America’s 47th president, Donald Trump, has declared that “America’s decline is over” and pledged to rescue the country from what he described as years of “a horrible betrayal,” prioritising a crackdown on illegal immigration and portraying himself as a national saviour chosen by God.
Trump was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts, marking a political comeback after being convicted of felonies. His running mate, JD Vance, was sworn in by Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
In his inaugural speech, yesterday, the newly sworn in president underscored that his message to Americans is to act with courage, vigour and the vitality of history’s greatest civilisation.
He spoke of ambition and reaching new heights of victory and success.
He promised to put America first, echoing a favoured campaign slogan, and vowed to “rebalance” the scales of justice, a reference to the criminal investigations that he has likened to political persecution.
Trump added that the US will increase its wealth, expand its territory and carry its flag into new horizons, including on Mars. “We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, to plant the stars and stripes on planet Mars,” he said.
“First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will be immediately halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.”
Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden had ridden together to the Capitol for the ceremony after meeting at the White House. “Welcome home,” Biden told Trump and his wife as they arrived at the executive mansion.
Expectedly, Trump also hits out at the Biden administration and its handling of the migrant crisis, saying the country has a crisis of “trust” in its government. Meanwhile, Biden yesterday issued preemptive pardons for people Trump has targeted for retaliation, including former Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and former White House chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci.
Trump further said he was “saved by God to Make America Great Again.” He recalled when an assassin attempted to take his life over the summer. “Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom, and indeed, take my life,” he said.
“An assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear, but I felt then, and now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.” He declared: “The scales of justice will be rebalanced. The vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and government will end.”
Newly sworn in Trump said “The golden age of America begins right now,” adding that the US will be “colour blind” and the government will only recognize “2 genders.” The official policy of the U.S. government, he said, will be that there are only “two genders.”
In what was likely a reference to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, Trump said: The president pivoted to his gender and race policies. “This week I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life,” Mr. Trump said.
He vows to Black and Hispanic Americans that he won’t forget that they supported him during the election. He gained among both Hispanic and Black men from 2020. He paid homage to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose birthday was celebrated nationally yesterday. Earlier yesterday, an incoming official had announced that the administration would be doing away with diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.
Trump, who has filed a number of lawsuits against news outlets recently, said he is committed to ending “government censorship” and bringing back “free speech to America.” “We will be a rich nation again,’’ he says, ignoring that the United States is already the world’s richest nation by almost every measure, and says he will propel that effort by exporting oil and gas.
Trump said he would “immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families,” saying instead of taxing citizens “to enrich other countries,” the U.S. will “tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.”
The president also announced that he was establishing the “External Revenue Service” to collect revenues from abroad and would establish the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, led by Elon Musk.
Panama Canal re-echoed in his speech as he made it clear that he was serious about reimposing American control over the Panama Canal, accusing the Central American country of mismanaging the vital trade route and vowing: “We’re taking it back”.
The president first promised to change the name of the Alaskan mountain Denali back to Mt McKinley, after the former US president William McKinley. He then shifted to his views on Panama: President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent. He was a natural businessman, and gave Teddy Roosevelt the money for many of the great things he did, including the Panama Canal, which has foolishly been given to the country of Panama after the United States, the United States, I mean, think of this, spent more money than ever spent on a project before and lost 38,000 lives in the building of the Panama Canal.
We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made, and Panama’s promise to us has been broken. The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States Navy, and above all, China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.
He also reiterated plans to change the name of Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America as he highlighted the several actions he will immediately take. “America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth — inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world,” Trump said. “A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.”
Trump said he will order his Cabinet members to attack inflation, undo the electric vehicle mandate, blaming the spike in prices on government spending and high energy costs. The president didn’t give specifics on how he plans to attack high prices. He is expected to sign a presidential memorandum on inflation.
“After years and years of illegal and unconstitutional federal efforts to restrict free expression, I will also sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America,” he said.
More promises, regarding gender and COVID-19 vaccinations: “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.
This week, I will reinstate any service members who were unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the COVID vaccine mandate with full back pay, and I will sign an order to stop our warriors from being subjected to radical political theories and social experiments while on duty. It’s going to end immediately.”
The White House’s website was revamped yesterday afternoon for the Trump administration, declaring “America is Back.” WhiteHouse.gov, the official government website for the U.S. president, was scrubbed of the Biden administration on Monday, now showing an image of President Trump pointing, with a message vowing a “golden age” for America is on its way.
“Every single day I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body. I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America,” the website now reads.
Biden issues preemptive pardons for Trump targets
Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden yesterday issued preemptive pardons for people Trump has targeted for retaliation, including former Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and former White House chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci.
The pardon covers all lawmakers, including Cheney, who served on the congressional select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, as well as police officers who testified before it.
Trump, who returned to the presidency later yesterday, has repeatedly called for the prosecution of his perceived enemies since winning the White House in November. Biden praised public servants as the “lifeblood of our democracy.” Without mentioning Trump, he expressed alarm that some of them were subjected to threats and intimidation for doing their job.
“These public servants have served our nation with honor and distinction and do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions,” Biden said in a statement.
The US Constitution gives a president broad pardon powers for federal offenses. While pardons are typically given to people who have been prosecuted, they can cover conduct that has not resulted in legal proceedings.
Trump in December backed a call for the FBI to investigate fellow Republican Cheney over her role in leading Congress’ probe of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. Fauci often clashed with Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Trump’s supporters have continued to attack the former senior health official.
Fauci told Reuters the White House had reached out about the issue a month ago and he had not sought the pardon. “I appreciate the president reaching out and trying to protect me from baseless accusations. I’ve done nothing wrong and this is no admission of any guilt.”
Milley, who was Trump’s top military advisor between 2019 and early 2021, said he was “deeply grateful” for Biden’s pardon in a statement. Trump’s rivalry with Milley ran deep.
In the aftermath of Jan. 6, Milley called Beijing to reassure China of U.S. stability. Trump, in a social media post, described the phone call as “an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH.”
Some of Trump’s supporters, seeing Milley as disloyal, demanded that he be called back to active duty and tried for treason. Milley took a veiled jab at Trump during his 2023 retirement speech, saying US troops take an oath to the Constitution and not a “wannabe dictator.”
Trump later in the day lashed out at him with a series of insults, calling Milley “slow moving and thinking” and a “moron.” Milley was quoted in the book “War” by Bob Woodward, which was published last month, calling Trump “fascist to the core” and Trump’s allies have targeted him for perceived disloyalty to the former president.
Reuters reported in November that the Trump transition team was drawing up a list of military officers seen as connected to Milley to be fired. Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, repeatedly lashed out at Milley in his latest book, using profanities.
Biden praised both Milley and Fauci as longtime dedicated public servants who have defended democracy and saved lives. He said the select committee established to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol had fulfilled its mission with integrity.
Without identifying the individuals, he pardoned all members of Congress who served on the panel, their staff and the U.S. Capitol and Washington, D.C. police officers who testified before the committee.
Biden said that those pardoned had done nothing wrong, but that simply being investigated or prosecuted could harm reputations and finances. “I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics,” he said. “But these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing.”
The pardons drew immediate criticism from Trump allies including US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who said on X the officials were pardoned “because they are GUILTY OF CRIMES.” Biden pardoned his son Hunter in December, after repeatedly saying he would not. Hunter is a recovering drug addict who became a target of Republicans and pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges.