Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Jan. 20, starting his non-consecutive second term. His inauguration was moved indoors because of cold temperatures in Washington — the first time since 1985. Around 600 guests attended the ceremony in the Capitol rotunda, while the president's supporters could only watch at the visitor center or on TV.
The capacity-limited ceremony was star-studded. It is fair to say that a large contingent from the business community came to pander to the new chief executive. Since his victory in November, more than $200 million was raised for his inauguration and other political operations, twice as much as the sum amassed in 2017 and triple that of 2021. Donations from several companies exceeded $10 million. McDonalds, Delta Airlines and Johnson & Johnson were among the first companies in a decade to donate to a president-elect's inauguration. The CEOs of a slew of tech giants, including Google, Facebook and Amazon — previously partial to the Democratic Party — sought to gain business-friendly policies through flattery.
Democratic leaders, notably Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Barack Obama, made appearances. Democratic politicians didn't organize a formal boycott, as they had done for Trump's first inauguration in 2017; neither did they launch a large-scale protest. Even the traditionally left-leaning entertainment industry softened its attitude toward Trump. Country music star Carrie Underwood performed “America the Beautiful.” Back in 2017 only a non-mainstream singer appeared. All of this seems to demonstrate that American society is inclined to accept a new order under Trump.
Trump treated his inauguration as if it were a campaign rally. He took 30 minutes to finish his formal address before launching into a prolonged harangue to his MAGA fans. The tirade was inundated with populist and nationalist rhetoric. Trump promised a “golden era” for the U.S., saying, “Our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. … We will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer. During every single day of the Trump administration, I will, very simply, put America first.” He projected himself as the savior of the United States, claiming to have been saved from assassination by God and that he survived solely to “make America great again.”
Although he didn't mention Biden by name, he harshly excoriated his predecessor in a tone rarely heard in American history. “A radical and corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our citizens,” Trump said, claiming this has led to a government that is unable manage a simple crisis at home or abroad — one that fails to protect law-abiding American citizens but provides sanctuary for criminals and undocumented immigrants.
He ranted onward, accusing the Biden administration of failing to save people from hurricanes and wildfires and of paralyzing the country's public health and education systems. He pledged to sign a series of executive orders to begin a “revolution of common sense.” The most-mentioned topic in his speech was immigration. “I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted,” he said. “We will reinstate my 'remain in Mexico' policy.” Moreover, he said, he would send troops to patrol the southern border, treat drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks in America.
Trump also placed great emphasis on the economy and energy, pledging to defeat inflation and reduce consumer prices. In declaring a national energy crisis, he aimed to fill strategic reserves and bring prices down by encouraging the use of fossil fuels. In addition to ending the Democratic Party's Green New Deal, he vowed to revoke the electric vehicle mandate as a way to rejuvenate the auto industry.
He promised to overhaul the trade system by establishing what he called the External Revenue Service to collect tariffs, duties and revenues, and he said he would cut government spending by setting up a Department of Government Efficiency.
Cultural values were a key topic in Trump's campaign. He said he would sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech in America, end the Democratic Party's race and gender policies and forge a merit-based society. He proclaimed that there are only two genders: male and female. And he talked about reinstating service members expelled from the U.S. military for objecting to the COVID vaccine mandate. He promised to stop subjecting them to radical social experiments and allow them to focus on defeating America's enemies.
On the diplomatic front, Trump reiterated “America first” and territorial expansion. He shaped himself as a peacemaker and a conqueror all at once. While he pledged to stop all wars and boaste about his role in the Gaza cease-fire, he didn't mention how to deal with the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
He said the U.S. was treated unfairly by Panama and promised to take back the Panama Canal, but he didn't say how. He also did not detail his ambitions for Greenland and Canada.
Trump said he would be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and restore the name of a former president, William McKinley, to the highest mountain peak in North America, which is known as Denali, or “Great One,” by Alaska Natives. He underlined the importance of recovering the American spirit of frontier and adventure, in particular the launch of American astronauts to Mars.
China was mentioned only in the context of the Panama Canal (he claimed that China is operating it). In general, he will likely resume former president Andrew Jackson's nationalist diplomacy and pursue the old “Manifest Destiny” concept — a philosophy about American expansionism in North America that was coined in the first half of the 19th century. Further, Trump is seeking to adopt President McKinley's high tariff and trade protection policies.
Trump's inaugural speech this year was similar to the one he made in 2017 — leveling complaints against his predecessors and pledging he would solve problems using populist and nationalist ideals. But he is more confident and hard-line now. Back in 2017, he declared that the U.S. was facing “carnage.” This time he pledged to end the “American decline” and usher in a new “golden era.” Additionally, he laid out a more detailed and expansive action plan, saying his will rescue the world as its savior who was designated by God.
Advocating ambitious reforms, Trump signed dozens of executive orders on inauguration day. But he will be confronted with enormous obstacles. First, the Republican Party holds a razor-thin majority in the House and faces filibusters in the Senate. Winning only 49.9 percent of the popular vote, Trump doesn't have a strong public mandate, despite his claims to the contrary. His support pales by comparison to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, for example. It is expected that he will circumvent the laggard Congress to some extent with executive orders on immigration and trade, and pass his agenda on tax reduction, border control and energy reform through the budget reconciliation process in Congress, where his party has a majority in both houses.
