Donald Trump has been inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States, marking his return to the White House for a second, non-consecutive term.
This unprecedented return follows his first term as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.
The swearing-in ceremony took place indoors at the US Capitol, a departure from tradition due to extremely cold weather conditions. He used both a family Bible and the one used by President Abraham Lincoln at his 1861 inauguration as Chief Justice John Roberts administered his oath.
The oath he took was: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help my God.”
First, JD Vance, United States Vice President-elect, who represented Ohio in the US Senate from 2023 to 2025, took his oath of office.
Subsequently, Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office to Trump at 12 p.m. ET, with First Lady Melania Trump by his side during the ceremony.
The event was attended by a limited audience due to the indoor setting, with approximately 700 guests present, significantly fewer than the anticipated 250,000.
“The golden age of America begins right now,” he says in his address, adding that “From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected” under his leadership as a “peacemaker and a unifier”. He said the country will be the “envy of the world,” and that it would “not be taken advantage of.”
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.”
In his inauguration address, Trump plans to call for a “revolution of common sense.”
The Republican leader also outlines a series of executive actions he plans to take on his first day in office, including cracking down on immigration, reversing previous border policies, and implementing new tariffs.
Trump said he would sign a “series of executive orders” that focus on immigration and the economy. He said he would declare a “national emergency at our southern border,” halting immigration and deporting “criminal immigrants.”
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“We will do it at a level nobody has ever seen before,” Trump promised.
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.
He stated, “Our mission is clear: to secure our borders, grow our economy, strengthen our military, and protect the rights of every citizen.”
His administration has signalled plans to enact a series of executive orders on his first day, focusing on immigration, energy policies, and economic measures, AP reports Monday.
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. He also said he would declare a “national energy emergency,” would rescind the Green New Deal and the electric vehicle mandate and create an “External Revenue Service” to level tariffs against other countries’ goods
He also said he would “pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.” Musk, the owner of a space rocket company with billions of dollars in federal contracts, cheered and pumped his arms above his head as Trump spoke.
In addition, Trump said he would make it U.S. policy that there are only two genders — “male and female.” LGBTQ+ rights were a flashpoint in the 2024 presidential campaign.
Meanwhile, within of minutes of Trump taking office, the official White House website was updated with a new homepage featuring his image and the message, “America is back.”
“Every single day I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body. I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America,” said a statement underneath the image.
The updated administration section says: “After a landslide election victory in 2024, President Donald J. Trump is returning to the White House to build upon his previous successes and use his mandate to reject the extremist policies of the radical left while providing tangible quality of life improvements for the American people.”
