President Donald Trump declared he was "saved by God to make America great again" in his Inauguration Day speech on Monday, promising a bring the United States into a "golden age."
At the Inauguration Day ceremony held at the United States Capitol Rotunda on Monday, a newly sworn-in Trump briefly talked about the attack on his life on July 13, 2024, when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Trump, hitting the presidential candidate's right ear. Crooks was shot dead by a Secret Service counter-sniper several minutes later.
"The journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one," Trump said. "Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom, and indeed, to take my life.
"An assassin's bullet ripped through my ear, but I felt then and believe even more so now that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again."
Trump called his inauguration "liberation day" and assured Americans "we will not forget our country, we will not forget our Constitution, and we will not forget our God."
The 45th and 47th president also declared that "the golden age of America begins right now," adding that "from this day forward, our country will flourish, and be respected again all over the world."
"We will be the envy of every nation and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer," Trump continued. "I will, very simply, put America first."
Trump said he was signing a series of executive orders on various issues, including ones to tackle the illegal immigration crisis at the US southern border, counter inflation, and use the nation's extensive natural gas reserves to fight energy issues.
He also touted the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, getting rid of the "Green New Deal," and promising the end of the "weaponizing" of the federal government against "political opponents."
Trump also promised to remove DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programming, declaring that "we will forge a society that is colour-blind and merit-based," and said the government will only recognize "two genders, male and female."
The president also extended his appreciation to black and Hispanic communities and said in honour of Martin Luther King Jr, "we will strive to make his dream a reality."
The swearing-in ceremony was held inside the US Capitol due to the extremely cold temperatures outdoors, the first time an inauguration event was held indoors since 1985.
After Trump was sworn in as the 47th president, a choir and orchestral performance of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" by Julia Ward Howe was performed at the Capitol.
On the day before he was sworn in, Trump held a rally at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, vowing to "act with historic speed and strength to fix every single crisis facing our country."
"By the time the sun sets tomorrow evening, the invasion of our borders will have come to a halt, and all the illegal border trespassers will, in some form or another, be on their way back home," he said.
"Together, we're going to cut your taxes, end inflation, slash your prices, getting them back down, raise your wages and bring thousands of factories back to the USA right where they belong."
Trump assured attendees that, under his administration, schools "will teach our children to love our country, to honour our history and to always respect our great American flag, and we will get critical race theory and transgender insanity the hell out of our schools."
