Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, returning to power with a promise to end America’s decline and to “completely and totally reverse” the actions of the man who drove him from office four years ago.
Mr Trump overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and two assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, and he planned to act swiftly after the ceremony.
Dozens of executive orders have already been prepared for his signature to clamp down on border crossings, increase fossil fuel development and end diversity and inclusion programmes across the federal government.
A desk was set up on stage at the Capital One Arena so Mr Trump could start signing the paperwork before an audience of cheering supporters wearing Make America Great Again hats.
The celebratory event resembled one of Mr Trump’s campaign rallies, but with all the official fanfare of the presidency, including military bands.
Under his administration, he said, “our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced”.
Mr Trump claimed “a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal”, promising to “give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and indeed their freedom”.
“From this moment on,” he added as Mr Biden watched from the front row, “America’s decline is over.”
Other goals will prove more difficult, perhaps testing the patience of supporters who were promised quick success.
Mr Trump has talked about lowering prices after years of inflation, but his plans for tariffs on imports from foreign countries could have the opposite effect.
Frigid weather rewrote the pageantry of the day.
Mr Trump’s swearing-in was moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda – the first time that has happened in 40 years – and the inaugural parade was replaced by an event at an arena.
Throngs of Trump supporters who descended on the city to watch the inaugural ceremony on the West Front of the Capitol from the National Mall will be left to find somewhere else to view the festivities.
Mr Trump followed moments after noon, using both a family bible and the one used by President Abraham Lincoln at his 1861 inauguration as Chief Justice John Roberts administered his oath.
A cadre of billionaires and tech titans – including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai – were given prominent positions in the Capitol Rotunda, mingling with Mr Trump’s incoming team before the ceremony began.
Mr Trump began the day with a prayer service at St John’s Episcopal Church.
He and his wife, Melania, were later greeted at the North Portico of the executive mansion by outgoing president Mr Biden and first lady Jill Biden for the customary tea and coffee reception.
It was a stark departure from four years ago, when Mr Trump refused to acknowledge Mr Biden’s victory or attend his inauguration.
“Welcome home,” Mr Biden said to Mr Trump after the president-elect stepped out of the car.
After the ceremony, Mr Trump walked with Mr Biden to the building’s east side, where Mr Biden departed via helicopter to begin his post-presidential life.
Mr Trump followed Mr Biden’s departure with freewheeling remarks to supporters, revisiting a litany of conspiracy theories about voter fraud and grievances against perceived enemies such as former Republican Representative Liz Cheney, whom he called “a crying lunatic”.
He spoke for even longer than in his inaugural address, saying: “I think this is a better speech than the one I gave upstairs.”
Mr Trump’s inauguration realised a political comeback without precedent in American history.
Four years ago, he was voted out of the White House during an economic collapse caused by the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Trump denied his defeat and tried to cling to power.
But Mr Trump never lost his grip on the Republican Party and was undeterred by criminal cases and two assassination attempts as he steamrolled rivals and harnessed voters’ exasperation with inflation and illegal immigration.
Mr Trump used his inaugural address to repeat his claims that he was targeted by political prosecutions, and he promised to begin “fair, equal and impartial justice”.
He also acknowledged that he was taking office on Martin Luther King Jr Day, which honours the killed civil rights hero.
Mr Trump said: “We will strive together to make his dream a reality,” and he thanked black and Latino voters for their support in November.
Now Mr Trump is the first person convicted of a felony – for falsifying business records related to hush money payments – to serve as president.
He has said that one of his first acts in office will be to pardon many of those who participated in the riot.
Eight years after he first entered the White House as a political newcomer, Mr Trump is far more familiar with the operations of federal government and emboldened to bend it to his vision.
Mr Trump wants to bring quick change by curtailing immigration, enacting tariffs on imports and rolling back Democrats’ climate and social initiatives.
He has also promised retribution against his political opponents and critics, and placed personal loyalty as a prime qualification for appointments to his administration.
With minutes to go before leaving office, Mr Biden issued pre-emptive pardons to his siblings and their spouses to shield them from the possibility of prosecution.
Earlier in the day, Mr Biden took a similar step with current and former government officials who have been the target of Mr Trump’s anger.
Mr Biden said “these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing”.
Mr Trump has pledged to go further and move faster in enacting his agenda than during his first term, and already the country’s political, business and technology leaders have realigned themselves to accommodate Mr Trump.
Democrats who once formed a “resistance” are now divided over whether to work with Mr Trump or defy him.
Billionaires have lined up to meet with Mr Trump as they acknowledge his unrivalled power in Washington and his ability to wield the levers of government to help or hurt their interests.
Mr Trump said he would lead a government that “expands our territory”, a reference to his goals of acquiring Greenland from Denmark and restoring US control of the Panama Canal.
He also said he would “pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars”, a key goal of Mr Musk, who cheered and pumped his arms above his head as Trump spoke.
Also present in the Rotunda was the head of TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned social media app deemed a national security risk by the US.
Mr Trump has promised to lift an effective ban on TikTok through one of many executive orders expected to be issued on Monday as the new president attempts to show quick progress.
Mr Trump is planning to swiftly reinstitute his 2020 playbook to crack down on the southern border – again declaring a national emergency, limiting the number of refugees entering the US and deploying the military.
Mr Trump will also sign an executive order aimed at ending diversity, equity and inclusion programmes within the federal government.
The order will direct federal agencies to co-ordinate with the White House on identifying and terminating DEI programmes.
Conservatives have long criticised programmes that give preference based on race, gender and sexual orientation, arguing they violate the constitution.
Other orders are expected to allow more oil and gas drilling by rolling back Biden-era policies on domestic energy production and rescind Mr Biden’s recent directive on artificial intelligence.
Mr Trump wants to unwind diversity, equity and inclusion programmes known as DEI, require employees to come back to the office and lay the groundwork to reduce staff.
With control of Congress, Republicans are also working alongside the incoming administration on legislation that will further roll back Mr Biden’s policies and institute their own priorities.
