Last Friday was a day few Americans would soon forget: At noon Eastern Time on January 20, 2017, Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States of America by Supreme Court Justice John Roberts. It was a cloudy day, spectators shielding themselves from the intermittent rain as they waited for the man of the hour to arrive. The inauguration took place in Washington D.C.’s U.S. Capitol Building in front of a crowd of hundreds of thousands, comprised of civilians, members of the military, and politicians, the most notable of this last category including now-former President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton, and Clinton’s wife, Hillary Clinton, who on November 8, 2016, despite winning the popular vote by nearly 3 million, lost the election to the billionaire just sworn in.

 Trump arrived in front of the cameras and the cheering masses not long before noon. Interestingly enough, as shown in side-by-side pictures provided by CNN, it’s estimated that while Obama’s 2009 inaugural ceremony boasted 1.8 million people, Trump’s held a much smaller 250,000; while crowd sizes are hard to calculate, the ground before the Capitol looked noticeably empty. Even so, those present bristled with pent-up excitement and prideful emotions.

Shortly after Trump’s appearance, Michael Pence was sworn in as the Vice President of the United States. Trump’s own swearing-in occurred just after, followed by an inaugural address in which he “attacked Washington” and the “constantly complaining” politicians preceding him. “January 20th, 2017,” Trump declared, “will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again.”

NBC spokespersons, commenting on the live event, felt that Trump’s speech censured the legacies of previous presidents, most notably when he said, “We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action, constantly complaining but never doing anything about it. The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action.” ABC News thought Trump presented a particularly “bleak picture of the current state of American affairs” when he said, “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.”

New York Times agreed that Trump’s speech carried dark tones, writing that while he “could have used his inaugural address to define one of the touchstone phrases of his campaign in the most inclusive way, arguing, as did many of his predecessors, that as the world’s greatest superpower rises, its partners will also prosper,” he instead “chose a dark, hard-line alternative, one that appeared to herald the end of a 70-year American experiment to shape a world that will be eager to follow its lead.” Trump re-ignited the “America First” vision championed by Charles Lindbergh and rejected by previously liberal American presidents, lamenting that “[w]e’ve made other countries rich while the wealth, strength, and confidence of our country has disappeared over the horizon.” The new president declared that the era of enriching foreign industries and militaries was over, and a new era of “America First” was beginning.

Trump finished his speech with his campaign slogan: “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.”

Following the inauguration, Trump and his wife Melania walked Barack and Michelle Obama to a helicopter while Trump went on to sign several documents, including one that would allow retired Marine General James Mattis to hold a position in Trump’s Cabinet. After the signing, Trump, Trump’s family, and several political leaders went to the Capitol’s Statuary Hall for a luncheon, at which Trump made brief remarks and commended the Clintons, saying of them, “I have a lot of respect for those two people. Thank you for being here.”

The day of the inauguration wasn’t all respect and good feelings, however. New York Times reported that mere hours after Trump’s inauguration, protests swelled in downtown Washington. Flash-bang grenades and tear gas darkened the atmosphere as protesters faced off against members of the police force, their chants loud as officers “formed a line blocking off parts of K Street, the heart of Washington’s lobbying district.” The New York Times also revealed that the transition of power on the web was swift, with the Department of Labor’s report on LGBT people in the workplace and the White House’s explanation of the threat of climate change both gone. Trump is even reportedly refusing to adopt the @POTUS handle on Twitter as former president Obama had; Trump chose to cherish the direct contact he wields over Twitter. He will continue to use his personal account until further notice.

From the luncheon, Trump went on to join a 2-mile long parade in an Inaugural Day tradition consisting of walking (to chants of “USA”) part of the way from the Capitol to the White House, where the new president will live for the next four years. The parade saw a host of performers and groups once the new president arrived at the White House, from marching bands and equestrian lineups to military men and women.

The festivities went on into the night as the President and the First Lady attended several inauguration balls. The night left Americans deeply divided, many sharing the opinions of those participating in the ugly anti-Trump protests, others siding with those who flocked to the parade in support of Trump. All anyone can do now is look to the future and hope President Trump will live up to his promise to “make America great again.”