President Donald Trump arrived at the official inaugural ball on Friday night and, before having his first dance, delivered a few brief remarks.
Trump started by saying that everyone told him that he could not win the election but that he proved them all wrong. He struck a similar tone to that of his speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial following Thursday’s “Make America Great Again! Celebration!”
“Well, we did it,” Trump said. “They said we didn’t have a chance, but we knew we were going to win and we won.”
The president reflected back on his inauguration day, clearly happy with how it all went. He also made light of the fact that all of his political opponents had to play nice with him today; he did not name names, but it certainly sounded like he was talking about Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who he had shared lunch with a few hours earlier.
“People that weren’t so nice to me were saying that we did a really good job today,” Trump said. “They hated to do it, but they did it, and I respect that.”
Referencing the fact that it was raining today, Trump said that he thought this indicated that “God was looking down on us.”
The president went on to thank his supporters, first saying that his wife, Melania Trump, was his biggest supporter.
“My number one supporter, Melania, what she puts up with…” Trump said.
Next, Trump thanked his vice president, Mike Pence, who he noted he no longer has to refer to as “vice president-elect.” Again seeming to mock some of the politicians in the room with him, Trump said that everyone here is very political but that he and his supporters want to get things done.
The president concluded by saying that his movement was unlike anything anyone has ever seen in the world and that now he will get to work.
“There’s no games, right?” Trump said. “No games. We’re not playing games. Now the work begins.”