--- title: Donald Trump Inauguration: Read the Sermon He Heard Before description: Before attending the inauguration ceremony, President Trump attended a private religious service at St. John's Episcopal Church. canonical: https://time.com/4641208/donald-trump-robert-jeffress-st-john-episcopal-inauguration/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-20T17:51:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T07:14:11.848Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read the Sermon Trump Heard Before Becoming President og:description: An exclusive transcript og:url: https://time.com/4641208/donald-trump-robert-jeffress-st-john-episcopal-inauguration/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27bdc104cdacd644/6988b663428a9ed437cd58ca/gettyimages-632185658.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and wife Melania Trump depart St. John's Church ahead of the 58th presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read the Sermon Trump Heard Before Becoming President twitter:description: An exclusive transcript twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27bdc104cdacd644/6988b663428a9ed437cd58ca/gettyimages-632185658.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read the Sermon Donald Trump Heard Before Becoming President > 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=6699ba8c-c368-4fe9-bd40-6625643ec6c7&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Donald Trump Takes the Presidential Oath [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump Takes the Presidential Oath](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/F7LToUNX.m3u8) (0:47)  _Published 2017-01-20. Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States._ by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jan 20, 2017 5:51 PM UTC Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jan 20, 2017 5:51 PM UTC Before [attending the inauguration ceremony](http://time.com/4641156/donald-trump-inauguration-oath-swear-in-president/), President Trump attended a private religious service at St. John’s Episcopal Church, across the street from the White House, as part of a modern Inauguration Day ritual. The service was led by the Rev. [Robert Jeffress](http://time.com/4323009/donald-trump-southern-baptist-russell-moore-evangelicals-christianity/), a Southern Baptist who [campaigned hard](http://time.com/donald-trump-prosperity-preachers/) for Trump during the closing months of the election. Here is an exclusive transcript of Jeffress’ sermon, which drew on the story of Nehemiah, a historical figure described in the Old Testament for rebuilding Jerusalem. --- > “” --- ## Transcript [00:00] Please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, [00:04] Donald John Trump do solemnly swear. I, Donald John [00:08] Trump do solemnly swear. That I will faithfully execute. [00:12] That I will faithfully execute. The Office [00:16] of the President of the United States The Office of [00:20] President of the United States. And will to the best of [00:23] my ability. And will to the best of my ability. Preserve, [00:28] protect and defend. Preserve, protect and defend. [00:32] The Constitution of the United States. The Constitution [00:35] of the United States. So help me God. So help me God. [00:38] Congratulations. 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