President Donald Trump returned to power Monday with a triumphant message that echoed the one he delivered when he first took office eight years ago: The American government is failing, its elites have betrayed the people, and with him back in power, things will go in a sharply different direction.
“My recent election is a mandate to completely and completely reverse this terrible betrayal, all the many betrayals that have occurred, and to restore people to their faith, their wealth, their democracy, and even their freedom,” President Trump said. He made the announcement in his second inaugural address Monday afternoon. “From this moment on, America’s decline is over.”
That language was similar to his inaugural address in 2017, when he declared, “This American carnage stops here and stops now.”
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During his return to the White House, Mr. Trump’s political grievances took on a personal nature. He has made it clear that he sees himself as an oppressed figure who has triumphed over his tormentors.
But with his return to the national stage, his political grievances also took on a personal nature. Mr. Trump has made clear that he sees himself as an oppressed figure, and has framed his return to office as a victory over his tormentors.
“Over the past eight years, I have been tested and challenged more than any president in our 250-year history, and I have learned a lot along the way. The journey to restore our republic has not been easy, I can tell you that. Those who have tried have tried,” Mr. Trump said. “They want to stop our cause, take my freedom, and even take my life.” After discussing the attempt on his life in July, he declared, “God saved me to make America great again.”
He pledged not to politicize the Justice Department, which, in his opinion, has turned against him under the Biden administration.
“The scales of justice will be rebalanced. “The evil, violent, and unfair weaponization of the Department of Justice and our government will end.”
Not everyone has confidence in Mr. Trump’s pledge not to politicize the department. Just before leaving office on Monday, President Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons to several elected and appointed government officials whom Mr. Trump views as enemies — and against whom the newly returned president has hinted at seeking retaliation. He also granted a preemptive pardon to a number of his family members.
Due to cold temperatures, Trump’s second inauguration was held in the rotunda of the US Capitol – the first time in 40 years that the swearing-in ceremony was moved indoors. The temperature in Washington reached 27 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday. At President Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2008, which was held outside, the high temperature was 28 degrees. The last time the inauguration was moved indoors due to weather was at Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration, when the temperature reached just 7 degrees.
In his speech, Mr. Trump criticized the “radical and corrupt establishment” that he said “snatched power and wealth from our citizens while the pillars of our society were broken and appeared to be in complete tatters.”
Mr. Trump said he would act on behalf of everyone, from consumers and auto workers (pledging to eliminate incentives for electric cars and let people buy the cars they want) to people who want what he called a “color-blind” society, rather than one. Elites attempt to “socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.”
Even as Mr. Trump conveyed a populist message, many of the world’s richest people were keen to attend his inauguration this time around, with most of them cutting huge checks to Trump’s inauguration committee, after staying away eight years ago.
Tech billionaires, including Tesla CEO and major Trump campaign donor Elon Musk, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder (and Washington Post owner) Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, They sit near the podium – directly behind the president. The Trump family and Mr. Trump’s government choices.
Julia Demarie Nickinson/AP
Mr. Trump takes office for the second time having secured a relatively strong economy. The national unemployment rate is currently well below historical averages, and the stock market is booming. But inflation remains a challenge, even as the inflation rate has declined over the past year – the main reason he won a second term in office.
Mr. Trump’s second inaugural address was delivered in the same room that was overrun by Mr. Trump’s supporters after fighting with U.S. Capitol Police four years ago. Mr. Trump did not attend President Joe Biden’s inauguration a few weeks later, and he has never stopped insisting, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, that the 2020 election was stolen from him. He faced a range of legal threats in the following years. But although he was convicted of crimes related to covering up an alleged affair with a porn star before the 2016 election, the two criminal cases brought against him for his actions leading up to the events of the January 6, 2021, riot never reached trial, nor did a fourth case of willful abuse With confidential documents. His return to office represents a stunning political comeback, and makes him the first convicted felon to hold the presidency.
Mr. Trump stuck to his prepared remarks for the speech, but he did not remain in teleprompter mode for long. The newly sworn-in president immediately headed downstairs to the Capitol Visitors Center to address supporters and other lawmakers who couldn’t squeeze into the rotunda, and delivered 30 minutes of informal remarks that shed more light on his thinking.
He complained about Mr. Biden’s last-minute pardon. He returned to one of his favorite themes from the campaign, complaining that 2020 was a “rigged election” and claiming they “tried” to rig it again in 2024. He said he was convinced not to talk about the election in his inaugural address. January 6, 2021 There was a riot in the Capitol, but she proposed taking quick action on pardoning those accused on January 6. “It’s the actions, not the words, that matter. You know you’re going to see a lot of action on the J6 hostages,” Mr. Trump declared.
Mr. Trump commented at the conclusion of his speech, saying: “I think this is a better speech than the one I gave upstairs.”
