Pledge, baby, pledge

What happened to Trump's inaugural vows, one year on

- David Smith

There was no debate about record crowd sizes this time.

A year ago today, with the temperature at -3C (27F) and wind chill making it feel far colder, Donald Trump’s second inauguration was held indoors - in the rotunda at the US Capitol in Washington. On 20 January 2025, the 47th president promised a flurry of executive orders and made bold promises about immigration, the economy and America’s place in the world. Here are 10 of his key pledges and what has become of them.

“Every single day of the Trump administration, I will, very simply, put America first. Our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced. The vicious, violent, and unfair weaponisation of the justice department and our government will end”

The reality US crime went down in every major category in 2025. There were about 20% fewer murders than in 2024 - one of the bigger drops ever, according to the Real Time Crime Index of local crime data from nearly 600 jurisdictions.

‘Trump’s first choice for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, was knocked back but another loyalist, Pam Bondi, has enforced his will with zeal. The president declared “we are the federal law” and ordered the justice department to investigate James Comey, the former FBI director; Letitia James, the New York attorney general; and Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair.

“To the Black and Hispanic communities, I want to thank you for the tremendous outpouring of love and trust that you have shown me with your vote.”

The reality Trump won record support from Black and Hispanic voters in 2024, but his policies have drawn criticism for hurting these communities. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes across government have been eliminated, while an immigration crackdown has spread fear among Latino communities.