page_title: Inauguration of Donald Trump
section_title: Inaugural balls
hierarchical_section_title: Inauguration of Donald Trump / Inaugural events / Inaugural balls
caption_attribution_description: President Donald J. Trump arrives at the Liberty Ball while the U.S. Air Force Band plays "Hail to the Chief" at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2017. More than 5,000 military members from across all branches of the armed forces of the United States, including Reserve and National Guard components, provide ceremonial support and Defense Support of Civil Authorities during the inaugural period. Melania Trump wears an off-the-shoulder gown by Hervé Pierre. (DoD photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Ashley Marble)
context_page_description: The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States marked commencement of the first term of Donald Trump as President and Mike Pence as Vice President. An estimated 300,000 to 600,000 people attended the public ceremony held on Friday, January 20, 2017, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
  The event was the 58th presidential inauguration. Held in Washington, D.C., from January 17 to 21, 2017, inaugural events included concerts, the swearing-in ceremony, a Congressional luncheon, parade, inaugural balls, and the interfaith inaugural prayer service.
  Administered by Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, the presidential oath was taken by Trump as his first task after becoming president at noon, in keeping with Article Two, Section 1, Clause 8 and the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, with the vice presidential oath taken by Pence and administered by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas immediately preceding it. Trump was sworn in with his left hand on a pair of Bibles, his personal copy and the Lincoln Bible. The inauguration was accompanied by protests worldwide.
context_section_description: President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attended three official inaugural balls during the evening of January 20, 2017, titled "Liberty and Freedom: The Official Presidential Inaugural Balls." Donald Trump wore a classic black tuxedo, with a white button up shirt, and a black bow tie, in keeping with tradition. Melania Trump wore a white, off-the-shoulder, sleeveless gown designed by French-American fashion designer Hervé Pierre. Pierre has also designed dresses for first ladies Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama, and he has been styling for Melania Trump for several years. The dress featured a front slit, a ruffled accent and a thin red belt to cinch the waist.
  The Liberty Ball, one of two official balls held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, was the first stop of the evening for the president and first lady. The Trumps danced to their first song, which was chosen to be "My Way" by Frank Sinatra, and was performed by Erin Boheme, an American jazz singer. In an attempt to allow more access to the inaugural balls, the Presidential Inauguration Committee announced that they intended to make the inaugural balls the most affordable in recent history, offering $50 tickets to either the Liberty or Freedom Balls. The second ball that the Trumps attended was the Freedom Ball, also held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, and also featured a first dance to "My Way", as with the Liberty Ball.
  The third ball that the president and first lady attended was the Salute To Our Armed Services Ball, which took place at the National Building Museum. The ball was by invitation only, with free tickets being provided to "active duty and reserve military, Medal of Honor recipients, wounded warriors, military families, veterans, and first responders," according to the Presidential Inauguration Committee. At the beginning of the ball, Trump and his wife, Melania, addressed the crowd of gathered service members, and then spoke via satellite with active duty soldiers in Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Trump thanked the active duty soldiers for the congratulations on his inauguration as Commander-in-chief. Tony Orlando and the Josh Weathers Band performed at the Armed Services Ball.
  It is tradition for the president and first lady, and the vice president and second lady, to dance with military service members during the Armed Services Ball. A cover of the Whitney Houston version of the Dolly Parton song "I Will Always Love You" by was performed during the dance. President Trump danced with U.S. Navy petty officer 2nd class Catherine Cartmell of Newport, Rhode Island. Sgt. Angel Rodriguez, who danced with Second Lady Karen Pence, drew attention for his dancing style, spinning the Second Lady, which provoked playful laughter from Tiffany and Eric Trump. After the dance concluded, President Trump and Vice President Pence used a saber to cut the ceremonial military cake in order to honor the sacrifice and service of the members of the Armed Forces.
caption: The President and First Lady at the Liberty Ball on the evening of the inauguration
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "5760", "Image ImageLength": "3840", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image ImageDescription": "President Donald J. Trump arrives at the Liberty Ball while the U.S. Air Force Band plays \"Hail to the Chief\" at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2017. More than 5,000 military members from across all branches of the armed forces of the United States, including Reserve and National Guard components, provide ceremonial support and Defense Support of Civil Authorities during the inaugural period. (DoD photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Ashley Marble)", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 5D Mark III", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop 7.0", "Image DateTime": "2017:01:21 00:07:47", "Image Artist": "Sgt. Ashley Marble", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "Public Domain", "Image ExifOffset": "848", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "1384", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1498", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4101", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/160", "EXIF FNumber": "16/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "800", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "800", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "59/8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "27/8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "200", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1324", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2005", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1920000/487", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "320000/81", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": "", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "082024000808", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[70, 200, 0, 0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "0000c1dc87"}