Donald Trump becomes 47th president of United States

He was sworn in at the US Capitol Rotunda

Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, promising a “revolution of common sense” and taking charge as Republicans assume unified control of Washington and set out to reshape the country’s institutions.

Mr Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and two assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, will act swiftly after the ceremony, with executive orders already prepared for his signature to clamp down on border crossings, increase fossil fuel development and end diversity and inclusion programmes across the federal government.

Declaring that government faces a “crisis of trust”, Mr Trump said in his inaugural address that under his administration “our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced”.

Mr 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”.

He added: “From this moment on, America’s decline is over.”

The executive orders are the first step in what Mr Trump is calling “the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense”.

Frigid weather is rewriting the pageantry of the day.

Mr Trump’s swearing-in was moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda – the first time that has happened in 40 years – and the inaugural parade was replaced by an event at an arena.

Throngs of Trump supporters who descended on the city to watch the inaugural ceremony on the West Front of the Capitol from the National Mall will be left to find somewhere else to view the festivities.

At the Capitol, vice president JD Vance was sworn-in first, taking the oath read by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on a bible given to him by his great-grandmother.

Mr Trump followed moments after noon, using both a family bible and the one used by President Abraham Lincoln at his 1861 inauguration as Chief Justice John Roberts administered his oath.

A cadre of billionaires and tech titans – including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai – were given prominent positions in the Capitol Rotunda, mingling with Mr Trump’s incoming team before the ceremony began.

Also there was Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who is expected to lead an effort to slash spending and federal employees.

Mr Trump began the day with a prayer service at St John’s Episcopal Church.

He and his wife, Melania, were later greeted at the North Portico of the executive mansion by outgoing President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden for the customary tea and coffee reception.

It was a stark departure from four years ago, when Mr Trump refused to acknowledge Mr Biden’s victory or attend his inauguration.

“Welcome home,” Mr Biden said to Mr Trump after the president-elect stepped out of the car.

The two presidents, who have spent years bitterly criticising each other, shared a limo on the way to the Capitol.

Mr Trump’s inauguration realised a political comeback without precedent in American history.

Four years ago, he was voted out of the White House during an economic collapse caused by the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Trump denied his defeat and tried to cling to power.

He directed his supporters to march on the Capitol while legislators were certifying the election results, sparking a riot that interrupted the country’s tradition of the peaceful transfer of power.

But Mr Trump never lost his grip on the Republican Party and was undeterred by criminal cases and two assassination attempts as he steamrolled rivals and harnessed voters’ exasperation with inflation and illegal immigration.

Mr Trump used his inaugural address to repeat his claims that he was targeted by political prosecutions, and he promised to begin “fair, equal and impartial justice”.

He also acknowledged that he was taking office on Martin Luther King Jr Day, which honours the killed civil rights hero.

Mr Trump said: “We will strive together to make his dream a reality,” and he thanked black and Latino voters for their support in November.

Now Mr Trump is the first person convicted of a felony – for falsifying business records related to hush money payments – to serve as president.

He pledged to “preserve, protect and defend” the constitution from the same spot that was overrun by his supporters on January 6 2021.

He has said that one of his first acts in office will be to pardon many of those who participated in the riot.

Eight years after he first entered the White House as a political newcomer, Mr Trump is far more familiar with the operations of federal government and emboldened to bend it to his vision.

Mr Trump wants to bring quick change by curtailing immigration, enacting tariffs on imports and rolling back Democrats’ climate and social initiatives.

He has also promised retribution against his political opponents and critics, and placed personal loyalty as a prime qualification for appointments to his administration.

With minutes to go before leaving office, Mr Biden issued pre-emptive pardons to his siblings and their spouses to shield them from the possibility of prosecution.

He said in a statement that his family “has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats” and that he has “no reason to believe these attacks will end”.

Earlier in the day, Mr Biden took a similar step with current and former government officials who have been the target of Mr Trump’s anger.

Mr Biden said “these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing”.

Mr Trump has pledged to go further and move faster in enacting his agenda than during his first term, and already the country’s political, business and technology leaders have realigned themselves to accommodate Mr Trump.

Democrats who once formed a “resistance” are now divided over whether to work with Mr Trump or defy him.

Billionaires have lined up to meet with Mr Trump as they acknowledge his unrivalled power in Washington and his ability to wield the levers of government to help or hurt their interests.

Long sceptical of American alliances, Mr Trump’s “America First” foreign policy is being watched warily at home and abroad as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will soon enter its third year, and a fragile ceasefire appears to be holding in Gaza after more than 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas.

Mr Trump said he would lead a government that “expands our territory”, a reference to his goals of acquiring Greenland from Denmark and restoring US control of the Panama Canal.

He also said he would “pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars”, a key goal of Mr Musk, who cheered and pumped his arms above his head as Trump spoke.

Also present in the Rotunda was the head of TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned social media app deemed a national security risk by the US.

Mr Trump has promised to lift an effective ban on TikTok through one of many executive orders expected to be issued on Monday as the new president attempts to show quick progress.

Mr Trump is planning to swiftly reinstitute his 2020 playbook to crack down on the southern border – again declaring a national emergency, limiting the number of refugees entering the US and deploying the military.

He is expected to take additional actions – including constitutionally questionable ones – such as attempting to end birthright citizenship automatically bestowed on people born in the US.

Mr Trump will also sign an executive order aimed at ending diversity, equity and inclusion programmes within the federal government.

The order will direct federal agencies to co-ordinate with the White House on identifying and terminating DEI programmes.

Conservatives have long criticised programmes that give preference based on race, gender and sexual orientation, arguing they violate the constitution.

Other orders are expected to allow more oil and gas drilling by rolling back Biden-era policies on domestic energy production and rescind Mr Biden’s recent directive on artificial intelligence.

More changes are planned for the federal workforce.

Mr Trump wants to unwind diversity, equity and inclusion programmes known as DEI, require employees to come back to the office and lay the groundwork to reduce staff.

With control of Congress, Republicans are also working alongside the incoming administration on legislation that will further roll back Mr Biden’s policies and institute their own priorities.

Published: 20/01/2025 by Radio NewsHub