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 at 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, promising to dismantle his predecessor’s legacy by resuming construction of the border wall, imposing a travel ban and resuming oil and gas drilling in the United States.
“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 all over the world.”
With his hand on the Bible and his wife, Melania Trump, by his side, Mr. Trump received the oath administered by Chief Justice John Roberts.
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 own 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 to stop certification of Mr. Biden’s win on Jan. 6, 2021.
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On Monday, however, he joined President Grover Cleveland as the only other commander-in-chief to serve non-consecutive terms.
Mr. Trump claimed divine intervention in his victory, saying 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, best-selling 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. He was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The drama of the moment was underscored by the presence of former presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush.
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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 Gaza.
Though Mr. Trump acknowledged former presidents, including Mr. Biden, on Monday, he’s made it clear that his first few days will be used to repudiate the former president.
He took a direct shot at Mr. Biden, 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.
Mr. Trump has pledged to issue more than 200 executive orders on his first day. The stack of orders will roll back many of Mr. Biden’s climate-related policies such as ending the electric vehicle mandate, withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord and lifting restrictions on fossil fuel production.
Mr. Trump also will overhaul immigration enforcement, including restoring 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 will bring down energy prices and allow the U.S. to fill its strategic reserves while exporting energy, and he pledged to scrap President 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.”
Seats in the Rotunda were a coveted ticket in Washington. Current and former lawmakers joined Mr. Trump’s Cabinet picks and tech 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 Giuliani, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, podcaster Joe Rogan and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch also attended.
The Democratic National Committee mocked the inaugural ceremony, saying 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 — with some technical difficulties before it — and the national anthem from operatic singer Christopher Macchio.
This year’s inauguration is a stark contrast to his 2017 swearing-in ceremony in which 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.
Now Mr. Trump is heading back into office after an Electoral College landslide over Ms. Harris, sweeping all seven swing states and winning the popular vote.
His victory ran up big margins among his White rural and working-class base while making some significant inroads with Black and Hispanic voters.
The Republican Party now controls the House and Senate and a majority of Supreme Court justices were appointed by GOP presidents.
Most of Mr. Trump’s picks for his Cabinet and top administration posts are expected to sail through Senate confirmation. Even some of his more unconventional picks, such as Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth and Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are expected to get 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 a few hostages ahead of the Inauguration Day deadline set by Mr. Trump. Mr. Biden’s boosters have acknowledged Mr. Trump deserves some credit for the deal.
Still, Mr. Trump will be facing monumental challenges in his second term, including helping keep the ceasefire deal intact.
Voters returned Mr. Trump to the Oval Office largely on his promises of reversing inflation and reducing the cost of groceries, though Mr. Trump has softened some of those promises since being 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 to do so.
He will also have to decide what to do about TikTok, which went offline for U.S.-based users after a bipartisan law that effectively banned the app went into effect.
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.