Trump portrays himself as ‘saved by God’ as he announces slew of hardline executive orders

Donald Trump and Joe Biden are now headed outside, where the former president will board a helicopter that will take him and Jill Biden out of Washington DC.

This did not happen in 2021, because Trump skipped the inauguration, though Kamala Harris did have a send off for Mike Pence, who attended.

Donald Trump will withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement, according to a document circulated by the White House.

United Nations secretary general António Guterres has warned that the agreement to combat the climate crisis would be “crippled” by such a decision:

The claim: Donald Trump claimed that the US experienced “record inflation” that he said was caused by “massive overspending and escalating energy prices”

The facts: US inflation peaked at a four-decade high in summer 2022, when it was 9.1%. But the highest inflation rate in the country was 23.7% in June 1920.

The most recent data shows that as of December inflation had fallen to 2.9%.

The claim: Donald Trump said his 2024 election victory showed “dramatic” increases in support for “virtually every element” of American society.

The facts: Trump did improve his margins with Latino voters in 2024. A record 46% of Latinos voted for Trump, a 14-point increase from 2020. Asian American support for Trump increased by five points, rising to 39% in 2024 from 34% in 2020.

However Black voter support for Trump sat at 13% in 2024, relatively unchanged from 12% in 2020. Trump performed as well among Black people as past conservative presidents have after Black people largely left the Republican party in the 1960s.

Trump ended his inaugural address by coming back to his promise of a “golden age” in the United States:

In recent years, our nation has suffered greatly, but we are going to bring it back and make it great again, greater than ever before. We will be a nation like no other, full of compassion, courage and exceptionalism.

Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent and totally unpredictable. America will be respected again and admired again, including by people of religion, faith and good will. We will be prosperous, we will be proud, we will be strong, and we will win like never before.

We will not be conquered. We will not be intimidated. We will not be broken, and we will not fail. From this day on, the United States of America will be a free, sovereign and independent nation. We will stand bravely, we will live proudly. We will dream boldly, and nothing will stand in our way because we are Americans, the future is ours, and our golden age has just begun.

The claim: Donald Trump said the US spends more money on health care than any other country in the world.

The facts: Trump is correct. The US does spend more on healthcare per capita, almost twice the average of other wealthy countries.

Just before he declared that the United States will reassert control of the Panama Canal, Donald Trump vowed he will be a “peacemaker” as president:

We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into. My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be, a peacemaker and a unifier.

Panama’s government has said it will not give control of the canal back to the United States. Trump, meanwhile, has previously refused to rule out using force to take it over.

Donald Trump made clear that he was serious about reimposing American control over the Panama Canal, accusing the central American country of mismanaging the vital trade route and vowing: “We’re taking it back”.

The president first promised to change the name of the Alaskan mountain Denali back to Mt McKinley, after the former US president William McKinley. He then shifted to his views on Panama:

President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent. He was a natural businessman, and gave Teddy Roosevelt the money for many of the great things he did, including the Panama Canal, which has foolishly been given to the country of Panama after the United States, the United States, I mean, think of this, spent more money than ever spent on a project before and lost 38,000 lives in the building of the Panama Canal.

We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made, and Panama’s promise to us has been broken. The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States Navy, and above all, China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.

Trump also announced moves to dismantle DEI initiatives in the federal government, and also against what he called “censorship”.

“After years and years of illegal and unconstitutional federal efforts to restrict free expression, I will also sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America,” he said.

In what was likely a reference to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, Trump said:

This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private light. We will forge a society that is color blind and merit based.

More promises, regarding gender and Covid-19 vaccinations:

As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female. This week, I will reinstate any service members who were unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the Covid vaccine mandate with full back pay, and I will sign an order to stop our warriors from being subjected to radical political theories and social experiments while on duty. It’s going to end immediately.

The claim: Donald Trump said the US can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency, citing the wildfires in California and flooding in North Carolina.

The facts: Trump has repeatedly spread incorrect claims about both of these events. He and other fellow Republicans boosted false claims about the recovery effort in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, including that the US government can influence the weather to theories that crucial aid was being withheld, prompting some government officials to warn of threats to federal emergency workers.

Trump, during the wildfires in California, called on the Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, to “release the water” from northern parts of the state, despite the state’s water experts saying water supply was not an issue, but rather generators to pump the water.

The president then shifted to the executive orders he will sign today concerning the economy, and particularly his pledges to lower prices and restore manufacturing jobs:

“As Commander in Chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions, and that is exactly what I am going to do we will do it at a level that nobody has ever seen before,” Donald Trump declared.

“Next, I will direct all members of my cabinet to marshall the vast powers at their disposal to defeat what was record inflation and rapidly bring down costs and prices. The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices, and that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby drill.”

He continued:

America will be a manufacturing nation once again, and we have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have, the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth. And we are going to use it. Let me use it.

We will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again right to the top, and export American energy all over the world.

We will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it with my actions. Today, we will end the Green New Deal, and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American auto workers. In other words, you’ll be able to buy the car of your choice.

We will build automobiles in America again at a rate that nobody could have dreamt possible just a few years ago. And thank you to the auto workers of our nation for your inspiring vote of confidence. We did tremendously with their vote.

I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families. Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.

For this purpose, we are establishing the external revenue service to collect all tariffs, duties and revenues. It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our treasury coming from foreign sources. The American dream will soon be back and thriving like never before to restore competence and effectiveness to our federal government, my administration will establish the brand new department of government efficiency.

Donald Trump then declared he will sign a series of executive orders that will impose strict anti-migration policies across the country, and surely spark legal challenges:

I will sign a series of historic executive orders. With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense. It’s all about common sense.

First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came. We will reinstate my “remain in Mexico” policy.

I will end the practice of catch and release, and I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.

Under the orders I signed today, we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and by invoking the Alien Enemies act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to US soil, including our cities and inner cities.

The claim: Donald Trump said the US has provided sanctuary and protection for “dangerous criminals”, many of who he says come from “prisons and mental institutions” and illegally entered the US.

The facts: Trump has made these claims many times before, without offering any evidence. Although some US cities have seen an influx of immigrants, most have arrived legally, with work permits or with authorization to stay while their cases are worked out in the courts.

Overall, immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than the US-born according to multiple studies, including from the conservative Cato Institute.

Donald Trump then cast himself as a heaven-sent savior who will solve America’s problems.

“My recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal and all of these many betrayals that have taken place, and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy, and indeed, their freedom. From this moment on America’s decline is over,” he said.

The president continued:

Our liberties and our nation’s glorious destiny will no longer be denied, and we will immediately restore the integrity, competency and loyalty of America’s government. Over the past eight years, I have been tested and challenged more than any president in our 250 year history, and I’ve learned a lot along the way.

The journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one, that I can tell you. Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed to take my life. Just a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear, but I felt then and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.

Donald Trump then shifted to criticizing Joe Biden for failing to manage border security and other crises that occurred on his watch.

“We now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home, while at the same time stumbling into a continuing catalog of catastrophic events abroad. It fails to protect our magnificent, law-abiding American citizens, but provide sanctuary and protection for dangerous criminals, many from prisons and mental institutions that have illegally entered our country from all over the world,” Trump said.

“We have a government that has given unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders, but refuses to defend American borders, or, more importantly, its own people.”

He then sought to blame his Democratic predecessor for various natural disasters that have occurred in recent months:

Our country can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency, as recently shown by the wonderful people of North Carolina, been treated so badly, and other states who are still suffering from a hurricane that took place many months ago.

Or more recently, Los Angeles, where we are watching fires still tragically burn from weeks ago without even a token of defense. They’re raging through the houses and communities even affecting some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country, some of whom are sitting here right now. They don’t have a home any longer. That’s interesting. We can’t let this happen.

Trump quickly shifted to airing his own grievances, vowing an end to the “weaponization” of the justice department.

The president and his allies have used the word to accuse the justice department under Joe Biden of pursuing politicized prosecutions.

“Our sovereignty will be reclaimed, our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced,” Trump said. “The vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the justice department and our government will end, and our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud, prosperous and free. America will soon be greater, stronger and far more exceptional than ever before.”

Donald Trump immediately struck a nationalistic tone in his inaugural address, vowing to “put America first”.

“The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer during every single day of the Trump administration, I will, very simply, put America first,” he said.

Donald Trump has stepped up to the podium in the Capitol rotunda for the inaugural address that will kick off his second term in the White House.

We soon expect Donald Trump to make his second inaugural address.

The president is expected to shift his tone from the “American carnage” speech he delivered in 2017, when he began his first term. Here’s more: