Donald Trump sworn in as 47th President of the United States

Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on Monday, marking his return to the Oval Office with a pledge to restore America to a “golden age.”

Trump addressed the nation after taking the Oath of Office for the second time and is expected to use his inaugural address remarks to call for a “revolution of common sense.” 

“I return to the presidency confident and optimistic that we are at the start of a thrilling new era of national success. A tide of change is sweeping the country,” Trump will say. “My message to Americans today is that it is time for us to once again act with courage, vigor, and the vitality of history’s greatest civilization.”

The president will deliver his remarks from the Capitol Rotunda Monday due to an arctic blast that hit the nation’s capital, with frigid temperatures forcing the inaugural ceremonies to be moved indoors for the first time in four decades.

Trump, who won the Electoral College and popular vote, defeating now-former Vice President Kamala Harris in a landslide, has vowed that his second administration will bring “the golden age of America.”

President Donald Trump’s second inaugural address sounded a lot like his first, with a sweeping indictment of the country he inherits and grand promises to fix its problems.

Eight years ago, Trump described “American carnage” and promised to end it immediately. On Monday, he declared that the country’s “decline” will end immediately, ushering in “the golden age of America.”

Trump added a long list of policies that sounded more at home in a State of the Union speech than an Inauguration Day address. But the broad themes were fundamentally Trumpian, setting himself up as a national savior.

Breaking tradition, the Republican president delivered his remarks from inside the Capitol Rotunda due to the bitter cold outside. He spoke to several hundred elected officials and pro-Trump VIPs, tech titan Elon Musk among them.

Here are some takeaways from the speech:

A promise of an American ‘golden age’

From the start, Trump’s speech tracked his campaign rally approach: big promises of national success due to his leadership, with plenty of sweeping indictments of the status quo.

“The golden age of America begins right now,” Trump said after ticking through the requisite nods to former presidents and other dignitaries. He added several more promises: The ”start of a thrilling new era.” A nation “greater, stronger and far more exceptional than ever before.”

“Our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced,” he continued. “Our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud, prosperous and free.”

The underlying presumption, of course, is that Trump is inheriting what he called throughout the 2024 campaign “a failed nation.”

He vowed to send troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, boost domestic oil production and impose tariffs to “enrich our citizens.”

Trump calls America’s past leadership corrupt

Trump described America’s leadership over the last four years as incompetent and corrupt, echoing some of the darker rhetoric he used daily on the campaign trail.

He did not mention his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, or any other Democrats by name. But there was no question about whom he was talking.

“We now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home, while at the same time stumbling into a continuing catalog of catastrophic events abroad,” Trump charged.

He said the current government protects dangerous immigrants instead of law-abiding citizens, protects foreign borders at the expense of American borders and “can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency.”

“All of this will change starting today, and it will change very quickly,” he said.

As of Monday, Republicans control all three branches of the federal government.