The 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, delivered his inaugural address after he was elected president for the second time on Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The televised inauguration took place inside the U.S. Capitol as opposed to its traditional outdoor setting due to inclement weather, similar to the last indoor inauguration held in 1985 when President Ronald Reagan swore under oath. This decision left Trump’s supporters outside the Capitol in below-freezing temperatures.
Trump began his address by stating that the country has entered “the golden age of America” after he took the oath of office. He recognized the day of the inauguration as a liberation day for Americans, including his Black and Hispanic voters as he thanked them for their support and honoring King’s dream.
In his 30-minute inaugural address, Trump declared his “historic” executive orders that include sending troops to the southern border of the U.S. to stop immigrants from entering.
“All illegal entry will immediately be halted,” said Trump. “And we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.”
The next order declared by Trump is to end the Green New Deal, a plan to set environmental practices to combat climate change, to make the U.S. a manufacturing nation, as stated in his address. He further discussed his plans to revoke a national mandate of electric vehicles he claimed the Green New Deal posed despite no mentions of a mandate.
Trump relayed his message to his audience that the nation will experience economic growth and territorial expansion with new cities and a focus outside Earth.
“We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars,” said Trump.
Other executive orders, such as the use of free speech in social media, restricted discussions of gender and sexuality, a national price decrease on groceries, and propositions of foreign tariffs on imports, were addressed in his inaugural address and planned to be in effect on his first day in office.
Trump did not issue any executive order regarding healthcare during his speech despite mentioning a “concept of a plan” months prior.
