DONALD Trump's first speech as US president will be "personal" and "philosophical", his spokesman has said.

The tycoon-turned-politician will deliver his inaugural address to hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Washington DC and millions watching around the world today, Friday.

Mr Trump's incoming press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters on yesterday: "It's going to be a very personal and sincere statement about his vision for the country.

"He will discuss what it means to be an American, the challenges that we face, as members of the middle class, that they face.

"He'll talk about infrastructure and education. Our manufacturing base.

"I think it's going to be less of an agenda and more of a philosophical document, a vision of where he sees the country, the proper role of government, the role of citizens."

Mr Trump posted a photo of himself on Twitter writing his inaugural speech three weeks ago at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, which he dubbed "the Winter White House".

He is said to have looked to former presidents Ronald Reagan and John F Kennedy for inspiration for the speech because he was impressed by Mr Reagan's style and Mr Kennedy's discussion of grand national ambitions, according to the Washington Post.

With the help of long-time speech-writer Stephen Miller, Mr Trump is expected to deliver a relatively short speech referring to ideas from his campaign such as "America First" and the need to "Make America Great Again".

Topics are said to include border security, the military, the economy and the outsourcing of jobs, CNN reported.

Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, who met Mr Trump in December, told CNN: "He wants to write the inaugural himself. He doesn't want it to be long ... he doesn't want people standing out in the cold."

Contributions have also been made by Mr Trump's campaign strategist Kellyanne Conway, incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and Mr Trump's senior adviser Steve Bannon, according to CBS News.