Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, will act swiftly after the ceremony, with executive orders already prepared for his signature to clamp down on border crossings, increase fossil fuel development and end diversity and inclusion programs across the federal government.
Declaring that government faces a “crisis of trust," Trump said in his inaugural address that under his administration “our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced."
Trump claimed “a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal," promising to “give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and indeed their freedom.”
He added: "From this moment on, America’s decline is over.”
The executive orders are the first step in what Trump is calling “the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense."
Frigid weather rewrote the pageantry of the day. Trump’s swearing-in was moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda — the first time that has happened in 40 years — and the inaugural parade was replaced by an event at a downtown arena. Throngs of Trump supporters who descended on the city to watch the inaugural ceremony on the West Front of the Capitol from the National Mall will be left to find somewhere else to view the festivities.
At the Capitol, Vice President JD Vance was sworn-in first, taking the oath read by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on a bible given to him by his great-grandmother. Trump followed moments after noon, using both a family bible and the one used by President Abraham Lincoln at his 1861 inauguration as Chief Justice John Roberts administered his oath.
Trump used his inaugural address to repeat his claims that he was targeted by political prosecutions, and he promised to begin “fair, equal and impartial justice.”
He also acknowledged that he was taking office on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which honors the slain civil rights hero. Trump said, “We will strive together to make his dream a reality,” and he thanked Black and Latino voters for their support in November.
Trump said he would lead a government that “expands our territory,” a reference to his goals of acquiring Greenland from Denmark and restoring U.S. control of the Panama Canal.
Trump is planning to swiftly reinstitute his 2020 playbook to crackdown on the southern border — again declaring a national emergency, limiting the number of refugees entering the U.S. and deploying the military. He's expected to take additional actions — including constitutionally questionable ones — such as attempting to end birthright citizenship automatically bestowed on people born in the U.S.
Trump will also sign an executive order aimed at ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government. The order will direct federal agencies to coordinate with the White House on identifying and terminating DEI programs. Conservatives have long criticized programs that give preference based on race, gender and sexual orientation, arguing they violate the Constitution.
