CNN
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President Donald Trump will unleash his most intense and far-reaching show of presidential power on his first day in office, aiming to fundamentally change the course of America by sundown on Monday.
On the frigid day that forced him to take the oath of office as the 47th president, President Trump planned a blizzard of tough executive actions on immigration, energy production, transgender athletes and pardons for the January 6 rioters. are.
The first show of force, which Trump said Sunday was “close to 100 to be exact,” centered on Trump’s strongman persona and vision of an all-powerful presidency, aimed at causing violent chaos at home and abroad. This will likely set the tone for his second term. .
But before he takes office, outgoing President Joe Biden will exercise his extraordinary executive powers, reflecting the uncertainty of the national situation, potentially making him subject to President Trump’s vows to seek retaliation against his adversaries. Preemptive pardons were granted to public servants who were deemed to be sexually active.
The list includes former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, former top national infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, and members of Congress and staff who served on the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. is also included.
The pardon, which Biden stressed showed no wrongdoing, also extended to police officers who testified before the panel.
Trump warmed up for his second inauguration at Sunday’s victory rally in Washington, D.C. The gathering culminated in a kneeling, jerky dad dance with villagers and the deceased, a scene that would have astonished generations of starch-collared predecessors. His political anthem “YMCA” was a hit in the 1970s.
His informality underscored how the former real estate mogul, tabloid villain, and reality TV star became a cultural figure among millions of fans.
That MAGA mystique is also rooted in his resilience, having survived two assassination attempts, two impeachments, four criminal charges, and one conviction. His return to power is the most surprising second act in American history, as he exploited the same democratic process he sought to undermine to avoid resigning from office after the 2020 election. It means being one of the. It is also a dark omen for how imperialist presidents will seek to use their new powers.
President Trump is no longer the populist, nationalist outlier of the post-World War II presidents who have acted with similar assumptions about America’s role in the world. November’s victory means he remains a historically important figure no matter what happens over the next four years, as he becomes the second president to win non-consecutive terms.
And even before he took office, Trump achieved two major victories. First, the release of three hostages to Israel by Hamas on Sunday as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal was credited to his impending arrival. President Trump then rescued TikTok, which had been temporarily shut down pursuant to a federal ban imposed over concerns that the social media site could be manipulated by China, at least for now.
Each breakthrough demonstrated Mr. Trump’s talent as a showman and politician and his penchant for personal, improvisational use of presidential power. Since winning the November election, he has changed the political dynamics at home and around the world, after an aging Biden disappeared from the stage for months.
But in the case of TikTok and the Middle East, Trump’s first “victory” on Sunday quickly requires the president’s intense engagement and far-sighted strategic wisdom that his first administration couldn’t necessarily provide. , would be subject to far more complex negotiations and decisions. semester.
Mr. Trump won last year’s election just four years after he was ousted from office for failing to rebuild a disaffected and pandemic-stricken nation — something many voters said Mr. Biden rejected. They are tired of high prices and the border crisis, and they have lost. confidence in the government’s ability to help them;
So impatient voters may not give Trump much time. And the success or failure of a second term could depend on whether he can do basic things, such as lowering the price of staple foods like eggs and milk, which he has already admitted will be difficult to achieve. There is.
But on Sunday, Trump also raised hopes for change on several fronts at a jubilant rally. But the history of the presidency, the evidence of turmoil in his first term, and the slim majority in Congress suggest that such changes will be extremely difficult to achieve. .
“Everyone in our country will prosper. Every family will prosper and every day will be filled with opportunity and hope,” he promised. “We are on the cusp of a great four years for America.”
Much of Mr. Trump’s appeal lies in his combativeness and outsider integrity.
But the truth about his second term will only be revealed by looking beyond hyperbole and exaggeration to judge the depth and sustainability of his actions. His voters may like his aggressiveness. And Mr. Trump has forged a new coalition with more young voters, minorities, and working-class Americans than ever before. However, his actions alienate the other half of the country. And the promise of an inauguration eve will quickly be dashed by the ugly reality of a government that is almost certain to divide the Republican Party.
The expected “shock and awe” deportation raids and showdowns in Democratic-run cities are aimed at making a political statement, honoring campaign promises and deterring further immigration. But they could also create a climate of fear that would turn politically against Trump and the Republican Party and threaten the civil rights of Americans and immigrants.
Still, the president-elect, who is barred by the constitution from seeking a third term, took to the podium on Sunday to vow to “make significant changes.”The speed is as fast as one of Elon Musk’s SpaceX rockets. There is no doubt that we are aiming to launch at ”
“Starting tomorrow, we will act with historic speed and force to solve every crisis facing our country,” President Trump vowed at a euphoric victory party at Washington’s Capital One Arena.
Four years ago, an exasperated Trump flew out of Washington ahead of Biden’s inauguration and attended a farewell ceremony at Joint Base Andrews. He concluded, still humiliated two weeks after his supporters, fueled by election lies, stormed the U.S. Capitol. See you soon. ”
On that morning in 2021, no one could have imagined Trump’s stunning political resurgence as he delivered a spectacular speech on a vast red stage in front of thousands of MAGA followers on Sunday.
“We won,” Trump said at his first rally in Washington since Jan. 6, 2021, saying enough voters are hungry for government overhaul that Trump’s actions after the 2020 election He emphasized that he is ready to break away.
Typical of his “weaving” genre of rhetoric, this speech mixed demagogy and comedy, searing anti-immigrant rhetoric, warnings of impending world war, distorted facts, brazenness and showmanship. It was something. He mixed promises to end the war in Ukraine with riffs on grabbing the spotlight at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. His disdain for presidential decency demonstrated exactly why millions of Americans believe he is their true voice.
“We’re all going to be sworn in tomorrow. That’s how I see it,” Trump told supporters.
Trump will benefit from the legitimacy afforded him by his predecessor, who attended the inauguration, a privilege Biden did not have. And unlike Trump in 2020, Vice President Kamala Harris has accepted defeat in a democratic election.
Furthermore, the authoritarian tendencies that were evident in President Trump four years ago are why so many Americans fear his return.
Other countries around the world are also nervous. President Trump has already sparked political crises from Canada to Panama to Denmark with expansionist rhetoric during the transition period. Allies are nervous. But President Trump seems impatient for a summit with his most respected tyrants, China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
The scope of President Trump’s ambitions is vast.
“Tomorrow evening, by sunset, the border incursions will have stopped and all illegal border trespassers will have returned home in some way,” he said on Sunday.
Aides said they planned to sign several administrative documents immediately after being sworn into office and then sign more documents at Capital One Arena, the indoor venue for the inaugural parade.
He promised to “beat inflation,” provide the lowest-cost energy on the planet, cut taxes, lower prices, raise wages and use tariffs to bring thousands of factories back to the United States. President Trump said he would end the war in Ukraine, stop “chaos” in the Middle East, prevent World War III, end violent crime in cities and rebuild police and military. He said Los Angeles, which he plans to visit on Friday, has been rebuilt after the wildfires and will be “more beautiful” than before.
Achieving just some of these goals would make President Trump’s second term a miraculous success by modern standards. But he will have to do all this as a lame duck, hampered by the slim Republican majority in the House and the constant threat of a Democratic comeback in the 2026 midterm elections.
But the president-elect has the advantage of having been in the job once and having a clear sense of where he wants to go.
Trump gave himself valuable time for self-reflection during the rally, touching on his place in history and the possibility that a second term would leave a stronger and more widely accepted legacy than his first. Ta.
“Someday, 30, 40, 50 years from now, some of these young people are going to say, ‘I remember Donald Trump.'” He did a good job. He sent us (on our way). “He gave us a path,” he said.
But before that happens, there will be what Steve Bannon, a political leader in the Trump administration’s first term, calls “Thunder Days.”
America and the world had better be prepared.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
