SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
And this weekend, there are protests in the streets of the nation's capital as a new administration is sworn into office. It is a weekend filled with hopes and anxieties, celebrations and chants. Donald J. Trump became the 45th president of the United States yesterday.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRES DONALD TRUMP: The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: It's a remarkable day, and it's a blessing to be here to witness this.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Racist, sexist, anti-gay.
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Chanting) Racists, bigots, go away.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: This is a takeover of our government by big money interests.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: And he's not after money. He's a millionaire, so he's not after money.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: It's about time that somebody spoke their mind, for better, for worse.
SIMON: NPR's Ron Elving joins us. Ron, thanks for being with us.
RON ELVING, BYLINE: Glad to be with you, Scott.
SIMON: There has been some sharp reaction to President Trump's inaugural address, hasn't there?
ELVING: Yes. And there have been some harsh assessments of it. But let's say at least that Trump chose to give a speech that was consistent with his campaign, doubling down on the themes of his campaign, rather than join the tradition, let us call it, of inaugural speeches in the past that were aimed at perhaps a wider definition of the nation. So this speech may not be, shall we say, carved in stone anywhere anytime soon, but it sent the signals that Trump wanted to send, and it served the purposes of his new regime.
SIMON: Where do you see it fitting into the history of inaugural addresses?
ELVING: There are always...
SIMON: With the advantage of a few hours of hindsight.
(LAUGHTER)
SIMON: Well, you know, George Will said it was going to be thought of as the worst inaugural speech. I think we need to remember that a lot of these people had already decided how they felt about Donald Trump and were waiting for there to possibly be a pivot. And we have talked about there being a big hinge at which point Donald Trump would turn into a different sort of a politician. But that has not happened, and it did not happen yesterday, and probably people should stop expecting it to happen.
SIMON: There are photos on websites and news organizations. What do we make of what appears to be the relatively small crowds and aggressive nature of many protests?
ELVING: As for the protesters, you know, there are always protesters. The great majority of them tend to be very peaceful, looking for a conversation perhaps more than a confrontation. But there were angry people in the streets yesterday. If you bring a hammer to a demonstration, you're not looking for a conversation. And that's what led to the scattered running street battles with the police and the arrests of more than 200 people. As for the crowds, you know, they weren't nearly as big as the Obama crowd, especially eight years ago. The number of people riding public transit was only about 40 percent the number that we had eight years ago.
Trump is not popular in the broad terms, perhaps, that Obama was then. He is a phenomenon in his own right but not that kind of phenomenon. And it's probably not fair to use the Obama crowds as a point of comparison. Swearing in the first African-American president meant a lot to a lot of people, including many right here in Washington. Trump's victory clearly meant a great deal to many other Americans whom he calls the forgotten man and woman, the silent majority. And there were tens of thousands of them here yesterday, but they may not have been quite as likely to get on buses in their hometowns and travel for days to get here.
SIMON: President Trump signed a number of executive orders last night, promised as - one as promised on the Affordable Care Act. What is this?
ELVING: It's a very broad one-page order saying that federal officials do not have to enforce the ACA if doing so imposes a burdensome cost on a state or a company or a person. What exactly that means will depend on how it's used in the days ahead. But it could have several purposes. Just this morning, it does put the bureaucracies on notice, and it honors - it honors Donald Trump's pledge to repeal Obamacare immediately.
SIMON: And last night, James Mattis confirmed as defense secretary, John Kelly, Department of Homeland Security, a couple of former generals; some more contentious picks ahead this week. Let me put this to you - Rex Tillerson, some Republicans don't like him at all. Is his nomination for secretary of state in danger?
ELVING: It depends first on Marco Rubio, on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voting this next week. He could be the swing vote that could withhold that panel's approval. But the nomination could still go from there to the floor where it probably will be approved. There are a couple of other Republican votes in question, but some Democrats will probably vote for Tillerson as well.
SIMON: NPR's Ron Elving, thanks so much.
ELVING: Thank you, Scott.