Donald Trump is set to return to the U.S. presidency on Monday with an inauguration ceremony in Washington, marking his return for a non-consecutive term. This will make him the first president since the 1890s to serve non-consecutive terms.
The 78-year-old Trump will take the oath of office for a new four-year term while 82-year-old President Joe Biden will step down after serving just one term.
Due to cold weather the inauguration will be a smaller event than usual with only about 600 people attending the ceremony at the Capitol compared to the usual 250,000 who are granted tickets to the outdoor event.
Additionally the traditional inaugural parade along Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House has been canceled due to the weather. Instead, bands marching units and drill teams will perform for Trump his wife Melania Trump and other officials at the nearby 20,000-seat Capital One Arena. Lavish black-tie balls are still planned for the evening.
Trump pledged on Sunday to act swiftly and decisively to address the various crises facing the nation. He told supporters Tomorrow at noon the long years of America’s decline will end and we will begin a new era of strength and prosperity for America.
He plans to sign numerous executive orders upon taking office many of which will reverse policies put in place by the Biden administration. One of his key campaign promises is to carry out mass deportations of undocumented individuals in the country.
Trump has also vowed to impose higher tariffs on key trading partners including Canada China and Mexico.
In addition Trump has expressed intentions to pardon many of the 1,500 supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021 in an attempt to block Congress from certifying Biden’s 2020 election win. Trump has called those arrested and convicted patriots and hostages wrongly prosecuted.
Charges against Trump for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results were dropped when he defeated his Democratic opponent Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election due to a longstanding Justice Department policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.
Trump will be the first felon to serve as U.S. president after his conviction last year on 34 criminal charges related to falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. However the judge did not impose any penalties on him.
Trump has pledged for months to end Russia’s war on Ukraine before taking office but in recent days his aides have indicated that the goal is now to broker a truce in the conflict within the first 100 days of his administration around the end of April.
Additionally Trump seeks to increase domestic oil drilling despite U.S. energy production surpassing consumption by a record amount in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Two transgender-related issues have also caught Trump’s attention. He has repeatedly referred to transgender women as men promising his supporters that he will prevent transgender women from competing in women’s sports. I will keep men out of women’s sports 100%, immediately on day one Trump declared at a political rally during his campaign. He has also been a vocal critic of gender-affirming care including hormone therapy and has pledged to revoke Joe Biden’s policies on gender-affirming care on his first day in office.
