Key takeaways as Donald Trump is sworn in as 47th US president

Donald Trump has taken the oath of bureau to go the 47th president of the United States, returning to the White House 4 years aft helium near it successful defeat.

In his inaugural code connected Monday, Trump took an assertive posture, utilizing his podium successful the Capitol rotunda to blast his predecessor, outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden.

He besides framed himself arsenic a unfortunate of authorities “weaponisation”, taking jabs astatine what helium called a “radical and corrupt establishment”.

“My caller predetermination is simply a mandate to wholly and wholly reverse a horrible betrayal,” Trump said. “From this infinitesimal on, America’s diminution is over.”

This was Trump’s 2nd presidency, aft serving successful the White House from 2017 to 2021.

But the Trump who returned to the presidency connected Monday was a Trump who appeared much confident, acceptable to commencement signing a watercourse of enforcement actions to reshape argumentation successful the US.

“ With these actions, we volition statesman the implicit restoration of America and the gyration of communal sense. It’s each astir communal sense,” helium said, citing a caller pro-business vigor argumentation and a crackdown connected irregular migration arsenic 2 of his archetypal actions.

He besides pledged to “expand” US borders, informing Panama helium would “take back” the canal the US built there.

Still, portion Trump erstwhile again painted a representation of the US arsenic a state connected the precipice, helium tried to onslaught a much upbeat posture than successful his 2017 inaugural address, which became known arsenic the “American carnage” speech.

“I instrumentality to the presidency assured and optimistic that we are astatine the commencement of a thrilling caller epoch of nationalist success,” Trump said. “A tide of alteration is sweeping the country. Sunlight is pouring implicit the full world. And America has the accidental to prehend this accidental similar ne'er before.”

President-elect Donald Trump kisses Melania Trump earlier the inauguration connected January 20 [Saul Loeb/AP Photo, pool]

Biden delivers last-minute, preemptive pardons

But specified hours earlier Trump’s inauguration, Biden attempted to scuttle immoderate of Trump’s campaign-trail threats.

Trump had repeatedly pledged retribution against those who criticised him, prompting Biden to instrumentality an bonzer action: He issued preemptive pardons for those who mightiness beryllium prosecuted nether Trump’s presidency.

Biden’s pardon offered extortion to 3 predominant targets of Trump’s ire, arsenic good arsenic members of his ain family.

One was Dr Anthony Fauci, the immunologist who clashed with Trump implicit the country’s COVID-19 exigency response. Another was General Mark Milley, a Trump appointee-turned-critic who chaired the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a sheet of apical subject leaders, from 2019 to 2023.

The last radical shielded nether the pardon was the members of the House Select Committee connected the January 6 attack, which investigated the events of January 6, 2021, erstwhile a radical of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol successful an evident effort to halt the certification of Trump’s decision successful 2020.

In its last report, the committee referred Trump for transgression prosecution, accusing him assisting an insurrection against the government.

Trump has repeatedly threatened members of that committee with imprisonment, peculiarly Liz Cheney, its astir salient Republican.

“For what they did, yeah, honestly, they should spell to jail,” Trump told the TV programme Meet the Press successful December.

Biden noted this menace successful a connection that did not notation Trump by sanction — but warned of impending prosecutions.

“Our federation relies connected dedicated, selfless nationalist servants each day. They are the lifeblood of our democracy,” Biden wrote. “Yet alarmingly, nationalist servants person been subjected to ongoing threats and intimidation for faithfully discharging their duties.”

However, helium emphasised that these pardons should not beryllium “should not beryllium mistaken arsenic an acknowledgment that immoderate idiosyncratic engaged successful immoderate wrongdoing”.

Former President George W Bush and Laura Bush get for the 60th statesmanlike inauguration connected January 20 [Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo, pool]

Trump calls for an extremity to ‘weaponisation’ of justice

At noon Eastern clip (17:00 GMT), Biden and 3 different erstwhile presidents — Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama — piled into the Capitol rotunda with different dignitaries to witnesser Trump instrumentality his 2nd oath of office.

In opening remarks, Senator Amy Klobuchar reminded the assemblage that the taxable of Monday’s inauguration was “our enduring democracy”.

But erstwhile Trump took the podium to present his inaugural address, helium rapidly formed a representation of the outgoing medication arsenic “corrupt”, without naming Biden outright.

“Our sovereignty volition beryllium reclaimed. Our information volition beryllium restored. The scales of justness volition beryllium rebalanced. The vicious, convulsive and unfair weaponisation of the Justice Department and our authorities volition end,” Trump said successful the opening minutes of his speech.

While retired of the White House from 2021 to 2025, Trump became the archetypal US president to beryllium charged and convicted of felony crimes.

His condemnation came successful May, aft a assemblage recovered him blameworthy of 34 counts of falsifying concern documents, related to efforts to conceal hush-money outgo to a porn prima during the 2016 election.

But Trump faced 3 different transgression indictments successful addition. They included a authorities lawsuit successful Georgia, wherever prosecutors accused him of participating successful a transgression conspiracy to undermine the state’s 2020 predetermination results.

And until recently, Trump faced 2 national indictments — 1 for allegedly seeking to overturn the 2020 election, and the different for withholding classified documents portion retired of office. Both were dropped successful November, successful accordance with Justice Department argumentation not to prosecute sitting presidents.

Trump has agelong denied wrongdoing successful each the cases against him, and helium has accused Democrats of utilizing the Justice Department for idiosyncratic “witch hunts”.

In Monday’s speech, helium tied the transgression probes to an unrelated assassination effort helium faced successful July, portion campaigning successful Butler, Pennsylvania.

“Over the past 8 years, I person been tested and challenged much than immoderate president successful our 250-year history,” Trump said.

“The travel to reclaim our republic has not been an casual 1 — that, I tin archer you. Those who privation to halt our origin person tried to instrumentality my state and, indeed, to instrumentality my life.”

Donald Trump takes oath successful the Capitol rotunda successful Washington, DC, connected January 20 [Kevin Lamarque/Reuters via Pool]

State of exigency astatine the confederate border

Trump’s inaugural code besides sought to marque bully connected promises the Republican delivered connected the run trail.

His archetypal priority, helium said, was to state an exigency connected the confederate borderline with Mexico.

“All amerciable introduction volition instantly beryllium halted. And we volition statesman the process of returning millions and millions of transgression aliens backmost to the places from which they came,” Trump said.

As portion of that push, Trump explained helium would nonstop troops to the borderline “to repel the disastrous penetration of our country”.

He besides pledged to re-implement his 2019 “Remain successful Mexico” policy, which required asylum seekers to enactment connected the different broadside of the borderline portion waiting for their migration appointments and tribunal dates.

Critics, however, had challenged the argumentation arsenic a usurpation of home and planetary asylum law, pointing retired that asylum seekers person the close to transverse planetary borders to fly imminent persecution. They besides argued that parts of the Mexican borderline were unsafe for migrants and asylum seekers to stay in, owed to the beingness of transgression activity.

Biden attempted to extremity the argumentation successful February 2021, soon aft taking office, and it has since been wrapped up successful litigation.

In Monday’s speech, Trump repeated his mendacious assertion that overseas countries were emptying their prisons and intelligence wellness institutions crossed the US border, and helium pledged to designate drug-trafficking cartels arsenic “foreign violent organisations”.

Then, helium added, helium would invoke the  Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows the president to detain and deport overseas nationals during times of war, to spell aft “all overseas gangs and transgression networks”.

“As commandant successful chief, I person nary higher work than to support our state from threats and  invasions, and that is precisely what I americium going to do,” Trump said.

An estimated 11 cardinal radical unrecorded successful the US without ineligible authorisation, and quality rights advocates fearfulness Trump’s projected crackdown whitethorn widen beyond transgression networks, yet fissuring families and communities.

President Joe Biden arrives for the inauguration of his Republican rival Donald Trump connected January 20 [Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, pool]

A instrumentality to ‘manifest destiny’

Trump painted a rosy representation of beingness nether his presidency: 1 successful which the US is prosperous and growing.

But successful doing so, helium utilized loaded connection similar “manifest destiny”, a word associated with the westward enlargement of colonialism crossed North America, forcibly displacing Indigenous peoples.

“ The United States volition erstwhile again see itself a increasing nation, 1 that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations and carries our emblem into caller and beauteous horizons,” helium said.

“And we volition prosecute our manifest destiny into this stars, launching American astronauts to works the Stars and Stripes connected the satellite Mars.”

In the lead-up to his inauguration, Trump has made repeated references to expanding US territory abroad.

In Central America, helium has urged Panama to “return” the Panama Canal, claiming unfair commercialized practices crossed the US-built waterway. To the north, helium has encouraged Canada to go the US’s “51st state”. And successful the lawsuit of Greenland, helium has refused to regularisation retired “military oregon economical coercion” successful his propulsion to assimilate the autonomous Danish territory.

Trump reprised respective of those issues successful his inauguration speech, accusing Panama arsenic treating the US “very badly”.

“We gave it to Panama,” Trump said of the canal. “And we’re taking it back.”

Trump besides called for the Gulf of Mexico to beryllium renamed the “Gulf of America”, and helium said helium would revert the sanction of an Alaskan mountain, presently known by its Indigenous sanction Denali, to “Mount McKinley”.

In his speech, Trump depicted the US’s assemblage epoch arsenic a clip of triumph, arguing that present-day Americans request to instrumentality to its spirit.

“The tone of the frontier is written into our hearts. The telephone of the adjacent large escapade resounds from wrong our souls,” Trump said.

“Our American ancestors turned a tiny radical of colonies connected the borderline of a immense continent into a mighty republic of the astir bonzer citizens connected earth. No 1 comes close.”

Argentina’s President Javier Milei speaks with erstwhile Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy astatine the inauguration ceremonial [Chip Somodevilla/AP Photo, pool]

‘Colour-blind and merit-based’ society

As portion of his depiction of an America successful crisis, Trump sketched a imaginativeness of the US hampered by censorship, a recurring taxable successful the blimpish sphere successful caller years.

“After years and years of amerciable and unconstitutional national efforts to restrict escaped expression, I volition besides motion an enforcement bid to instantly halt each authorities censorship and bring backmost escaped code to America,” Trump said.

But helium pivoted from determination to attacking efforts to amended astir racism and enduring radical divides, done diverseness initiatives successful schools and businesses. Many conservatives person deemed specified programmes “woke” and person called for them to beryllium dismantled.

He besides made allusions to his run promises to dismantle protections for transgender and nonbinary Americans.

“ I volition besides extremity the authorities argumentation of trying to socially technologist contention and sex into each facet of nationalist and backstage life. We volition forge a nine that is colour-blind and merit-based,” helium said.

“As of today, it volition henceforth beryllium the authoritative argumentation of the United States authorities that determination are lone 2 genders: antheral and female.”

Despite the divisive rhetoric, Trump repeatedly described himself arsenic a “unifier” successful his speech, ushering successful a caller property of prosperity.

“My proudest bequest volition beryllium that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I privation to be: a peacemaker and a unifier,” helium said. That tone volition widen beyond the US’s borders, helium added.

“ We volition beryllium a federation similar nary different afloat of compassion, courageousness and exceptionalism. Our powerfulness volition halt each wars and bring a caller tone of unity to a satellite that has been angry, violent, and wholly unpredictable.”

Speaking from Capitol Hill, Al Jazeera analogous Alan Fisher called the code a “very dark” one.

“This was Donald Trump efficaciously settling scores,” Fisher said, comparing it to a run speech.

He described Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s rival successful the 2024 race, sitting “stony-faced” successful the audience, lone rising to their feat erstwhile the merchandise of Israeli captives successful Gaza was mentioned.