Donald Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, will be sworn in Monday as the 47th US president taking charge as Republicans claim unified control of Washington and set out to reshape the country’s institutions.
Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, moved indoors due to intense cold, and began at noon ET. Festivities started earlier when the incoming president arrived for service at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Here’s the latest:
Not-so-record inflation
Trump vowed to “defeat what was record inflation.”
Inflation peaked at 9.1 per cent in June 2022 after rising steadily in the first 17 months of Biden’s presidency from a low of 0.1 per cent in May 2020. The most recent data shows that as of December it had fallen to 2.9 per cent.
But other historical periods have seen higher inflation, such as a more than 14 per cent rate in 1980, according to the Federal Reserve.
Trump’s promised Day 1 executive orders
Here are a few of the executive orders Trump says he plans to issue on his first day
1. Several on immigration, including declaring a national emergency at southern border, reinstating the “remain in Mexico” policy and sending troops to the southern border.
2. Seeking a broad government effort to reduce inflation and reduce prices.
3. Declaring a “national energy emergency” and allowing for more energy production.
4. Ending what he has called an “electric vehicle mandate.”
Trump repeats unfounded immigration claim at the crux of his campaign In his inaugural address, Trump repeated a line he usually brought up during his campaign, saying that immigrants arriving in the country illegally come from prisons and mental institutions.
There is no evidence countries are sending their criminals or mentally ill across the border.
Trump’s inauguration address echoes his rally speeches
The speech Trump is delivering sounds a lot like his rally speeches, with plenty of grievance, including references to those who tried to “take my freedom” and the “weaponisation of our Justice Department.”
Trump, after leaving office, became the first former president to be indicted, convicted and sentenced. But he has long tried to cast his many investigations as politically motivated.
Some Democrats join standing ovation over border emergency
Trump is laying out his executive orders, starting with declaring a state of emergency on the southern border, which received a standing ovation from all Republicans and a few swing state Democrats, including Reps. Don Davis and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.
Trump wants to make Martin Luther King Jr.s dream a ‘reality’
Trump marked the fact that his inauguration is occurring on Martin Luther King Jr. Day., saying in his speech that his administration will “strive together to make his dream a reality.”
“We will make his dream come true,” Trump vowed of the Rev. King.
America’s decline is ‘over’
Trump referred to the assassination attempt against him, saying he was “saved by God to make America great again,” drawing a standing ovation from Republicans in the room while Democrats, including Biden and Harris, remained seated and still.
Trump says the election has given him “a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal” he says has 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.”
Trump lays into the federal government
Speaking just feet from former Biden, Trump is delivering a forceful critique of the federal government, which he says “cannot manage even a simple crisis at home.”
He cites the wildfires in California and flooding in North Carolina, crises about which he has repeatedly spread incorrect claims. He also points to “a continuing catalogue of catastrophic events abroad” and illegal immigration.
Trump: ‘The golden age of America begins right now’
Trump in his first remarks as the 47th president declared that the “golden age of America begins right now.”
“From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world,” he said.
Cheers erupt in Rotunda as Trump is sworn in
Trump’s family surrounds him after his swearing-in.
He kisses his wife, Melania, on the cheek — this time making it past the brim of her hat.
JD Vance has been sworn in by Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Chief Justice John Roberts has sworn in Trump for a second term as president
Inauguration Day on MLK Day
This is the third time a president has been sworn in on the federal holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also were sworn in for their second terms on the holiday.
The holiday honouring the civil rights leader was established nearly 40 years ago. It is observed on the third Monday of January every year.
The Constitution places Inauguration Day on January 20.
Klobuchar said the coincidence is “a further reminder we must strive to uphold the values in our Constitution.”
Speeches highlighting the “endurance” of American democracy
The bipartisan leaders of the 60th Inaugural Committee kicked off the ceremony by highlighting the importance of American democracy as the country is close to celebrating 250 years.
“Our great American experiment, grounded in the rule of law, has endured. So as we inaugurate a new president and vice president, let us remember that the power of those in this room comes from the people,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the committee chair, said in her speech.
