Donald Trump was sworn in for a historic second term as president on Monday, vowing to immediately tackle immigration and the cultural conflicts dividing the U.S., marking the climax of his extraordinary political comeback.
With one hand raised and the other placed on a Bible given to him by his mother, Trump solemnly took the oath of office beneath the iconic Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.
In a rare display of unity, Trump and outgoing President Joe Biden traveled together by motorcade to the Capitol, where the ceremony was held indoors for the first time in decades due to frigid weather, and in front of a significantly smaller crowd.
Earlier, the two leaders and their spouses shared a traditional tea at the White House. “Welcome home,” Biden greeted Trump, as he and First Lady Jill Biden welcomed their successors at the door to the presidential residence.
Though Trump had notably boycotted Biden’s 2021 inauguration after baselessly claiming electoral fraud, this time Biden worked to restore tradition. He joined former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton at the Capitol, while former First Ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush attended, though Michelle Obama notably stayed away.
At 78, Trump’s return to office marked a striking contrast to his first inauguration in 2017, when he was a political outsider. This time, however, he was surrounded by powerful figures from America’s business elite, including the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Musk, a significant financial backer of Trump’s campaign, will play a key role in the new administration’s cost-cutting efforts.
For the first time in decades, the inauguration ceremony was held indoors due to cold weather, causing the usual large crowds along the National Mall to be absent. In a break from tradition, foreign leaders such as Argentina’s hard-right president Javier Milei and Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attended the event.
Trump wasted no time laying out his bold agenda. Behind the ceremony’s pageantry, he moved swiftly to roll back Biden’s policies with a flood of executive orders. Among the first actions: declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, deploying the military to bolster border security, ending birthright citizenship, and initiating mass deportations of undocumented migrants. His administration also aims to officially recognize only two biological sexes and eliminate federal diversity programs.
These tough policies came a day after Trump promised a “brand new day” and a decisive end to “four years of American decline.” “I will act with historic speed and strength to fix every single crisis facing our country,” Trump declared during an inauguration eve rally where he danced with the Village People band.
Despite his promises of a “golden era,” Trump’s campaign rhetoric had painted a dire picture of the nation’s state, culminating in his victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in November. At sunrise on Inauguration Day, the National Mall was largely empty, with the exception of the Fairchild family from Michigan, who had come to pay tribute to the president. “Ecstatic,” said grandmother Barb, when asked about their feelings, adding she believed the move indoors was made “to protect our president.”
Just before leaving office, Biden issued preemptive pardons for his siblings, shielding them from what he called “baseless and politically motivated investigations.” He also pardoned former COVID-19 advisor Anthony Fauci, retired general Mark Milley, and members of the U.S. House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack. Biden also restored the tradition of leaving a letter for his successor, though he declined to reveal its contents.
Trump’s return to the White House makes him the oldest president ever to be sworn in, and the only president in U.S. history to return to power after being voted out, a feat previously achieved only by Grover Cleveland in 1893. Notably, Trump also carries a criminal record from his first term, linked to a hush-money scandal involving a porn star, along with ongoing investigations into more serious matters, which were dropped after his victory.
For the rest of the world, Trump’s return promises unpredictability. His previous threats to impose sweeping tariffs, make territorial claims on Greenland and Panama, and question U.S. support for Ukraine are likely to signal further disruptions to the global order.
Russian President Vladimir Putin extended congratulations to Trump ahead of the inauguration and expressed openness to talks on the Ukraine conflict, stating that he hoped any future settlement would bring “lasting peace.”
AFP
