RUSH: And there you have it, Mike Pence just completing the swearing-in ceremony for him. Greetings, my friends. Rush Limbaugh here on Inauguration Day. What the past 24, 18 hours have been… The event at the Lincoln Memorial last night. I can’t wait to share my thoughts with you on that. The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the fireworks behind the Lincoln Memorial. So there you have it: Mike Pence is the vice president, and we will now stick with the ceremony. Some observations to come, friends. We are writing them down, making notes, such as David Brooks claiming the crowd is “very white and very Southern.”

Obama’s congratulating Pence.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir accompanied by the President’s Own United States Marine Band.

RUSH: So many prayers today and last night. So many prayers to God last night and today. I can’t help but wonder how some people feel about that.

CHOIR: (America the Beautiful)

RUSH: That’s the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Our audio feed here, by the way, folks, is about 10 seconds ahead of what’s on television.

ROY BLUNT: … Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John G. Roberts, Jr., who will administer the presidential oath of office. Everyone please stand.

RUSH: This is the moment, folks. A lot of people still can’t believe this.

ROBERTS: Please raise your right hand and speak after me: I, Donald John Trump do solemnly swear.

TRUMP: I Donald John Trump do solemnly swear.

ROBERTS: That I will faithfully execute.

TRUMP: That I will faithfully execute.

ROBERTS: The office of president of the United States.

TRUMP: The office of president of the United States.

ROBERTS: And will, to the best of my ability.

TRUMP: And will, to the best of my ability.

ROBERTS: Preserve, protect and defend.

TRUMP: Preserve, protect and defend.

ROBERTS: The Constitution of the United States.

TRUMP: The Constitution of the United States.

ROBERTS: So help me God.

TRUMP: So help me, God.

ROBERTS: Congratulations, Mr. President.

RUSH: There you have it. Donald Trump, 45th president.

CROWD: (cheers and applause)

BAND: (Hail to the Chief)

RUSH: What a gorgeous scene. It’s been all day in Washington, crowds, throngs, excitement like we haven’t seen in the country in many years. Great anticipation, people eagerly looking forward, not with regret but with great hope and great enthusiasm.

HONOR GUARD: (twenty-one gun salute)

RUSH: Yes, Mrs. Clinton was there. Bill Clinton was there. They’re still there. It’s kind of surprising but they hung in. Hey, it’s my show.

ROY BLUNT: What a great honor to be able to introduce for the first time ever anywhere the 45th president of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump.

CROWD: (wild cheers and applause)

RUSH: Wait ’til you hear some of the media sound bites we have for you, folks, when all this is over with. The Drive-By Media cannot… They just can’t accept it, can’t come to grips with it. They’re trying to denigrate it, impugn it. We have evidence coming up later. No commercials in this broadcast hour today, folks.

THE PRESIDENT: Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans, and people of the world, thank you. We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and restore its promise for all of our people.

CROWD: (cheers)

THE PRESIDENT: Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for many, many years to come. We will face challenges, we will confront hardships, but we will get the job done. Every four years we gather on these steps, to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent. Thank you.

CROWD: (applause)

THE PRESIDENT: Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning. Because today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people.

CROWD: (cheers and applause)

THE PRESIDENT: For too long a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost.

RUSH: And they’re all standing here behind him. This is incredible! (laughing)

THE PRESIDENT: Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered —

RUSH: Oh-ho!

THE PRESIDENT: — but the jobs left and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself.

RUSH: (laughing) They’re standing right there!

THE PRESIDENT: But not the citizens of our country.

RUSH: He’s hitting ’em!

THE PRESIDENT: Their victories have not been your victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs.

RUSH: Folks! (laughing)

THE PRESIDENT: And while they celebrated in our nation’s capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.

CROWD: (applause, whistles and cheers)

RUSH: They’re standing right behind him as he calls ’em out!

THE PRESIDENT: That all changes starting right here and right now, because this moment is your moment; it belongs to you.

CROWD: (cheers and applause)

THE PRESIDENT: It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America. This is your day, this is your celebration, and this — the United States of America — is your country.

CROWD: (applause)

RUSH: By the way, it’s not raining. Those are Hillary Clinton’s tears. (laughing)

THE PRESIDENT: What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people.

CROWD: (applause)

THE PRESIDENT: January 20th, 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again.

CROWD: (cheers and applause)

RUSH: Holy smokes, this is just —

THE PRESIDENT: The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.

CROWD: (cheers and applause)

RUSH: (chuckling)

THE PRESIDENT: Everyone is listening to you now. You came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement the likes of which the world has never seen before.

RUSH: How do you think the media’s gonna compare this to JFK’s speech, hmm?

THE PRESIDENT: At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. These are just and reasonable demands of righteous people and a righteous public. But for too many of our citizens a different reality exists. Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities, rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation, an education system flush with cash but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge. And the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.

CROWD: (cheers and applause)

RUSH: I don’t know if you got — (chuckles) Oh-h.

THE PRESIDENT: We are one nation, and their pain is our pain, their dreams are our dreams, and their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny. The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans.

CROWD: (applause)

THE PRESIDENT: For many decades we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry, subsidized the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military. We’ve defended other nation’s borders while refusing to defend our own.

CROWD: (cheers and applause)

THE PRESIDENT:

RUSH: Oh, baby! Ho-lee!

THE PRESIDENT: And spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay.

RUSH: It’s a campaign speech is that it is, folks.

THE PRESIDENT: We’ve made other countries rich while the wealth, strength, and confidence of our country has dissipated over the horizon.

RUSH: You need to get the ambulances in there for the establishment people. It’s just — (laughing)

THE PRESIDENT: One by one the factories shuttered and left our shores with not even a thought about the millions and millions of American workers that were left behind. The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed all across the world. But that is the past, and now we are looking only to the future.

CROWD: (applause)

RUSH: This is not the usual pap, folks.

THE PRESIDENT: We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first. America first!

CROWD: (cheers applause)

RUSH: Well, I just saw a shot of some of the people —

THE PRESIDENT: Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries —

RUSH: Oh-ho-ho! (chuckling)

THE PRESIDENT: — making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs.

RUSH: I think they think he means it now. I think they get it.

THE PRESIDENT: Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength.

RUSH: Whew!

THE PRESIDENT: I will fight for you with every breath in my body, and I will never, ever let you down.

RUSH: See if I says, “I’ll work so hard for you, I’m gonna work so…”

THE PRESIDENT: And we’re gonna start winning again, winning like never before.

CROWD: (cheers)

THE PRESIDENT: We will bring back our jobs! We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.

CROWD: (cheers and applause)

THE PRESIDENT: We will build new roads and highways and bridges and airports and tunnels and railways all across our wonderful nation. We will get our people off of welfare and back to work, rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor.

CROWD: (cheers and applause)

RUSH: You can see the establishment sitting there in the seats close by —

THE PRESIDENT: We will follow two simple rules.

RUSH: — no movement.

THE PRESIDENT: Buy American and hire American.

RUSH: It’s funereal! It looks like it’s funereal.

THE PRESIDENT: We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world, but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first. We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example. We will shine for everyone to follow.

CROWD: (applause)

THE PRESIDENT: We’ll reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism —

CROWD: (cheers and applause)

THE PRESIDENT: — which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth!

RUSH: (chuckling)

THE PRESIDENT: At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.

CROWD: (applause)

THE PRESIDENT: The Bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity. We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.

CROWD: (applause)

THE PRESIDENT: There should be no fear. We are protected, and we will always be protected. We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement —

CROWD: (applause)

THE PRESIDENT: — and most importantly, we will be protected by God.

RUSH: Ohhhhhhhhhhh, Lordy!

THE PRESIDENT: Finally, we must think big and dream even bigger. In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long as it is striving. We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action, constantly complaining but never doing anything about it.

CROWD: (cheers and applause)

THE PRESIDENT: The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action.

CROWD: (applause)

THE PRESIDENT:

RUSH: He wants to get out of there and get to work, I think.

THE PRESIDENT: Do not allow anyone to tell you that it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again. We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the earth of the miseries of disease and to harness the energies, industries, and technologies of tomorrow. A new national pride will stir our souls, lift our sights, and heal our divisions. It’s time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget, that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots.

CROWD: (cheers and applause)

THE PRESIDENT: We all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American flag.

CROWD: (cheers and applause)

THE PRESIDENT: And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they fill their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same Almighty Creator.

CROWD: (cheers and applause)

RUSH: Well.

THE PRESIDENT: So to all Americans in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, from ocean to ocean, hear these words: You will never be ignored again.

CROWD: (cheers and applause)

THE PRESIDENT: Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way. Together, we will make America strong again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again — and, yes, together we will make America great again!

CROWD: (wild cheers and applause)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America.

CROWD: (wild cheers and applause)

RUSH: Would it be wrong for me to say for the first time in a long time, I’m really proud of my country?

CROWD: (cheers and applause)

For the first time a long time — and, by the way, folks, anybody who thinks that Trump is being unprecedented in pointing out the problems of the country and the other party — if you think, “My gosh, you’ve never heard this!” — you need to go back and read Reagan’s first inaugural address. What Trump did today, although it was pointed, was not unique to him, was not unprecedented. I have an excerpt from it I’ll share with you as the program unfolds. Looking for spots of blood now on cameras as Drive-By heads had to explode during that.

SPEAKER: At this time I call on Rabbi Marvin Hier, Reverend Franklin Graham, and Bishop Wayne T. Jackson to provide readings and the benediction.

RUSH: This has been quite a devotion to God, starting last night, continuing on through the day.

RABBI HIER: Eternal God, bless President Donald J. Trump and America, our great nation. Guide us to remember the words of the psalmist: Who may dwell on your holy mountain? One who does what is right and speaks the truth, who knows that when you eat the labor of your hands, you are praiseworthy, that he who sows in tears shall reap in enjoy. Because the freedoms we enjoy are not granted in perpetuity but must be reclaimed by each generation. As our ancestors have planted for us, so we must plant for others.

While it is not for us to complete the task, neither are we free to desist from them. Dispense justice to the needy and the orphan, for they have no one but their fellow citizen. And because a nation’s wealth is measured by her values and not by her vaults. Bless all of our allies around the world who share our beliefs, by the rivers of Babylon, we wept as we remembered Zion. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. The doer of all these shall never falter. May the days come soon when justice will dwell in the wilderness and righteousness will abide in the fertile fields, and the work of righteousness will be peace, quietness, and confidence forever. Amen.

REV. GRAHAM: Mr. President, in the Bible, rain is a sign of God’s blessing. And it started to rain, Mr. President, when you came to the platform.

RUSH: Whoa.

REV. GRAHAM: And it is my prayer that God will bless you, your family, your administration, and may he bless America. The passage of Scripture comes from First Timothy chapter 2. “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings, for all those in authority, that we may live peacefully quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and it pleases God, our savior, who wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind: The man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. Now to the King Eternal — immortal, invisible — the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever,” in Jesus’ name. Amen.

RUSH: It’s really incredible what’s happening here, folks. I can’t wait to begin the analysis. This is profound what is happening here today.

BISHOP JACKSON: We thank you, father, for letting us share this great moment together. Let us not take for granted the air we breathe or the life you’ve given us. We were all created by you with one blood, all nations to dwell upon this land together. We’re not enemies; we’re brothers and sisters. We’re not adversaries, but we’re allies. We’re not foes, but we’re friends. Let us be healed by the power of your love and united by the bond of your spirit. Today we pray for our 45th president, the vice president, and their families, and give them the wisdom to guide this great nation, the strength to protect it, and the hands to heal it.

We bless President Donald J. Trump. We ask that you give him the wisdom of Solomon, the vision of Joseph, and the meekness of Christ. Solomon who kept peace among many nations, Joseph, who dreamt better for the people, and Christ, who accepted us all. O’Lord, mend our hearts and stitch together the fabric of this great country, and in the spirit of the legendary gospel song by Mahalia Jackson: “Oh, deep in my heart I do believe the Lord will see us through, I do believe. We are on our way to victory, I do believe. We will walk hand in hand I do believe. We shall live in peace, I do believe. Oh, deep in my heart I do believe America, we shall overcome.” May the Lord bless and keep America, make his face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us and give us peace, in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

RUSH: Is anybody gonna read from 2 Corinthians?

SPEAKER: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Jackie Evancho accompanied by the president’s own the United States Marine Band. Please stand for the singing of the national anthem.

BAND: (The National Anthem)

RUSH: I still don’t believe what I just saw.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing while the president and official party depart the platform. You will be released by sections shortly.

BAND: (The Stars and Stripes Forever)

RUSH: All right. So now we’re gonna get the orderly departure. And I’m gonna tell you, some people are gonna skedaddle out of there as quickly as they can. So it’s gonna be fascinating to tune in later and listen to some of the learned commentariat and the punditocracy analyze the inaugural address of Donald Trump today.