With Donald Trump now officially sworn in as US president, we look at the key points from his 2025 inauguration speech.
It’s official! Donald Trump has now formally assumed office as the 47th President of the United States, following a star-studded inauguration ceremony held at the Capitol building in Washington DC on Monday 20th January 2025.
In his first address to the nation, Trump pledged that “the golden age of America begins right now” during a fiery speech in which he made a number of pointed remarks aimed at the previous administration, with former President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris seated just yards away.
Amid all the pomp and ceremony, the television cameras captured the great and good in attendance, including some of the world’s richest and powerful figures. The likes of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai were among the headline attendees in the Rotunda.
But aside from the rhetoric and politicking which often characterise Trump speeches, what did we actually learn from what was said? Let’s take a look at some of the most important conclusions we can draw from inauguration day.
Key Takeaways
1. No Tariffs on Day One
There was no mention in Trump’s speech about his plans to impose tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada on his very first day as president. Without confirming a timeline, he stated that “instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens”. This lack of detail backs up reports that the new administration will take extra time to properly examine the plans before signing any executive orders on the matter.
2. “Drill Baby Drill”
Addressing the issue of inflation, Trump blamed the ongoing crisis on “massive overspending and escalating energy prices”, adding that he will shortly declare a “national energy emergency” in a bid to tackle inflation directly. He then reiterated calls for America to become a “manufacturing nation once again” before stating, to rapturous applause, that his administration will accelerate the drilling of oil and gas on US soil. Notably, the president also said he “will revoke the electric vehicle mandate” – in reference to Biden’s existing clean energy tax credits.
3. Fixing the Southern Border
We did get some detail on Trump’s plans to tackle immigration via the southern border with Mexico, with the president emphatically declaring that all illegal entry will “immediately be halted”. Laying down a tough stance on the issue, Trump went on to say that his government will kickstart the process of returning millions of “criminal aliens” back to their country of origin. He also made it clear that his government will be reinstating the Remain in Mexico policy and designating the cartels as “foreign terrorist organisations”.
4. Tough Foreign Policy Stance
The president issued a string of blunt messages in his maiden address which would have ruffled the feathers of several world leaders. With China’s vice president Han Zheng looking on, Trump took a hard line, stating “China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.” He also repeated his calls to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America”. It remains to be seen what the repercussions of such bold statements will be, but it’s set to be an interesting development going forward.
5. Waging War on Woke Culture
In relation to both women’s rights and transgender issues, Trump went on the attack, proclaiming that “as of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.” As part of plans to bring back so-called American values, the president said he will protect women from radical gender ideology, while announcing that various American landmarks will be renamed to more appropriately honour the nation’s history.
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