He vacillated between optimism and pessimism in his inaugural address as the 47th president of the United States on Monday. Ushering in a new era for the US and the world, he made clear his intention to make his mark from day one by announcing dozens of executive orders.
on Capitol Hill, for the first time since 1985 because of the polar cold in Washington, Trump immediately set the – expected – patriotic tone in his speech, promising to “put America first.”
“As of this moment, America’s decline is over,” he said to applause. “America’s golden age begins now, from this day forward this country will once again flourish and be respected around the world. We will be the envy of every nation.”
After mentioning his assassination attempts on the campaign trail, Trump claimed that “God saved me to make America great again.” According to the new president, “January 20, 2025 is Liberation Day.”
Trump also announced that he would be signing a series of executive orders later in the day. First I will declare a state of emergency on our southern border,” he also said to applause. “And we will begin the process of removing millions of illegal aliens back from where they came. I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country. Under the orders I signed today, we will also designate the cartels as terrorist organizations.” The orders, the president added, will mark the beginning of America’s “total restoration and revolution of common sense. It’s all about common sense.” He also said he would declare an energy emergency and “we will mine endlessly” (drill baby drill).
As he did throughout his campaign, the new president again took the opportunity to make a scathing indictment of the previous administration, which he accused of giving “unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders” while refusing to “defend America’s borders or , most importantly, its own people.” All this, presence of course.
As Trump continued to roll out his agenda of change, he announced that he would forge an inclusive society “based on values. As of today, the official policy of the US government is that there are only two sexes, male and female.”
He then promised to “expand” America’s territory and, repeating the controversial claim that 38,000 Americans died building the Panama Canal, added: “China is exploiting the Panama Canal and we didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama. And we’re taking her back.”
The Republican tycoon also said he would “plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars,” before announcing that he had signed an executive order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Biden’s latest act
Hours before the inauguration, Biden approved a preemptive pardon for the congressional committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol and the government team that coordinated the fight against the Covid pandemic. Among them are Republican Trump critic Liz Cheney and Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was the president’s Chief Medical Advisor from 2021 to 2022 and served as one of the leading members of the White House’s coronavirus task force under Trump, with whom they broke up many times over the policy they would follow during the pandemic. CNN called it a “shield against retaliation by his successor.”
