PRESIDENT TRUMP COMPLETED his astonishing political comeback Monday, getting sworn in as the nation’s 47th president and promising sweeping change with widespread ramifications in Washington and beyond.
In his second inaugural address, Trump detailed how he intends to reshape America through small symbolic moves and radical political undertakings, as he seeks to align the government with his “America First” agenda.
Trump’s first inaugural address was remembered as the “American carnage” speech, in which he outlined the ways he says the country had deteriorated and lost its standing in the world.
This time around, Trump used his speech to outline the specific actions he’ll take — many of them on his first day in office — to erase former President Biden’s legacy and steer the nation toward what he described as a new “golden age.”
“It’s liberation day,” Trump said.
Trump immediately declared national emergencies on border security and energy production, giving him broad powers to enact changes on issues that were core to his campaign.
Trump also outlined several of the dozens of executive orders he’ll sign today. These include symbolic moves, such as renaming the Gulf of Mexico, as well as big policy changes like sending troops to the southern border and ending birthright citizenship.
In 2017, Trump only signed one executive order on his first day in office. Biden set the record in 2021, signing nearly two dozen in his first week. Trump reportedly plans to sign more than 200 executive actions this week.
“All of this will change starting today,” Trump said.
Trump has spoken about expanding America’s territories, musing about annexing Greenland and taking back the Panama Canal.
On Monday, he went bigger, saying America will “pursue manifest destiny into the stars,” while directing U.S. astronauts to “plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars.”
It was a day full of ceremonies and rituals in Washington, with every living current and former president on hand to witness Trump’s second inauguration. Trump is the first president since Grover Cleveland in 1893 to be sworn in for a second nonconsecutive term.
Former secretary of State and one-time Trump opponent Hillary Clinton was seated next to her husband former President Clinton. She laughed when Trump said he’d rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
At times, Trump reflected on his political fortunes — and his life — which was threatened twice by assassins during the 2024 campaign.
“Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom, and indeed to take my life,” Trump said. “An assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear. I felt then and believe more now that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.”
There were plenty of awkward moments, with Biden and former Vice President Harris sitting by as Trump detailed what he described as their myriad failures.
Still, the Trump and Biden families interacted cordially throughout the day, first over tea at the White House, followed by shared limousine rides from one end of Pennsylvania Avenue to the other.
The new right-leaning tech contingent was out in force, with billionaires Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, among others, seated behind Trump for his big speech.
Their presence underscored the rightward shift of Silicon Valley’s powerful and wealthy executives, many of whom were once hostile toward Trump. The arrangement also got plenty of side-eyes from lawmakers who felt sidelined by the billionaires.
The new CBS News/YouGov survey finds 60 percent feel optimistic about Trump’s second term, a complete reversal from when he left office in 2021 with his approval rating in the gutter following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
“Many thought it would be impossible for me to launch a political comeback, but as you can see today, here I am, the American people have spoken,” Trump said. “I stand before you now as proof that you should never believe that something is impossible to do.”
