Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday, returning to office amid pomp and ceremony at the Capitol Rotunda.
Trump was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts, shortly after JD Vance took the oath as vice president.
“The golden age of America begins right now,” Trump said in his inaugural address. He quickly vowed to end the “vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of our Justice Department” and take on a “radical and corrupt establishment.”
Trump touted his election victory, and thanked Black and Latino voters for supporting him, and said the country was unifying behind his agenda.
“Many people thought it was impossible for me to stage such a historic political comeback,” he said. “But as you see today, here I am. The American people have spoken.”
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Trump said he had been “tested and challenged more than any president in our 250-year history.” He drew considerable applause when he alluded to the attempt on his life in Butler, Pa., saying “an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear.”
“I felt then, and I believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason,” he said. “I was saved by God to make America great again.”
Trump outlined the steps he will take as president, vowing to send troops to the southern border to “repel the disastrous invasion of our country.” He also pledged to eliminate the presence of “foreign gangs and criminal networks” under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
He promised to raise tariffs, which he said would bring “massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury.”
He also pledged to sign an executive order to “immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America.”
Trump also said he would make it the policy of the U.S. that “there are only two genders — male and female.”
He said he will rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” and would change the nation’s highest peak from Denali back to Mt. McKinley.
Trump also said he would retake the Panama Canal, saying that turning it over to Panama was “a foolish gift that should have never been made” and that China is operating it.
“We didn’t give it to China,” he said. “We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.”
At the outset of the speech, he referenced the fires in Los Angeles, saying they had affected “some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country.”
“They don’t have a home any longer,” he said. “That’s interesting. We can’t let this happen. Everyone is unable to do anything about it. That’s going to change.”
Trump also pledged to be a “peacemaker and a unifier.”
“Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent and totally unpredictable,” he said. “We will not be conquered… From this day on, the United States of America will be a free, sovereign and independent nation.”
Trump was flanked by First Lady Melania Trump and his children as he took the oath. Upon conclusion, he shook hands with outgoing President Joe Biden and others on the dais.
Many CEOs of the nation’s largest tech firms were on hand, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos and Sundar Pichai. When Trump vowed to put a man on Mars, Musk applauded and gave two thumbs up.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Rev. Franklin Graham offered invocations before the ceremony. “Look what God has done,” Graham said, to applause from the crowd, and then alluded to the assassination attempt. “Father, when Donald Trump’s enemies thought he was down and out, you and you alone saved his life and raised him up with strength and power by your mighty hand.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic chair of the inaugural committee, paid tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. and to democracy in calling the ceremony to order. She also quoted Bob Dylan, saying it was critical to “ensure that our nation’s democracy is our shelter from the storm.”
Earlier in the day, outgoing Biden and First Lady Jill Biden greeted Trump and his wife to the White House.
“Welcome home,” Biden said.
Biden issued a flurry of pardons in his final hours in office, including granting pardons to the members of the Jan. 6 Committee, which investigated Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Biden also pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci.