President Trump, redux

47th President of the United States takes oath, signs a slew of executive orders on immigration, gender, race and trade tariffs

- Prashant Jha

Donald J Trump took over on Monday as the 47th President of the United States, promising a return to a "golden age" and a "revolution of common sense", pledging that "America First" would be his guiding philosophy, declaring the end of the country's decline, claiming that God saved his life to let him "make America great again", and proclaiming that his greatest legacy will be that of a "peacemaker and unifier".

Trump also gave a sense of the executive orders he intended to sign later in the day, vowing to declare a national emergency on the southern border, a national energy emergency with the intention to "drill baby, drill", sweeping directions on gender and race, and the creation of an external revenue service to collect trade tariffs from other countries.

"We will be respected again. We will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of. We will put America First. Our sovereignty will be reclaimed, our safety will be restored, scales of justice will be rebalanced. America will be greater, stronger and far more exceptional than ever before," thundered a triumphant Trump.

US Supreme Court chief justice John Roberts administered the oath of office to Trump in a ceremony that restored the bipartisan nature of the peaceful transfer of power, held inside the US Capitol rotunda to avoid Washington's freezing weather. The theme of the inaugural ceremony was "enduring democracy", and saw the participation of all of America's living former presidents.

This was different from January 20, 2021, when Trump, who refused to accept the 2020 election results, did not attend Joe Biden's inauguration.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh administered the oath of office to America's new Vice President JD Vance. His Indian-origin wife Usha, and his three children, stood alongside.