Donald Trump pardoned some 1 500 of his supporters who attacked the US Capitol four years ago just hours after he became president on Monday, the 20th of January, as well as signed a series of executive orders to restrict immigration and roll back environmental regulations and racial and gender diversity initiatives, but took no immediate action to implement the tariffs that were one of his key campaign promises, quickly imposing his will on the US government, reports Reuters.
At the inauguration ceremony, Trump portrayed himself as God’s chosen one to save a nation in decline. His inauguration is a triumphant return for a politician who survived two assassination attempts and won the election despite a criminal record and prosecution linked to his efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 elections.
“God saved me to make America great again,” he said.
Although Trump tried to present himself as a peacemaker and uniter during his half-hour speech, his tone was often strongly partisan. He repeated false claims from his campaign that other countries were emptying their prisons in America and made familiar claims about criminal prosecutions.
Trump promised to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of the Americas and reiterated his intention to regain control of the Panama Canal.
Trump said he would send astronauts to Mars, prompting Musk, who has long talked about colonising the planet, to raise his hand during his speech in a gesture that was compared online to a Nazi salute.
With Biden sitting next to him, Trump made sharp accusations against his predecessor’s policies, from immigration to foreign affairs.
“We have a government that has given unlimited funding to protect foreign borders but refuses to protect America’s borders or, more importantly, its own people,” Trump said.
Back at the White House, he answered dozens of questions from reporters in the Oval Office and pardoned more than 1 500 of the 6th of January 2021 rioters, including those convicted of assaulting law enforcement officials and seditious conspiracy, as well as signing several other executive orders.
Trump’s decision to pardon the 6th of January rioters is expected to anger police, lawmakers and others threatened during the attack on the Capitol. Some 140 police officers were injured and four people, including a Trump supporter, died in the chaos.
“What a great feeling,” Trump said of returning to the Oval Office, where he signed numerous executive orders. “One of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”
After taking office, Trump was quick to crack down on illegal immigration. At the White House, Trump signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency on the US-Mexico border, which will allow the release of funds and the deployment of troops there.
He signed an executive order that will end the granting of citizenship to those born in the United States, which is certain to lead to a long-lasting legal battle. Another order designated Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organisations.
Trump once again withdrew from the Paris climate agreement, for the second time in a decade, excluding the US from global efforts to combat climate change, and also withdrew from the World Health Organisation
“We will get rid of all the cancer… caused by the Biden administration,” Trump said.
Other executive orders reversed the policies of the Biden administration on artificial intelligence and electric vehicles. He also froze federal hiring and ordered government workers to return to the office rather than work from home.
He also signed documents to create the “Department of Government Efficiency”, an external advisory board chaired by billionaire Elon Musk and aimed at cutting a large share of government spending.
More than a dozen non-partisan senior diplomats were asked to resign at the State Department as part of a wider plan to replace non-partisan civil servants with loyal ones.
He also announced that he would issue executive orders abolishing federal diversity programmes and require the government to recognise only the sexes assigned at birth.
Trump issued an executive order instructing federal agencies to investigate trade deficits and unfair practices, but did not impose the high tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada that he promised during his campaign, but announced that he would impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico on the 1st of February.
It is not yet known which of Trump’s exhaustive list of executive orders will have immediate effect, which are merely symbolic, and whether Congress or the courts can limit their impact.