Triumphant Trump promises show of strength on return to White House

Donald Trump will be inaugurated as U.S. president on Monday, marking the start of another chaotic four-year term with pledges to extend the boundaries of executive authority, expel millions of immigrants, seek revenge against his political foes, and alter the position of the U.S. globally.

Trump’s inauguration marks a remarkable return for a political outsider who endured two impeachment trials, a felony conviction, two assassination attempts, and an indictment for trying to reverse his 2020 election defeat. The event will occur at noon (1700 GMT) in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, four years following the invasion by Trump’s supporters who attacked the emblem of American democracy in a failed attempt to prevent the Republican’s 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. The swearing-in took place indoors for the first time in four decades because of the severe cold.

Trump, the first U.S. president since the 19th century to achieve a second term after losing the White House, has stated he will grant pardons “on Day One” to many of the over 1,500 individuals charged related to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault. In one of his final actions, Biden granted pardons to lawmakers and congressional staff who looked into the riot, as well as to police officers who provided testimony.

This commitment is part of a series of executive orders regarding immigration, energy, and tariffs that Trump plans to enact immediately after being sworn in on Monday. During a rally reminiscent of a campaign on Sunday in Washington, Trump promised to implement strict immigration measures on his first day. He also committed to reversing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs on his first day when he assumes office on Monday, coinciding with Martin Luther King Day.

The ex-president comes back to Washington energized after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the national popular vote by over 2 million votes, driven by a surge of voter discontent with ongoing inflation, even though he narrowly missed achieving a 50% majority.

In 2016, Trump secured the presidency and the Electoral College even though he received almost 3 million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton.

Jeremi Suri, a historian of the presidency at the University of Texas at Austin, likened today’s times to the late 1800s, when Grover Cleveland became the only other president to achieve non-consecutive terms. Just like now, he mentioned, it was a period of turmoil, as industrial progress reshaped the economy, wealth disparity soared, and the percentage of immigrant Americans hit an all-time high. Trump, set to become the oldest president to take office, will benefit from Republican majorities in both houses of Congress that have been largely devoid of any internal dissenters. His advisors have proposed strategies to substitute nonpartisan officials with selected loyal supporters.

Prior to assuming office, Trump created a competing power center in the weeks following his electoral success, engaging with world leaders and sparking alarm by speculating about capturing the Panama Canal, annexing NATO ally Denmark’s territory of Greenland, and levying tariffs on the largest U.S. trading partners. His impact has already been evident in the recent Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement announcement. Trump, whose representative participated in the discussions in Qatar, had cautioned of “consequences” if Hamas failed to free its hostages prior to the inauguration.