Inauguration 2025: A Time for Celebration and Hope

Dear Friend,

I am writing you from Washington, D.C., just a few days after the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Dr. Dobson asked me to share some thoughts with you about what I saw and the significance of what recently happened.

A deep freeze descended on Washington, D.C. this year, forcing almost all of the inaugural events to be held in indoor venues. It was reminiscent of President Ronald Reagan’s inauguration in 1985, which Dr. Dobson and Mrs. Shirley Dobson attended. They said they have never been so cold as they were that year. Mother Nature was not so brutal this year, but it was frigid nonetheless. 

Hundreds of thousands of Americans came here to celebrate, and they were not deterred. They stood for hours in freezing temperatures to catch a glimpse of the President, and waited patiently to get into designated places to hear him speak.

Those walking through icy streets this year were from cities and towns all across America. They included farmers, clerks, police officers, merchants, entrepreneurs, factory workers, and others, representing all races and creeds. Often, spontaneous chants of “USA! USA!” would ring out through the frigid air. Small groups huddled together on street corners in prayer, their heads bowed and holding one another’s freezing hands, petitioning God for His blessings and protection on our country and the incoming administration.

Every inauguration marks a transfer of power, but this one was a transfer between two competing worldviews that are fighting to define America.

Our government was led the last four years by radical secularists, socialists, and globalists.¹ They promoted policies that are tyrannical, perverse, decadent, and ungodly.^{2, 3} They ignored our Constitution⁴ and attempted to demonize Americans who love Jesus and America, calling us “Christian nationalists.”⁵

The incoming administration is the complete opposite. They are committed to policies that defend and promote faith, family, and freedom.⁶

Dr. Dobson’s words became prophetic when he wrote in 1986, “Nothing short of a great Civil War of values rages today. However, instead of fighting for military conquests, the struggle now is for the hearts and minds of our children. The winner will emerge and the loser will fade from memory.”⁷

For millions of Americans, including Dr. Dobson and myself, the inaugural itself was a miracle. For four years, unprecedented “lawfare” has been waged against conservatives.⁸ President Trump was attacked by multiple partisan prosecutors and subjected to a “gag order” by which a New York judge prohibited him from speaking.⁹ His home was raided by armed FBI agents.¹⁰ Powerful forces wanted him in jail. There were some who hoped he would die there.¹¹ He survived two attempts to assassinate him. In Butler, Pennsylvania, he survived by a “miracle millimeter,” turning his head just before the bullet hit. Millions of us believe God spared him that day. More importantly, President Trump believes that, too.¹²
He is a man on a mission. He is also a more humble man.

God is not only on President Trump’s heart and mind. In addition, reminders of God’s role in America’s past, as well as the hope He gives us for the future, are everywhere.

As President Trump took the oath of office in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, above him was a fresco (The Apotheosis by Constantino Brumidi) depicting George Washington, our first President—who gave all credit to God for the success of the American Revolution—ascending to heaven.

On one wall hangs the painting Embarkation of the Pilgrims by Robert W. Weir, showing those faithful men and women about to pray to God for divine protection as they set off on the dangerous journey to the New World. At the center of the scene, William Brewster is holding an open Bible.

Another painting in the Rotunda depicts the moment on June 28, 1776, when the first draft of the Declaration of Independence was presented at the second Continental Congress. This is the declaration that asserts we are “endowed by our Creator” with our rights, among them the right to life and liberty. Both have been under unrelenting attacks, accelerating in the last four years.  

Virtually all of the ornate buildings and monuments in Washington, D.C., are etched with words making it clear that our liberty comes not from faceless bureaucrats or “woke” politicians, but from the God of Abraham.

Were the Pilgrims, George Washington, and the Founding Fathers all fools because they believed that America could only survive with God’s hand of protection? No, they were wise, 

God-fearing men. The fools are those powerful forces that want to rip us out of the rich soil of our Judeo-Christian civilization.

At the inauguration, Rev. Franklin Graham, a close personal friend to Donald Trump, gave one of the opening prayers in the Rotunda. He said, in part, 

“Our Father and our God, thou hast said, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord…Our Father, today, as President Donald J. Trump takes the oath of office once again, we come to say thank you, O Lord our God. Father, when Donald Trump’s enemies thought he was down and out, You, and You alone, saved his life and raised him up with strength and power by Your mighty hand…We remember to keep our eyes fixed on You, and may our hearts be inclined to Your voice. We know that America can never be great again if we turn our backs on You. We ask for Your help.”¹³

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, who is also a close friend of the Trump family, prayed as well. He cited George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, General George Patton, and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.’s reliance on God, and he closed with this: “Please, God bless America. Please mend her every flaw. You are the God in whom we trust, who lives and reigns forever and ever.”¹⁴

Most reporters and commentators completely ignored the fact that the inaugural events were surrounded with the historical evidence that, throughout our history, America’s leaders believed God had richly blessed America and had His hand of protection on us.   

We have won an important battle, but the war is far from over, and the outcome is still in doubt. The Washington special interests, the radical LGBTQ movement, the abortionists, the radical secularists, and globalists are preparing their counterattack now.¹⁵ Christians and conservatives must stand strong. Join with us at JDFI as we defend faith, family, and freedom.

Warmest regards,

This letter may be reproduced without change and in its entirety for non-commercial and non-political purposes without prior permission from the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. Copyright, 2024 JDFI. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Printed in the U.S.