President Donald Trump declared Jan. 20, 2017 ― his own Inauguration Day ― a “National Day of Patriotic Devotion,” according to a document published Monday in the Federal Register.
The proclamation, signed by Trump hours after taking the oath of office on Friday, proclaims the new president’s first day a holiday “in order to strengthen our bonds to each other and to our country ― and to renew the duties of Government to the people.”
“A new national pride stirs the American soul and inspires the American heart,” the proclamation reads. “We are one people, united by a common destiny and a shared purpose.”
Trump’s inaugural address contained similar patriotic rhetoric, including this line: “A new national pride will stir our souls, lift our sights, and heal our divisions.”
Presidents, through executive order, can proclaim one-time holidays. Barack Obama and George W. Bush signed holiday proclamations for their own inaugurations. Obama proclaimed his 2009 inauguration a “National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation,” while Bush declared his in 2001 a “National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving.”
Many Americans responded to Trump’s inauguration by exercising their First Amendment rights. Demonstrations across the U.S., inspired by the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday, brought out millions against the new administration.
Probably not the “patriotic devotion” Trump had in mind.
Read the full proclamation here.