A United States citizen will take the presidential oath of office Friday resulting in the peaceful transfer of leadership for the 71st time since President George Washington was first sworn into office in 1789.
This is a historic fact in this American experiment of government by "we the people."
President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in at Friday's inauguration as the 45th American president. We wish the next president the best during this 58th presidential inauguration in our history.
Granted, we did not endorse Mr. Trump or Hillary Clinton for president prior to the November election as neither had displayed the critical qualities that we believe are needed for president. However, under the U.S. election system, Trump won the majority of votes in the U.S. Electoral College and was elected legitimately as our next president.
We remain steadfast in our support of the office of President of the United States. And we hope the president-elect will uphold his oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution" to the best of his ability.
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Yes, there are many who do not consider Trump to be their president. In fact, he will become president Friday with the lowest approval rating in modern history.
There were many citizens in 2000 who did not believe President George W. Bush was their president after his Electoral College victory. But in America, he was sworn as president in 2001, later re-elected and served two terms.
There were many citizens in 2008 who did not believe President Barack Obama was their president despite his electoral and popular vote victory. But in America, he was sworn in as president in 2009, later re-elected and served two terms.
And there is similar opposition to Trump today. There are a significant number of politicians boycotting Friday's inauguration. There are thousands of women - and men - gathering in Washington and across the country Saturday to speak up for human rights and women's rights as they fear the coming Trump administration.
Their concerns are relevant in today's day and age. As Trump displayed reasons for such concerns at times in his life.
In 241 years of our history, we have mostly survived and transferred our country's leadership without too much violence. Granted, America fought the Revolutionary War for eight years to achieve our independence from England and we fought the Civil War for four years over the union of our states.
In 2017, we expect and believe America will again peacefully transfer power to the new president. President-elect Trump will have the world at his fingertips and America's future will be in his hands. We hope he will use wisdom and strength in his leadership.
A Trump presidency will most likely be different than anything we seen before. He has promised greatness and results "like you've never seen before." He remains, at heart, the ultimate aggressive salesman.
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There certainly are concerns for many. Trump has no previous experience in government service, military or national security affairs. His addiction to the twitterverse and frequent tweet attacks. Many people and leaders in American as well as around the world are concerned about his perceived weakness or unique manners and/or behavior.
Well, the election of 2016 is over and Trump will be sworn in as our next president Friday. Come Saturday morning, President Trump will be ready to govern.
We hope Trump will fulfill his promise to bFe president for all Americans and can unite our splinter nation politically. We look forward to his promise of growing our economy. We seek a bipartisan approach to healing our immigration system, while remembering we are a nation of immigrants which is an American strength. Lastly, we pray for wisdom and strength to ensure the security of all in America.
Best wishes to president-elect Trump and America.
