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Donald Trump promised a “golden age for America” as he used his inaugural address to unveil sweeping moves to undo Joe Biden's policies and reverse a “crisis of trust” that he said has engulfed the government.
The new president announced bold new steps to boost energy production and curb immigration, as he pledged to quickly implement the populist and nationalist platform that propelled him to victory in the White House race last year.
Trump also spoke of his return to the White House as a personal vindication for him, after two assassination attempts, and a mission to implement radical reforms in domestic and foreign policy.
“God saved me to make America great again,” he said in a speech that included echoes of his somber description of “American carnage” in his first inaugural address in 2017.
“For many years, an extremist and corrupt establishment has taken power and wealth from our citizens while the pillars of our society are broken and appear to be in complete tatters,” he said.
“We now have a government that cannot manage even a minor crisis at home, while at the same time stumbling through a continuing list of disastrous events abroad,” he said.
Trump pledged to “once again build the most powerful military the world has ever seen.” But he also hinted at a new era of American expansionism when he said that the United States would regain control of the Panama Canal.
He repeated his election promises to end the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, saying that he would be a “peacemaker.”
“We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars we end and, perhaps more importantly, by the wars we never get into,” Trump said. “The legacy I am most proud of is that of a peacemaker and unifier.”
The ceremony was attended by former presidents, including George W. Bush and Barack Obama, while tech billionaires such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who recently sided with Trump, occupied prominent positions in the audience.
Trump returns to the White House with broader support from the public and the business community than when he left office in 2021, just weeks after his supporters stormed the US Capitol to try to overturn Biden's election.
Trump now faces the daunting task of fulfilling his promise to lower the cost of living for middle-class families, a pledge that was the most powerful political weapon in his victorious campaign against Kamala Harris.
The new president said he would declare a national emergency on issues including immigration and energy, giving the president the power to expedite new measures. As he spoke, the White House said it was withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement.
But Trump stopped short of announcing new tariffs right away, instead planning to issue a memorandum directing government agencies to reevaluate US trade relations with trading partners such as China, Mexico and Canada.
The hesitation suggests that his top aides are still grappling with how aggressively to impose tariffs on America's major trading partners. But Trump said tariffs would still be imminent.
“Instead of imposing taxes on our citizens to enrich other countries, we will impose tariffs and taxes on foreign countries to enrich our citizens,” he said.
Before he spoke, the dollar fell about 1 percent against a basket of other currencies in US morning trading, putting it on track for its largest daily decline in more than five months.
Trump's return to the White House has alarmed some of America's closest allies, who fear a further tendency towards protectionism and a new shift towards isolationism in Washington.
But loyal conservative world leaders cheered his election victory. Javier Miley, President of Argentina, and Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy, were among the leaders who attended his inauguration.
