Donald Trump was sworn in for a historic second term as president on Monday, pledging a blitz of immediate orders on immigration and the US culture wars as he caps his extraordinary comeback.
With one hand raised in the air and the other on a Bible given to him by his mother, the 47th US president solemnly took the oath of office beneath the huge Rotunda of the US Capitol.
Beginning his speech, Trump thanked his predecessors and Vice President Kamala Harris, saying: “The golden age of America begins right now.”
He said the US would flourish again and be respected all over the world from now on.
“Good morning,” Trump said as he earlier entered the Capitol accompanied by ex-president Joe Biden. Asked how they felt, Biden responded, “Well.”
Trump will be sworn in as US president shortly, ushering in another turbulent four-year term with promises to push the limits of executive power, deport millions of immigrants, secure retribution against his political enemies and transform the role of the US on the world stage.
Even before Trump is set to take office at noon ET (1700 GMT), aides detailed a raft of executive actions that he would sign immediately, including 10 focused on border security and immigration, his top priority.
The president will declare a national emergency at the southern border, send armed troops there and resume a policy forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their US court dates, an incoming White House official told reporters.
The inauguration completes a triumphant comeback for a political disruptor who survived two impeachment trials, a felony conviction, two assassination attempts and an indictment for attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Shortly before 10am ET (1500 GMT), Trump and incoming first lady Melania Trump arrived at the White House, where Biden and first lady Jill Biden greeted them with handshakes.
“Welcome home,” Biden said.
The ceremony will take place inside the Rotunda of the US Capitol, four years after a mob of Trump supporters breached the symbol of American democracy in an unsuccessful effort to forestall Trump’s defeat by Biden. The swearing-in was moved indoors for the first time in 40 years due to the extreme cold.
Trump, the first US president since the 19th century to win a second term after losing the White House, has said he will pardon “on Day One” many of the more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, attack.
Biden, in one of his last official acts, pardoned several people whom Trump has targeted for retaliation, including former White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci, former Republican US Representative Liz Cheney and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.
Trump will restore the federal death penalty, which Biden had suspended, and require that official US documents such as passports reflect citizens’ gender as assigned at birth, incoming administration officials told reporters.
He will also sign an order ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the federal government on his first day, which is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the officials said.
But Trump will not impose new tariffs today, instead directing federal agencies to evaluate trade relationships with China, Canada and Mexico, a Trump official confirmed.
“A tide of change is sweeping the country,” Trump plans to say in his inaugural speech, according to excerpts seen by Reuters.
“With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense.”
The Trumps began the day at St John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, where several tech executives — including the three richest men in the world, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — joined them.
