and his family will then attend a service at St. John’s Church across Lafayette Park from the White House before arriving at the Executive Mansion for tea with the outgoing President and First Lady. The four will then jointly depart for the Capitol, with the President and President-elect sharing a limousine. The Vice President-elect will take the oath of office first, followed at 11:47 by the President-elect, followed by Ruffles and Flourishes and the playing of Hail to the Chief. At noon, he will become THE PRESIDENT, in the parlance of the White House. Then there’s President Obama’s departure from the East Front of the Capitol, a congressional luncheon, and the Inaugural Parade back to the White House. Trump’s Inaugural Address is set to be short. The Capitol program schedules 21 minutes for the speech, though Trump aides suggest it could be even shorter. The speech is not intended to be a policy document or a laundry list of agenda items, his aide say, rather intended to be an outline of his vision for the country. The address is a key test for the President-elect is whether he can reassure the fears of many Americans, and many around the world, over his incoming Administration. Trump has struggled thus far with bridging the divides among the people he will now lead. He no longer has the luxury of failing at that task. Trump has traded in his old Android phone for a new secure one provided by the Secret Service that prevents it from being tracked. Like President Obama in 2009, who was forced to turn in his beloved Blackberry, the change is in-part designed to limit who can reach him. His new phone number is very closely-held—at least for now. Inside the final hours of the Obama administration. Relive the 10 days most important days of Barack Obama’s presidency. And do business leaders make good presidents? _Here are your must reads:_ **Must Reads** [Donald Trump Faces His First Test as President ](http://time.com/4640005/donald-trump-inauguration-test/)A tradition-smashing candidate steps into history \[TIME\] [Inside the Final Hours of the Obama White House ](http://time.com/4640464/barack-obama-white-house-final-hours/)Obama aides bid farewell \[TIME\] [Evangelical Leaders Celebrate the Day Before Donald Trump’s Inauguration ](http://time.com/4640436/evangelical-leaders-donald-trump-inauguration/)The group also prayed for the country’s relationship with China and Russia \[TIME\] [10 Promises Donald Trump Made for His First Day in Office ](http://time.com/4640412/donald-trump-promises-day-one/)Will he keep them? \[Associated Press\] [Do Business Leaders Make Good Presidents? ](http://time.com/4640173/business-leaders-good-presidents/)Jon Meacham on whether the lessons of business apply to government \[TIME\] [Trump’s Washington Hotel Is Hub of Inaugural Action — and Potential Conflicts ](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-washington-hotel-is-hub-of-inaugural-action--and-potential-conflicts/2017/01/19/df4f20a0-de85-11e6-918c-99ede3c8cafa%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.8d47a1f0313b)The hottest bar in town \[Washington Post\] **Sound Off** “If it really pours tomorrow, that’s OK, because people will realize it’s my real hair.” — President-elect Donald Trump Thursday night at a reception for Inaugural donors “If you can’t produce peace in the Middle East, nobody can.” — President-elect Trump on his son-in-law Jared Kushner **Bits and Bites** [Relive the 10 Days Most Important Days of Barack Obama’s Presidency](http://time.com/4636262/president-barack-obama-highlights-video/) \[TIME\] [How Security Officials Are Working to Keep Donald Trump’s Inauguration Safe](http://time.com/4639525/donald-trump-inauguration-security-police/) \[TIME\] [Treasury Secretary Nominee Steven Mnuchin Clashes With Democrats in Confirmation Hearing](http://time.com/4639820/steven-mnuchin-confirmation-hearing/) \[Associated Press\] [Donald Trump Supporters Clash With Protesters in Washington](http://time.com/4640567/donald-trump-protest-clash-deploraball/) \[Associated Press\] [Donald Trump Promises Change and Unity on Eve of Inauguration](http://time.com/4640317/donald-trump-inauguration-concert-speech/) \[TIME\] [What it’s like to have under three minutes to photograph president-elect Trump](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-sight/wp/2017/01/19/what-its-like-to-have-under-three-minutes-to-photograph-president-elect-trump/?utm%5Fterm=.b61ada0e239f) \[Washington Post\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4640676/what-donald-trump-will-say-in-his-inaugural-speech/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4640676/what-donald-trump-will-say-in-his-inaugural-speech/"},"headline":"What Donald Trump Will Say in His Inaugural Speech","datePublished":"2017-01-20T13:56:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:49:37.446Z","description":"At 12 pm we will witness the remarkable ritual of the peaceful transfer of power from President Obama to President-elect Donald Trump.","url":"https://time.com/4640676/what-donald-trump-will-say-in-his-inaugural-speech/","keywords":["Morning Must Reads"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Morning Must Reads","caption":"Capitol","creditText":"Mark Wilson—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":"https://time.com/4640676/what-donald-trump-will-say-in-his-inaugural-speech/","name":"What Donald Trump Will Say in His Inaugural Speech"}}]}] ```