Donald Trump has been sworn in as president of the US for a second term 鈥 and this time there won鈥檛 be any arguments about crowd sizes. The most glaringly obvious difference in optics this time round for both those in attendance and the millions watching around the world was the fact this year鈥檚 ceremony was conducted indoors. The US has been experiencing significant . As guests gathered in Washington DC to see Trump sworn in as 47th US president, the temperature was around -6掳C.
Trump on social media last Friday that the ceremony would be moved to the US Capitol building鈥檚 Rotunda. This is not the first time the ceremony has been held there 鈥 Ronald Reagan also moved his inauguration to the Rotunda in 1985 because of the cold weather.
Looking on was the Trump family 鈥 his wife Melania, and his children Ivanka, Barron and Donald Jr. Joining them were many of the former residents of the White House, including Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill and Hillary Clinton, as well as First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. Michelle Obama and Karen Pence, the wife of Trump鈥檚 former vice president Mike Pence, skipped the inauguration.
Amassed inside was an audience of the high and mighty of the American business world, including the leaders of the major tech companies. Elon Musk, who spent US$300 million (拢243 million) on supporting Trump鈥檚 election was joined in prominent seats by Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook of Apple and Sundar Pichai of Google. It was the first time they had all congregated together since the in July 2020 over their companies鈥 dominance in the tech market.
International political leaders do not traditionally attend the inauguration. But , Argentinian president Javier Milei and Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni were invited by Trump. The UK鈥檚 prime minister, Keir Starmer, maintained tradition and sent Dame Karen Pierce, the outgoing British ambassador to the US. Boris Johnson, the former UK prime minister and a longtime supporter of Trump, also looked on.
Other audience members included media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and the president of football鈥檚 governing body Fifa, Gianni Infantino, as well as leading sportsmen and celebrities such as YouTube influencers Jake and Logan Paul.
The key takeaways
After swearing his oath, Trump delivered his second . He that 鈥渢he golden age of America begins right now鈥. Criticising Biden鈥檚 administration, he said he would end 鈥渢he vicious violent and unfair weaponisation鈥 of the justice department", and that 鈥渢he scales of justice will be rebalanced鈥. 鈥淥ur top priority will be to create a nation that is proud, prosperous and free鈥, he added.
Turning to immigration, Trump continued his assault on the Biden administration, stating that the Democratic White House had protected illegal immigrants that were 鈥渄angerous criminals鈥. This, he said, had led to a crisis in the nation鈥檚 political institutions. 鈥淲e now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home.鈥
To loud applause, Trump said the solution to the crisis was to declare a national emergency on the Mexico border. This will involve sending more troops and funds to the region, and declaring the cartels as 鈥渇oreign terrorist organisations鈥. By using the of 1798, Trump also said he would use the 鈥渇ull and immense power of the federal and state law enforcement鈥 to combat criminal gangs in the US.
To finance this, Trump promised to make America a 鈥渞ich nation again鈥. He pledged to beat inflation and 鈥渞apidly bring down costs and prices鈥. As well as the emergency on the southern border, he declared an energy emergency that he would defeat through increased oil and gas drilling. 鈥淒rill baby drill鈥, he said to acclaim from inside the Rotunda.
Trump then declared there are 鈥渙nly two genders 鈥 male and female鈥 in the US. He vowed to make this an official policy of his government, and an executive order that would roll back protections for transgender people and terminate diversity, equity and inclusion programmes within the federal government.
For his international partners, he promised tariffs and the resumption of American control of the Panama Canal (it was turned over to Panama in 1999). Much to Hillary Clinton鈥檚 , Trump promised to rename the Gulf of Mexico the 鈥淕ulf of America鈥 and to increase US territory.
Where might this territorial gain be made? 鈥淲e will pursue our manifest destiny鈥, Trump said, 鈥渢o plant the stars and stripes on planet Mars鈥. While clearly popular with the onlooking Elon Musk, such territorial claims in space are prohibited by the , to which the US is a signatory.
There will now be much speculation about the implications of what Trump said. But what is just as interesting is what he left out. There was no mention of the conflict in Ukraine, or of Russia and Nato. And precious little of China.
American carnage
His 2025 speech was a reworking of his denunciation of 鈥淎merican Carnage鈥 in 2017. Instead he vowed to halt the American decline of the past four years. But the common theme in both was his pledge to .
Although Trump declared he would declare a national emergency on the southern border, what will happen over the next four years is unclear. Trump has promised a raft of radical and contentious initiatives in his effort to 鈥渕ake America great again鈥. What is certain is that there will be an array of from the Trump White House, with a particular focus on immigration.
Whether the US has the infrastructure to initiate the promised , which is unlikely without the support of the armed forces, or the legal footing to nullify the 14th Amendment鈥檚 to all those born in the US (doubtful, although the US Supreme Court is as right-leaning as 鈥 if not more than 鈥 it has been for the best part of a century) remains to be seen. But many Trump supporters will believe their 鈥済olden age鈥 has just begun.
, Teaching Fellow in International Security,
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