President Trump: Washington Prepares to Be Upended

By PETER BAKER and MICHAEL D. SHEARJAN

WASHINGTON — Donald John Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States on Friday, ushering in a new and more unpredictable era in which he has promised to shatter the established order and restore American greatness.

From the West Front of the Capitol, overlooking what may be hundreds of thousands of admirers and onlookers on a day when rain threatens, Mr. Trump plans to use his Inaugural Address to promise that he will use the next four years to rebuild the nation’s economy, reassert control over its borders and regain respect for the United States around the world.

Mr. Trump intends to waste little time after taking the 35-word oath that will be administered by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to start unraveling the policies of his departing predecessor, President Obama. Within hours of taking office, the new president could begin signing executive orders freezing regulations put in place in the last weeks of Mr. Obama’s tenure and reversing policies on health care, immigration and other areas.

Through a long day of pomp and pageantry that will end with three inaugural balls, Mr. Trump will have the opportunity to revel in his moment of triumph. Surrounded by relatives, lawmakers, former presidents and other dignitaries, including Mr. Obama, and the Democrat he beat last November, Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump will take command of a country unsettled after one of the most polarizing periods in modern times.

His critics have made clear they will not defer even for a day to a new leader they accuse of playing to racism and hatred. Demonstrators gathered early Friday morning to protest the new president. Liberal groups have organized a march that they expect to draw as many as 200,000 to downtown Washington on Saturday.