WASHINGTON : Donald Trump was Monday sworn in as the 47th U.S. president returning to the White House, with a pledge to transform the role of the U.S. on the world stage, as Republicans assume control of Washington and set out to reshape the country’s institutions.
In his address at the solemn ceremony, the president declared a national emergency at the southern border, send armed troops there and resume a policy forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their U.S. court dates.
The inauguration completes a triumphant comeback for a politician who survived two impeachment trials, a felony conviction, two assassination attempts and an indictment for attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Trump recited the oath of office at his inauguration ceremony inside the Rotunda of the Capitol. It was moved indoors because of below-freezing in the nation’s capital.
Former US presidents, cabinet ministers, Supreme Court justices, current and former U.S. lawmakers, and heads of major U.S. companies attended the solemn ceremony. Pakistan was represented by its ambassador to the United States, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh.
“The golden age of America begins right now,” Trump declared as he began a 29-minute Inaugural Address.
He added: “My recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal and all these many betrayals that have taken place and give people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and indeed their freedom. From this moment on, America’s decline is over.”
In his address, he painted a grim portrait of a country on its knees that only he can revive.
He said he would rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and promised to seize the Panama Canal. “We’re taking it back,” he said.
He said he returns to the presidency “confident and optimistic” and that it is the “start of a thrilling new era of national success”.
“Sunlight is pouring over the entire world and America has the chance to seize this opportunity like never before,” he added
Trump continued to use his first speech to attack the Biden administration and its handling of the migrant crisis.
He said the country’s challenges will be “annihilated”, adding that the US is confronting a crisis of “trust over radical and corrupt establishment”.
The previous administration, he said, has provided sanctuary and protection for “dangerous criminals” who have illegally entered our country.
The government has given “unlimited funding to the defence of foreign borders” but refuses to defend American borders, he claimed.
“We now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home,” Trump said.
Trump talked about the hurricane in North Carolina and the Los Angeles fires.
He said the fires affected some of the wealthiest and most powerful, some of whom are sitting here right now.
“They don’t have a home any longer. That’s interesting,” he told the Capitol Rotunda audience.