Day 1: January 20, 2017 -- "American Carnage"

The Lead: At precisely 12:00 noon, President Trump is sworn in by Chief Justice Roberts, six minutes after Vice President Pence officially assumes his position with the assistance of Associate Justice Thomas. In his inaugural address -- the shortest oration of its kind in the last 40 years -- the new leader of the free world promises to end "American carnage," promising a nationalistic agenda that will see the country set aside its superpower status and instead be guided by the principle of "America First," a central campaign theme. Continuing with his presentation of himself as an outsider, he pledges to "transfer... power from Washington, D.C...to you, the people." The first president to have never held political or military office prior to winning the White House is as optimistic as one can possibly be, assuring those assembled that "America will start winning again, winning like never before."

On the dais, former President George W. Bush is not amused. Privately, he refers to the speech as "some weird shit."

In one of his first official acts, Trump issues a presidential proclamation declaring this day to be a National Day of Patriotic Devotion. Is it just me, or does that sound pretty un-American to you, too?

It's not just me. The Guardian describes it as having "echoes of North Korea." Former Presidents Obama and Bush, for reference, declared their first days in office as National Days of "Renewal and Reconciliation," and "Prayer and Thanksgiving," respectively. Both of which are still a little odd, if you ask me. After all, we live in a country in which the Constitution (at least in theory) reigns supreme and the executive is not omnipotent. Where are the national holidays for new Congresses, for new Supreme Court Justices? Still, at least renewal, reconciliation and thanksgiving are indisputably good concepts that a government would do well to encourage at the time of a transition of power, and, while prayer is a little hairier, it's nebulous enough to not violate the Establishment Clause. Patriotic devotion, though? It reeks of the "shithole countries" that the president will go on to deride less than a year from now.

Much of the rest of the day is spent at luncheons, dinners, inaugural balls, and other traditional moments of inaugural pageantry.

Other Stories:

• Retired Gen. Michael Flynn, who is soon to become National Security Advisor, informs an associate that the U.S. will "rip up" sanctions on Russia preventing that a private firm in that country from building nuclear plans in the Middle East. Nice!
• The administration rolls back Obama-era regulations limiting FHA mortgage premiums and the power of the Affordable Care Act.
• The (allegedly) billionaire president had promised to cede control of business holdings in New York, Delaware and Florida before his swearing-in. Did he? (Hint: no.)
• Retired Gen. Jim Mattis is confirmed as Secretary of Defense, 98-1, by the Senate, which also approves retired Gen. John Kelly as Secretary of Homeland Security, 88-11.
• In the first of many protests in Washington, violence erupts, leading to nine injuries and over 200 arrests.

Quote of the Day: Got to go with former President Bush and "weird shit." If only he knew what was in store.

Approval Rating (per FiveThirtyEight): N/A (first polls released 1/23/17)