Less 'carnage,' more campaign in Trump's inaugural address

Donald Trump, who survived two impeachments, multiple indictments, two assassination attempts, and four years in the political wilderness to return in historic triumph, reclaimed the presidency Monday with a truculent attack on “a radical and corrupt establishment” and a promise that “the golden age of America begins right now.”

In an inaugural address that was part State of the Union address with new policies and part campaign speech with old grievances, he assumed all the powers he lost so ignominiously four years ago. Then, he left town in shame after triggering a violent attack on the Capitol in a vain effort to cling to office. Unsuccessful, he broke tradition and refused to attend the inauguration of his successor, Joe Biden.

This time, still basking in his election win, he took full advantage of Biden’s restoration of that tradition. The now-former president had to sit there, just feet away from Trump, and take a pummeling from his political adversary. The new president did not offer any of the standard grace notes about his predecessor. Instead, he repeatedly attacked Biden’s policies.

Biden did applaud when Trump took the oath. In an odd twist, the new president ignored the two Bibles held by first lady Melania Trump. Instead of putting his left hand on the Bibles, he kept his arm by his side when he intoned: “I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help me God.”

With those 42 words, he completed a most unlikely comeback for the ages, one he said "many people thought ... impossible." Indeed, only once in American history has a defeated president managed to win the office back. But Grover Cleveland faced none of the hurdles that stood in the way of the New York business mogul, who turned to politics late in life. Those obstacles—the impeachments, the felony conviction, the many other court cases—left Trump with scars, but also gave him a bullish determination.

Both the scars and the determination were on display less in his low-energy, often soft-spoken delivery and more in the new president’s expressions of victimhood and exceptionalism.

“Over the past eight years," he said, "I have been tested and challenged more than any president in our 250-year history, and I've learned a lot along the way. ... The journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one, that I can tell you."

The address was less dark than his "American carnage" speech of 2017, but considerably longer—29 minutes and 2,875 words compared to 16 minutes and 1,457 words. It was the longest inaugural speech of the television age and the longest since Herbert Hoover spoke 3,801 words in 1929.

It also was unusually political. Many past inaugural addresses have referred to hard-fought or bitter election campaigns, but always in the sense of healing wounds and unifying the country. In contrast, Trump reveled in his election triumph over then-Vice President Kamala Harris who, like Biden, had to sit there in silence as Trump revisited the wounds of the campaign.

“In recent years, our nation has suffered greatly, but we are going to bring it back and make it great again,” he said. “My recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal and all of these many betrayals that have taken place and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy, and indeed their freedom.”

To loud applause, he proclaimed, “For American citizens, January 20, 2025, is Liberation Day,” adding, “It is my hope that our recent presidential election will be remembered as the greatest and most consequential election in the history of our country.”

He then turned political analyst. Claiming that “the entire nation is rapidly unifying behind our agenda,” he cited what he called “dramatic increases in support from virtually every element of our society, young and old, men and women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, urban, suburban, rural.” He singled out African American and Hispanic voters “for the tremendous outpouring of love and trust that you have shown me with your vote."

"We set records, and I will not forget it,” he said. And he thanked “auto workers of our nation for your inspiring vote of confidence—we did tremendously with their vote.”

This was the first inauguration to include foreign leaders. Among those attending were Argentine President Javier Milei, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni. Trump's message to them and the world was to expect steep tariffs. “We will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens,” he said. “For this purpose, we are establishing the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues.” He predicted “massive amounts of money pouring into our treasury” from overseas.

In an ominous note for Ukraine in its battle to fend off Russia’s brutal occupation, he said the outgoing administration had given “unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders, but refuses to defend American borders or more importantly, its own people.”

He announced he is changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and threatened the government of Panama, accusing it of treating the United States “very badly” and calling the treaty that gave Panama control of the canal “foolish” and “broken.”

He also implicitly criticized Biden for his response to hurricane damage in North Carolina and fire damage in California. “Our country can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency, as recently shown by the wonderful people of North Carolina who have been treated so badly,” he said. In Los Angeles, he added, “We're watching fires still tragically burn from weeks ago without even a token of defense.”

He outlined several measures he will take on the border, including declaring a national emergency and invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to “use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil.” He also pledged, “I'll send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.”

At 78, the oldest president to be sworn in, Trump still provided a vigorous contrast to the outgoing president, whose tentative gait was on display as he welcomed his successor to the White House for the traditional tea and coffee before the two men shared a limo ride to the Capitol.

Trump began the day with the traditional church service at St. John's Episcopal Church at Lafayette Square. There was nothing traditional about his last visit to the church in 2020, when Park Police cleared protesters so he could hold a Bible aloft for a photo op.

Almost five years later, Trump returned to the church in peace and triumph. He attended the service on a day so cold that the swearing-in was moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda and the outdoor parade shifted to Capital One Arena.

In a reminder that an inauguration is a celebration of American values rather than a partisan event, all the living former presidents attended—Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. But, in a sign that hard feelings persist from past elections and from the violence of Jan. 6, 2021, there were notable absences. Trump’s first-term vice president Mike Pence was there, but his wife, Karen, was pointedly absent, reflecting her fury at Trump’s castigation of her husband on that day. Also missing was former first lady Michelle Obama, who has expressed an open disdain for Trump.

While moving the ceremony indoors was a disappointment to the hundreds of thousands who had hoped to attend and deprived Trump of the stunning view of Washington’s monuments, it did provide an equally impressive setting for the swearing-in.

The Capitol Rotunda was designed to evoke the Pantheon of Rome. Trump, with statues of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses Grant behind him, could be seen taking in the history of the setting with its fluted Doric pilasters, wreaths of olive branches, and paintings depicting key moments in the Revolutionary War. Over his left shoulder was John Trumbull’s Surrender of Lord Cornwallis; over his right shoulder was Trumbull’s General George Washington Resigning His Commission. Looming above all in the dome was Constantino Brumidi’s The Apotheosis of Washington.

Biden began the final day of his presidency with controversy, issuing sweeping preemptive pardons for members of his family, political allies in Congress, and figures like Anthony Fauci and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.

As he awaited the arrival of the Trumps on the North Portico of the White House, the outgoing president was asked what his message of the day was. Despite his well-known and deep-seated contempt for Trump, he replied, “Joy.” After a second, he amended that to, “Hope.”

Three hours later, as he seethed at Trump’s unexpected attacks, there was no joy evident.