PRESIDENT Donald Trump has outlined his vision for America in his inauguration speech – from cracking down on migrants to making the US rich again.
The Republican also slammed his political rival saying Joe Biden’s last minute pardons were “disgraceful” and “unfortunate”.
Trump’s second speech was much more upbeat compared to his first inauguration in 2017 where he memorably spoke about “American carnage”.
This time, he assumed office from inside the Capitol rotunda with family, former presidents, and tech tycoons watching on.
The speech struck a calmer tone from the president, but Trump went big on ambition and big on contentious issues that are going to upset a lot of people.
Here are the five key takeaways from Trump’s address.
American ‘golden age’
Trump pledged “the golden age of America begins right now” and that the US was entering the “start of a thrilling new era”.
He says the era of American decline is over.
He vowed to send troops to the US-Mexico border, boost domestic oil production, and impose tariffs to “enrich our citizens.”
Trump pledged to “unify” the country and wore a purple tie, the merging of blue and red, to demonstrate that.
Cartels to be declared terrorists
Trump highlighted immigration as one of first areas he will take strong action on.
Cartels are set to be officially declared as terrorists which will give him more power to crush the violent Mexican drug smuggling gangs.
That will give him more powers to freeze assets, stiffen penalties, and it could also pave the way for military action.
Trump is also set to declare an official border emergency on the southern border.
He said: “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 they came.
“”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.””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.
Crisis of trust in govt
Trump attacked the government and America’s previous leadership saying it had left the country in such a state that it couldn’t solve problems.
He said the government could not protect its own citizens from “dangerous criminals”.
“We now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home, while at the same time stumbling into a continuing catalogue of catastrophic events abroad.
“For American citizens, January 20, 2025, is liberation day. It is my hope that our recent presidential election will be remembered as the greatest and the most consequential election in the history of our country.”
He said the government faced a crisis of trust and his presidency would reclaim “sovereignty”.
Trump claimed “a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal”, promising to “give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and indeed their freedom”.
Pledged to put a man on Mars
Elon Musk looked delighted when Trump spoke about putting the Stars and Stripes on Mars.
The SpaceX tycoon beamed and gave a double thumbs up when Trump spoke about “manifest destiny” into the “stars”.
“The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons.”
‘Common sense revolution’
Trump has vowed to govern through common sense and pledged to row back green policies, getting a standing ovation when he said: “drill, baby, drill”.
He also promised to be leading from the center with a revolution of “common sense”.
Trump also promised to remake an education system he said teaches children to hate America.
Some of the left-wing states will kick back on a lot of the stuff that Trump tries to take on.
It’s going to set up a big battle to come.
Presidential inauguration attendees
Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the next president of the United States on January 20, 2025.
The swearing-in ceremony for President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance is scheduled to take place at noon EST.
Who is attending the inauguration?
Several politicians, foreign leaders, and tech gurus are set to attend Trump’s inauguration. The list of confirmed guests includes:
- President Joe Biden
- Vice President Kamala Harris
- Former President Barack Obama
- Former President George W. Bush
- Former First Lady Laura Bush
- Former President Bill Clinton
- Former First Lady Hillary Clinton
- New York City Mayor Eric Adams
- Argentinian President Javier Milei
- Tesla owner Elon Musk
- Apple CEO Tim Cook
- TikTok CEO Shou Chew
- Amazon owner Jeff Bezos
- Google CEO Sundar Pichai
- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg
- Open AI CEO Sam Altman
- Former Prime Minister of the UK Boris Johnson
- Singer Carrie Underwood
- Singer Christopher Macchio
- Musical group the Village People
- YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul and his brother Logan Paul
The list of potential attendees includes:
- El Salvador President Nayib Bukele
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
- An official envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping
- UFC President Dana White
- Television personality Amber Rose
- Journalist Megyn Kelly
- Media personality Caitlyn Jenner
Who will not attend the inauguration?
- Former First Lady Michelle Obama
- Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
