Washington DC – President Trump He said that “the tide of change is sweeping the country,” and told Americans during his inaugural address on Monday that he was “optimistic” that the United States was beginning “a new era of national success,” while declaring that “the country's decline is over.”
Trump addressed the nation on Monday after taking the oath of office for the second time and taking the oath of office as the 47th president of the United States.
“America’s golden age begins now,” Trump said in his inauguration speech. “From now on, our country will once again prosper and be respected around the world. We will be the envy of every country, and we will no longer allow ourselves to be taken advantage of.”
Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States
Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump holds a Bible in the Rotunda of the US Capitol, Monday, January 20, 2025. (Maury Gash/AP Photo, Paul)
“Every day of the Trump administration, I will simply put America first,” Trump said.
Trump pledged to restore US sovereignty and restore our safety. The scales of justice will be rebalanced. The evil, violent, and unjust weaponization of the Department of Justice and our government will end. Our top priority will be to create a proud, prosperous and free nation.”
Trump promised that he would not use the government to go after political opponents, saying it was something he knew something about, in reference to his allegations of being persecuted by the Biden administration.
“But first, we must be honest about the challenges we face,” Trump said. He added: “Although they exist in abundance, they will be exterminated because of this great momentum that the world is witnessing now in the United States of America.”
But in his first remarks to the nation as the 47th president, the president said, “Our government is facing a crisis of confidence.”
“My recent election is a mandate to completely and completely reverse this terrible betrayal and all of the many betrayals that have occurred, and restore people to their faith, their wealth, their democracy, and even their freedom from this moment forward. America’s decline is over,” Trump said.
Trump will take more than 200 executive actions on day one
The president delivered his remarks from the Capitol Rotunda on Monday due to the arctic blast that struck the nation's capital, where frigid temperatures forced the inauguration to be moved indoors for the first time in four decades.
Trump, who won the Electoral College and the popular vote, defeating former Vice President Kamala Harris by a landslide, pledged that his second administration would bring a “gilded age to America.”
Trump was competing at the time-President Bidenwho was seeking re-election, until July 2024. But after the two debated for the first time, and after Biden's disastrous performance, the incumbent president came under pressure from Democratic insiders to suspend his presidential bid.
Biden made the announcement in a social media post and endorsed Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee in his place, moving his running mate to the top of the ticket.
Biden's decision to withdraw from the race came just days after the end of the Republican National Convention, and after Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, formally accepted the Republican nomination.
But Trump, just days before accepting the Republican nomination, survived an assassination attempt during a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. During the event, Trump was showing a graph highlighting how illegal immigration has risen under the Biden-Harris administration. As he headed toward the chart, he was shot through the top of his right ear by the now deceased would-be killer, Thomas Matthew Crookes.
Weeks later, in September, another would-be killer hid himself in the bushes at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. The gunman, Ryan Wesley Roth, had an AK-47 rifle pointed through a fence at Trump as he played golf. US Secret Service agents removed Trump from the golf course unharmed.
Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th president at the US Capitol on January 20, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool via Reuters)
Trump has spoken about his near-death experiences, his unprecedented trials and legal battles throughout the 2024 campaign cycle.
“Over the past eight years, I have been tested and challenged more than any president in our 250-year history, and I have learned a lot along the way. The journey to restore our republic has not been easy, and I can tell you that those who want to stop our cause will… They tried to take my freedom and take my life.” “Just a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet pierced my ear.”
He added, “But I felt then, and I believe even more now, that my life was saved for a reason. God saved me to make America great again.”
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On his first day in office, Trump is expected to take more than 200 executive actions — a massive first wave of policy priorities focused on border security, energy, lowering the cost of living for American families, and ending DEI programs across the federal government. And more, Fox News Digital exclusively reported.
Trump will also fulfill his campaign promise to reverse his predecessor's policies on his first day in office. Trump will The end of “catch and release”; suspending all offshore wind energy leases; Ending the electric vehicle mandate; Repeal the Green New Deal; withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement; and take several key steps to assert presidential control over the federal bureaucracy.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
