President Donald Trump at turns outlined an optimistic vision of future American greatness as he took office for the second time, but alternately described a country that he said had "suffered greatly" over the past four years.
Trump in his inaugural address on Monday promised to return the United States to a “golden age,” respected all over the world, its safety restored, and called for an end to what he called the “vicious, violent and unfair weaponization” of the Justice Department.
But he said that the country now confronted a crisis of trust and that a “corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our citizens while the pillars of our society lay broken and seemingly in complete disrepair.”
While he delivered the rebuke of recent policy, now former-President Joe Biden sat stoically behind him in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
Trump offered a set of sweeping but sometimes seemingly contradictory pledges: He said he would 'stop all wars,' but threatened to take control of the Panama Canal and rename the Gulf of Mexico; he vowed economic prosperity and an age of freedom but hinted at changes that could threaten transgender and immigrant communities.
Trump had told NBC that his address would focus on unity but at times he delivered a speech with reminders of his 2017 “American carnage” address when he first took office.
The recommendations and outline came against the backdrop of an expected slate of executive actions that would target immigrant communities, transgender Americans and climate legislation.
U.S. & World
Invoking the Alien Enemies Act
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Echoing themes he campaigned on as he ran against now former Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump said he would declare a national emergency at the country’s border with Mexico and send troops to “repel the disastrous invasion of our country.”
He said he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deploy law enforcement against foreign gangs and criminal networks -- an act that the Brennan Center for Justice describes as wartime authority to allow a president to detain or deports citizens of an enemy country.
Trump also said he would rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. Names of natural features in the United States are maintained by the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, a division of the U.S. Geological Survey which encourages uniform geographic name usage throughout the federal government, according to its website.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted on X shortly after Trump raised the renaming earlier this month that she had directed staff to begin drafting legislation to change the name of the body of water.
Typically, the board "discourages name changes unless there is a compelling reason," according to the agency.
Trump also said he would once again change the name of Alaska's highest peak, Mount Denali, to Mount McKinley for former President William McKinley, whom Trump has admired.
The name dispute is long running and Alaska's senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both Republicans, favor Denali.
“You can’t improve upon the name that Alaska’s Koyukon Athabascans bestowed on North America’s tallest peak, Denali – the Great One,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in a statement in December. “For years, I advocated in Congress to restore the rightful name for this majestic mountain to respect Alaska’s first people who have lived on these lands for thousands of years. This is an issue that should not be relitigated.”
'Drill, baby, drill'
As expected, Trump returned to promoting oil and gas over green energy — “We will drill, baby, drill” — and said he would declare a national energy emergency to bring down prices and further the exportation of U.S. energy.
The United States was already the world’s largest exporter of natural gas in 2023, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Trump promised to revoke what he called an electric vehicle mandate to save the auto industry, a misleading statement about what actions the Biden administration took to try to curb climate change. The Biden administration had set a goal to make half of all new vehicles sold in the United States in 2030 zero-emissions and to build a network of 500,000 chargers to help make electric vehicles more accessible.
The Environmental Protection Agency had announced new emission standards for 2027 model year vehicles but did not say how many new cars must be all electric. The EPA had said that it expected automakers to offer a mix of electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles and those with cleaner internal combustion engines.
Biden’s signature climate legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, does include a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles through 2032.
Trump repeated that he would impose tariffs on imports from other countries, a position that many economists say would conflict with his promise to lower prices for American families. Companies would pass those additional costs on to their customers, raising prices for cars, food, clothing, and other goods, they say.
Reclaiming the Panama Canal
Trump called himself a unifier and peacemaker but threatened to retake the Panama Canal, claiming American ships were being severely overcharged. This month he refused to rule out using military force to regain control of the canal, while the president of Panama has written that all of the Panama Canal belongs to Panama.
Officials say all countries pay the same fees though they vary by the size of the ship. Nor does China does not operate the canal, as Trump implied.
"We gave it to Panama and we're taking it back," he said. "Above all my message to Americans today is that it is time for us to once again act with courage, vigor and the vitality of history's greatest civilization."
Officially recognizing two genders, male and female
On social issues, Trump said he would make two genders the official policy of the United States, a move that could harm transgender Americans, and insist on a society that is color blind and merit based.
"I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life," he said."
He said he would reinstate any service members who were "unjustly expelled" from the military for objecting to Covid vaccine mandates. More than 8,000 active-duty service members were discharged for failure to obey a lawful order when they refused the vaccine. Republicans said the mandate hurt recruiting and retention efforts and it was rescinded in 2021.
"Our armed forces will be free to focus on their sole mission, defeating America's enemies," he said.
