On January 20th, 2025, recently inaugurated President Trump gave his much-anticipated inauguration speech on Capitol Hill. While much speculation had taken place about the contents of this speech prior, his actual address had mixed reviews from ‘unusual’ to ‘revolutionary’.
He began his speech by promising to put America first every day and striving to create a ‘golden age’ for the country. Soon, he turned over to the challenges he sought to tackle during his presidency; Trump described how “It fail[ed] to protect our magnificent, law-abiding American citizens but provide[ed] sanctuary and protection for dangerous criminals… that have illegally entered our country from all over the world.” He explained how he views America’s policies, both domestic and abroad, as incapable. He talked about the millions of dollars the US has given to protect foreign borders but accused them of not protecting their own. Furthermore, he discussed the education system, the healthcare system, and the government’s responses to national emergencies. He reviewed his election-day results and thanked several groups for their support and the trust they had placed in him.
Next, he mentioned a series of orders he would place about the border, including declaring a national emergency at the southern border, bringing back his Remain in Mexico policy, putting into motion the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, and more. He declared a national energy emergency and described how “America will be a manufacturing nation once again, and we have … the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on earth — and we are going to use it.” Trump ended the Green New Deal and removed the electric vehicle mandate; he then moved on to talk about how he would enforce tariffs on foreign countries in order to enrich American citizens. Much to the displeasure of the LGBTQ+ community and their supporters, he described how “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.” He promised that the name of the Gulf of Mexico would shortly be changed to the Gulf of America. He ended his speech by describing the ambition of America and how far it came to be where it is now, pledging that he would fight for every single one of our nation.
His speech earned a large range of reactions, many were confused as to why he did not bring up pardoning January 6th protestors, a common topic for him to discuss during his rallies. However, he did do so later. His comments about there being only two genders and the education system made many supporters of the left fearful of what is yet to come. However, proponents of President Trump and his policies were ecstatic to see the numerous changes he would make, primarily on the southern border. Responses from Democrats sitting near Trump while he was giving his speech highlighted this sharp difference in opinion. For example, when Trump described how he sought to make MLK’s dream a reality, some could see a small smirk on former President Biden’s face. Later, when Trump talked about renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, Hillary Clinton was seen laughing and shaking her head.
In conclusion, President Trump’s inaugural address covered several topics for which his stance was clear and described policies he would make for each one. Clashes between the supporters and opponents of Trump can already be seen as he makes these numerous changes.