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Published 23:11 IST, January 20th 2025

'Saved By God To Make America Great Again': Trump Returns to White House

Trump in his first remarks as the 47th president declared that the “golden age of America begins right now.”

Reported by: Digital Desk
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Washington: Referring to the assassination attempt against him, US President Donald Trump said that 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 was sworn in as the 47th president, 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. He pledged to "completely and totally reverse" the actions of his predecessor.

Here are some takeaways from Trump's speech

A promise of an American ‘golden age’

From the start, Trump’s speech tracked his campaign rally approach: big promises of national success due to his leadership, with plenty of sweeping indictments of the status quo.

“The golden age of America begins right now,” Trump said after ticking through the requisite nods to former presidents and other dignitaries. He added several more hyperbolic but nebulous promises: The ”start of a thrilling new era.” A nation “greater, stronger and far more exceptional than ever before.”

“Our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced,” he continued. “Our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud, prosperous and free.”

The underlying presumption, of course, is that Trump is inheriting what he called throughout the 2024 campaign “a failed nation.”

He vowed to fulfill campaign promises to send troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, boost domestic oil production and impose tariffs to “enrich our citizens.”

Trump calls America's past leadership corrupt

Trump described America’s leadership over the last four years as incompetent and corrupt, echoing some of the darker rhetoric he promoted on a daily basis as a presidential candidate on the campaign trail. He did not call out his predecessor, former President Joe Biden , or any other Democrats by name, but there was no question about whom he was talking.

“We now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home, while at the same time stumbling into a continuing catalog of catastrophic events abroad,” Trump charged.

He said the current government protects dangerous immigrants instead of law-abiding citizens, protects foreign borders at the expense of American borders and “can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency.”

And, as he often does, Trump cast him self as uniquely positioned to fix it all. “All of this will change starting today, and it will change very quickly,” he said.

Lying about wildfires

Trump’s lament about the state of the nation included disbelief that the fires around Los Angeles were still burning “without a token defense.” 

That’s false. Firefighters have been battling the blazes since they erupted and have made significant progress. The Eaton fire is 87% contained, and the Palisades fire 59% contained, according to CalFire.

A different scene indoors

Inaugural speeches are traditionally delivered on the National Mall in front of tens of thousands of cheering supporters, many of them average voters from across America, who traveled great distance to witness history in person.

Trump delivered his speech in front of a crowd estimated at only around 600 in the Capitol Rotunda, which was limited to members of Congress , Cabinet nominees, Trump's family, business leaders and political VIPs. In fact, a collection of tech titans, led by Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, were positioned in front of Cabinet members in some cases. And while the business leaders were allowed to bring their spouses, members of Congress were not. Thousands of his supporters watched a broadcast of the swearing-in at Capitol One Arena instead.

It’s noteworthy that four years ago, violent Trump loyalists stormed the Capitol Rotunda as members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence feared for their lives. Pence attended Monday, though his wife, former second lady Karen Pence, did not.

Updated 23:34 IST, January 20th 2025