Triumphant Trump promises show of strength on return to White House

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Donald Trump will be sworn in as US president on Monday, ushering in another tumultuous four-year term that has seen him push the limits of executive power, deport millions of immigrants, protect against his political enemies. There will be promises of revenge and changing the American character. global stage.

Even before Trump took office at noon ET (1700 GMT), aides detailed a raft of executive actions he would sign immediately, including 10 focused on border security and immigration, which It is their first priority.

A visiting White House official told reporters that the president would declare a national emergency on the southern border, send armed troops there and resume the policy of forcing asylum seekers to wait for their U.S. court dates in Mexico. will do

The inauguration completes a triumphant return for a political disruptor who survived two impeachment trials, one felony conviction, two attempted murders and an attempt to reverse his 2020 election defeat.

Shortly before 10 a.m. ET (1500 GMT), Trump and incoming first lady Melania Trump arrived at the White House, where they were greeted with a handshake by Biden and first lady Jill Biden.

“Welcome home,” Biden said.

The event will be held inside the Rotunda of the US Capitol, four years after a mob of Trump supporters desecrated the symbol of American democracy in a failed attempt to prevent Trump’s defeat by Biden. The swearing-in ceremony was moved indoors for the first time in 40 years because of the bitter cold.

Trump, the first U.S. president since the 19th century to win a second term after losing the White House, has said he will be among the more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, attack. will forgive people “on the first day”. .

In one of his last official acts, Biden pardoned several people whom Trump targeted for retaliation, including former White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci, former Republican U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Former Chairman Mark Milley is involved.

Trump would reinstate the federal death penalty, which Biden suspended, and require that official U.S. documents such as passports reflect citizens’ gender as assigned at birth, officials of the incoming administration said. told reporters.

On his first day, which is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, he will also sign an order ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the federal government, officials said.

But Trump will not impose new tariffs on Monday, instead directing federal agencies to review trade relations with China, Canada and Mexico, a Trump official confirmed.

“A wave of change is sweeping the country,” Trump plans to say in his inaugural address, according to excerpts seen by Reuters. “With these actions, we will begin a complete recovery of America and a revolution of common sense.”

Trump began the day at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, where several tech executives — including three of the world’s richest men, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO O Mark Zuckerberg – joined them.

Disruptive force

As he did in 2017, Trump entered office as a chaotic and disruptive force, vowing to reshape the federal government and expressing deep skepticism about the US-led coalition. which shaped world politics after World War II.

The former president returned to Washington emboldened after winning the national popular vote by more than 2 million votes over Vice President Kamala Harris, fueled by voter frustration over continued inflation, though he still falls short of a 50 percent majority.

In 2016, Trump won the Electoral College — and the presidency — despite receiving nearly 3 million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton.

Jeremy Surrey, a presidential historian at the University of Texas at Austin, compared the current era to the late 19th century, when Grover Cleveland became the only other president to win a nonconsecutive term. Like now, he said, it was a time of upheaval, as industrial growth transformed the economy, wealth inequality exploded and the proportion of immigrant Americans reached historic highs.

“What we’re really talking about is a fundamentally different economy, a fundamentally different country in terms of its racial and gender and social makeup, and we as a country,” he said. But struggling to figure out what that means,” he said. “It’s an existential moment.”

Trump, who will overtake Biden as the oldest president ever to take the oath of office, will enjoy Republican majorities in both houses of Congress that have been almost entirely freed of any intra-party dissent. are His advisers have outlined plans to replace impartial bureaucrats with hand-picked loyalists.

Even before taking office, Trump established a rival power center just weeks after his election victory, meeting with world leaders and seeking to seize the Panama Canal, gain control of NATO ally Denmark’s Greenland territory and Made loud noises about imposing tariffs on America. Trading partners

Unlike in 2017, when he filled many of the top jobs with institutional experts, Trump has prioritized loyalty over experience in naming one of the controversial Cabinet picks, some of whom are outspoken critics of the agencies that They have been used to lead the

The inauguration will proceed amid tight security after a campaign marked by an uptick in political violence, including two assassination attempts against Trump, one of which was shot in his ear.

‘American Massacre’

Eight years ago, Trump delivered a dark inaugural address vowing to end “American carnage” in what he called crime-ridden cities and soft borders, mostly newly elected. Presidents have adopted a departure from this optimistic tone.

Foreign governments will scrutinize the timing of Trump’s speech on Monday after he campaigned on inflammatory rhetoric.

The traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue past the White House will now be indoors at the Capital One Arena, where Trump held his victory rally on Sunday. Trump will also attend three inaugural balls that evening.

Within days, Trump will begin signing his first executive orders, many of which are likely to face legal challenges.

Trump would become the first criminal to occupy the White House after a New York jury convicted him of falsifying business records to cover up payments to a porn star.

The election also freed Trump from two federal charges — conspiring to overturn the 2020 election and possessing classified documents — thanks to a Justice Department policy that the president cannot be prosecuted while in office. .

In a report last week, special counsel Jack Smith said he had enough evidence to convict Trump in the election case if Trump went to trial.