Donald Trump was sworn in Monday as the 47th president of the United States, capping the most incredible comeback in political history after surviving a criminal conviction, multiple indictments and two assassination attempts.
Mr. Trump took the oath of office in the Capitol Rotunda because of freezing temperatures in Washington, making him the first president in 40 years to do so.
He immediately turned the corner on the Biden era. By the end of the day, he had signed a stack of executive orders that dismantled his predecessor’s legacy. Among them, he resumed construction of the border wall, withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord, and resumed oil and gas drilling in the U.S.
“The Golden Age of America begins right now,” Mr. Trump said in his inaugural address. “From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world.”
With his wife, Melania Trump, holding the Bible before him, Mr. Trump took the oath administered by U.S. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.
The moment marked the pinnacle of Mr. Trump’s comeback after what appeared to be the end of his improbable political career in 2021. That year, Mr. Trump skipped President Biden’s inauguration after refusing to acknowledge his election loss. He flew back to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, as a twice-impeached president whose supporters rioted at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to stop the certification of Mr. Biden’s win.
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On Monday, he joined President Cleveland as the only other commander in chief to serve nonconsecutive terms.
Mr. Trump claimed divine intervention. He said he survived a summertime assassination attempt in Pennsylvania so he could lead the U.S. to prosperity.
“My life was saved for a reason,” Mr. Trump said in his speech in the Rotunda. “I was saved by God to make America great again.”
J.D. Vance took his oath of office to serve as vice president. Also rising to the heights of U.S. politics from improbable beginnings, Mr. Vance overcame a difficult childhood with a drug-addicted mother to become a Yale Law School graduate, bestselling author and U.S. senator before joining Mr. Trump at the White House.
Mr. Vance placed his hand on a King James Bible that belonged to his maternal great-grandmother. Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh administered the oath.
The presence of former Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and George W. Bush underscored the drama.
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Mr. Trump replaced Mr. Biden, whose single term was plagued by accusations of incompetence and slow-footed responses to crises such as record-high inflation, the bungled withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Hamas holding American citizens hostage in the Gaza Strip.
Though Mr. Trump acknowledged former presidents, including Mr. Biden, he has made it clear that his first few days would be used to repudiate the former president.
He took a direct shot at Mr. Biden by saying leaders are pouring money into foreign nations while North Carolina suffers from hurricane damage and Los Angeles deals with raging fires.
“I will very simply put America first,” he said.
On his first day, Mr. Trump pledged to issue more than 200 executive orders. The orders will roll back many of Mr. Biden’s climate-related policies, such as the electric vehicle mandate, participation in the Paris Climate Accord and restrictions on fossil fuel production.
Mr. Trump also will overhaul immigration enforcement. He will restore his travel ban, which barred people from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country and suspending refugee admissions into the U.S.
“I have no higher responsibility than to protect our country from threats and invasions,” Mr. Trump said. “We will do it at a level that no one has ever seen before.”
Mr. Trump said allowing new oil and gas drilling would bring down energy prices and allow the U.S. to fill its strategic reserves while exporting energy. He also pledged to scrap Mr. Biden’s emissions rules, known as the “electric vehicle mandate.”
“It is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it,” he said. “You’ll be able to buy the car of your choice.”
Tickets for seats in the Rotunda were coveted in Washington. Current and former lawmakers joined Mr. Trump’s Cabinet nominees and technology billionaires such as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, alongside foreign leaders such as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Argentine President Javier Milei.
Former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, podcaster Joe Rogan and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch attended. Some governors were relegated to the overflow space in Emancipation Hall.
Afterward, Mr. Trump stopped by the hall to offer freewheeling remarks. He hailed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and compared the overflow crowd to the elite Rotunda crowd.
“You look better than them, you’re more powerful than them, and I love you,” Mr. Trump said.
The Democratic National Committee said the elite seating arrangement was an ominous sign.
“After packing his Cabinet full of billionaires, Donald Trump did the same thing at his inauguration — leaving his own supporters literally out in the cold while billionaires worth over $1 trillion got a front-row seat,” said DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd. “Trump is making his priorities clear on Day One: Anytime he has the chance, he’ll put himself and his ultra-wealthy backers ahead of the American people.”
The ceremony featured “America the Beautiful,” sung by country megastar Carrie Underwood, which had some technical difficulties, and the national anthem by operatic singer Christopher Macchio.
The Rotunda ceremony was the marquee event of a busy day of festivities and executive orders.
The president and Mr. Biden showed little emotion as they departed the White House together in a limo ride to the Capitol, and lawmakers feted the new president with a traditional Capitol luncheon after the inaugural ceremony. Later, Mr. Trump joined supporters for a lively rally at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, starting with military drum rolls and brass fanfare.
Mr. Trump entered the arena to chants of “USA! USA!” and offered trademark fist-pumps. He sat next to Mrs. Trump, who wore a navy-and-white hat with a low brim.
The inauguration starkly contrasted with his 2017 swearing-in ceremony. Mr. Trump rose to power after losing the popular vote and squeaking out a narrow Electoral College victory. He was a political neophyte without strong connections in Congress and took a glacier pace to get his Cabinet leadership in place.
Mr. Trump is now heading back into office after an Electoral College landslide over Vice President Kamala Harris, sweeping all seven swing states and winning the popular vote.
His victory was based on large margins among his White rural and working-class base while he made significant inroads with Black and Hispanic voters.
The Republican Party now controls the House and Senate, and a majority of Supreme Court justices are appointees of Republican presidents.
Most of Mr. Trump’s appointees for his Cabinet and top administration posts are expected to sail through Senate confirmation. Even some of his more unconventional choices, such as Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth and Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are expected to be confirmed.
Before Mr. Trump took the oath, he appeared to score wins on the world stage. Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal, and on Sunday, Hamas released three hostages ahead of the Inauguration Day deadline set by Mr. Trump. Mr. Biden’s boosters have acknowledged that Mr. Trump deserves some credit for the deal.
Still, Mr. Trump will face monumental challenges in his second term, including helping keep the ceasefire deal intact.
Voters returned Mr. Trump to the Oval Office mainly because of his promises of reversing inflation and reducing the cost of groceries, though Mr. Trump has softened some of those promises since he was elected. In a Time magazine interview, Mr. Trump acknowledged it would be “hard” to bring down grocery prices.
The incoming president has also vowed to quickly end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but has not publicly detailed a plan.
He will also have to decide what to do about TikTok, which went offline for U.S.-based users after a bipartisan law effectively banned the app.
Mr. Trump said one of his first moves would be to issue an executive order to allow more time for the app to find an owner not linked to the Chinese government, which prompted TikTok to restore service in the U.S. on Sunday.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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