Donald Trump Ascends to Power After Surprise Second Win

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump, emboldened by his unprecedented political comeback, set to work unraveling Joe Biden ’s legacy Monday as soon as he was sworn in as the 47th president, claiming a mandate to reshape American institutions.

He began signing executive orders onstage at a downtown arena 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Trump also rescinded dozens of directives issued by Biden, including those relating to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, global warming and sanctioning Israeli settlers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 before a crowd of people in “Make America Great Again” hats.

Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States Monday, overcoming impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to take on a second term in the White House.

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The Republican president abandoned the more solemn tone of his inaugural address from earlier in the day and taunted his Democratic predecessor while scrawling his name in thick black ink on his executive orders.

“Could you imagine Biden doing this?” he said. “I don’t think so!”

Trump promised to issue pardons for “a lot of people” who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when he was trying to overturn Biden’s election victory. Despite widespread outrage over the riot, Trump has tried to recast the participants as patriots and “hostages” being held by an unfair justice system.

In the four years since losing to Biden, Trump overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, and his re-ascendence was fervently welcomed by his followers.

“We all believe God’s hand has been on this man to be elected,” said Pam Pollard, 65, a longtime Republican official from Oklahoma.

Trump declared in his inaugural address that the government faces a “crisis of trust.” Under his administration, he said, “our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced.”

Trump claimed “a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal,” promising to “give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and indeed their freedom.”

“From this moment on,” he added as Biden watched from the front row, “America’s decline is over.”

Also present at the ceremony was Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden on the ballot after he abandoned his reelection bid last summer, only to be defeated by Trump in the general election.

Trump’s executive orders are the first step in what he called “the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense.” Other goals will prove more difficult, perhaps testing the patience of supporters who were promised quick success. Trump has talked about lowering prices after years of inflation, but his plans for tariffs on imports from foreign countries could have the opposite effect.

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 with marching bands at Capital One 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.

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 followed, using both a family Bible and the one used by President Abraham Lincoln at his 1861 inauguration. Chief Justice John Roberts administered his oath.

Source: AFP