Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, returning to power with a promise to end America’s decline and to “completely and totally reverse” the actions of the man who drove him from office four years ago.
Trump overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, and he planned to act swiftly after the ceremony. Dozens of executive orders were prepared for his signature to clamp down on border crossings, increase fossil fuel development and end diversity and inclusion programs across the federal government.
"The golden age of America begins right now," Trump declared.
The orders from the incoming Republican president will begin the process of unravelling the Democratic agenda of Joe Biden, whose term ended at noon, moments before Trump took the oath of office.
Highlights from Donald Trump's inauguration. – AP
Trump began signing executive orders onstage at a downtown arena after the inauguration parade as thousands of supporters cheered, melding the theatrics of his campaign rallies with the formal powers of the presidency. He froze the issuing of new regulations, asserted his control over the federal workforce and withdrew from the Paris climate agreement.
Trump also rescinded dozens of directives issued by Biden, including those relating to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, the environment and sanctioning Israeli settlers involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. When finished, he tossed the pens into the crowd.
“We won, we won, but now the work begins," Trump said.
Trump declares that 'the golden age of America begins right now'. – AP
Earlier, declaring that government faces a “crisis of trust”, Trump delivered his inaugural address, claiming “a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal", and promising to “give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and indeed their freedom”.
“Our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced,” he said. “From this moment on, America’s decline is over.”
The executive orders are the first step in what Trump calls “the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense".
Frigid weather rewrote the pageantry of the day. 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 a downtown arena. Trump supporters who descended on the city to watch the ceremony outside the Capitol from the National Mall were left to find other places to view the festivities.
US President Donald Trump presents an executive order during the inaugural parade in Capital One Arena. – Reuters
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.
Trump, who surpassed Biden as the oldest president ever to be sworn in, used both a family Bible and the one used by President Abraham Lincoln at his 1861 inauguration as Chief Justice John Roberts administered his oath just after noon.
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 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.
Outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump in November, was seated next to Biden in a section with former Presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016, arrived with her husband Bill, but Obama's wife, Michelle, chose not to attend.
President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office. – AP
Trump began the day with a prayer service at St John’s Episcopal Church. He and his wife, Melania, were later greeted at the White House 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 Trump did not attend Biden's inauguration.
“Welcome home,” Biden said to Trump.
The two presidents, who have spent years bitterly criticising each other, shared a limo to the Capitol. After the ceremony, Trump walked with Biden to the building's east side, where Biden departed via helicopter to begin his post-presidential life.
Trump followed Biden's departure by stopping by the Capitol's visitor centre and delivering an even longer, informal speech to supporters reminiscent of his freewheeling campaign rallies.
"I think this was a better speech than the one I made upstairs," Trump said.
Bill and Hillary Clinton, George W Bush and wife Laura and Barack Obama. – AP
Four years ago, he was voted out of the White House during an economic collapse caused by the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. Trump denied his defeat and tried to cling to power. He gave a speech which led to supporters marching on the Capitol while lawmakers were certifying the election results, sparking a riot that interrupted the country’s tradition of the peaceful transfer of power.
But 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.
"Many people thought it was impossible for me to stage such a historic political comeback," he said.
"I stand before you now as proof that you should never believe that something is impossible to do in America. The impossible is what we do best."
Trump used his inaugural address to state 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 slain civil rights hero.
“We will strive together to make his dream a reality,” Trump said.
Trump and Vance honoured at indoor inaugural parade. – AP
A desk was set up on stage at the Capital One Arena so Trump could start signing executive orders before an audience of cheering supporters wearing “Make America Great Again” hats.
The celebratory event resembled one of Trump’s campaign rallies, but with all the official fanfare of the presidency, including military bands.
He said he would declare a national emergency at the southern border with Mexico, dispatch troops there and resume a policy forcing asylum-seeking migrants to wait in Mexico for their US court hearings – all a prelude to what he described as an unprecedented operation to deport millions of immigrants. Republican colleagues applauded and Democrats sat stone-faced.
Shortly after the inauguration, US border authorities said they had shut down a Biden program that allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter the US legally by scheduling an appointment on an app. Existing appointments were cancelled.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. - AP
Trump's inauguration realised a political comeback without precedent in American history.
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’s 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, Trump is far more familiar with the operations of federal government and emboldened to bend it to his vision.
Trump wants to bring quick change by curtailing immigration, enacting tariffs on imports and rolling back Democrats’ climate and social initiatives.
Vice President JD Vance, President Donald Trump, and Vance's son Vivek at the indoor inauguration parade. – AP
Trump will not immediately impose new tariffs, instead the president said he expects to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting on February 1, but declined to flesh out his plans for taxing Chinese imports.
He has also promised retribution against his political opponents and critics, and placed personal loyalty as a prime qualification for appointments to his administration.
“It’s action, not words, that count, and you’re going to see a lot of action," Trump said.
With minutes to go before leaving office, Biden issued pre-emptive pardons to his siblings and their spouses to shield them from the possibility of prosecution. Earlier in the day, he also pardoned current and former government officials who have been the target of Trump's anger.
Biden said "these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing.”
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 him.
President Donald Trump speaks after taking the oath of office. – AP
Democrats are now divided over whether to work with Trump or defy him. Billionaires have lined up to meet with Trump as they acknowledge his unrivalled power in Washington and his ability to wield the levers of government to help their interests.
Long sceptical of American alliances, 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.
Trump, who had promised to end the Ukraine war even before he was sworn-in, did not mention the conflict in his inaugural address.
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" by launching American astronauts to Mars. Musk, the owner of a space rocket company with billions of dollars in federal contracts, cheered and pumped his arms above his head as Trump spoke.
Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk attend the inauguration. – AP
Trump plans to crack down on the US southern border with a playbook that's similar to his first term – declaring a national emergency, limiting the number of refugees entering the US and deploying the military.
He's also expected to try to end birthright citizenship automatically bestowed on people born in the US and to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government.
Trump will also sign an executive order aimed at ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government. The order will direct federal agencies to coordinate with the White House on identifying and terminating DEI programs.
Others orders are expected to allow more oil and gas drilling by rolling back Biden-era policies on domestic energy production and rescind Biden's recent directive on artificial intelligence.
With control of Congress, Republicans are also working alongside the incoming administration on legislation that will further roll back Biden's policies and institute their own priorities.
President Trump attends Commander-in-Chief, Liberty Inaugural Balls. – AP
After taking the oath of office and signing dozens of executive orders, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greeted supporters at the Commander in Chief Inaugural Ball.
The president and first lady danced to The Battle Hymm of the Republic, and they were joined by Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance.
"We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into, Trump said. "It's called peace through strength," he said.
The ball is geared toward military service members.
The President and First Lady also attended the Liberty Inaugural Ball, where they were joined by family members.