All eyes were on the United States as President Donald Trump was sworn in for his second non-consecutive term. Monday, 20th January caused mixed emotions across the US, and indeed, the whole world. MAGA supporters were relieved to finally see their idol back in the Oval Office, but Democrats and many around the world only felt apprehension as the United States saw its first convicted felon be handed the keys to the White House. But, Trump has only just returned to office, so what were the key moments from his inauguration day that everyone should be aware of? Here is a summary of the inauguration of the 47th President, Donald Trump.
Attendees
Unsurprisingly, the inauguration of one of the world’s most influential countries President drew huge crowds and powerful names to the event. The four living presidents (Biden, Obama, Clinton and Bush) were all in attendance, as is tradition. Though notably former-First Lady, Michelle Obama, was not present at the ceremony which her office did not give a reason for. Nonetheless, Barack Obama was still there to represent his administration.
What was most conspicuous however, was the considerable presence of billionaires, tech tycoons and other wealthy, influential titans. Sat amongst Trump’s closest family members were Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. Is this foreshadowing of what the President’s second term will look like? Trump may have won over enough working-class voters to secure his victory, but if his wealthy surroundings are anything to go by, it seems he is not so concerned with this platform anymore.
Executive Orders
Donald Trump did not waste any time in establishing controversial policies which have caused a stir on media sites. His cultural policies were at the heart of this. Trump ordered his administration to stop granting citizenship to the children of undocumented migrants, even if they were born in the United States. ‘Birthright citizenship’ has been upheld by the 14th amendment since the nineteenth century, but now Trump is contesting this in his bid to tighten America’s borders and crack down on immigration. A federal judge in Seattle has blocked the order stating it was “blatantly unconstitutional”, but we shall have to wait for a response from the Supreme Court. This comes alongside his decision to cancel the CBP One app, which organised appointments for those seeking asylum in the US, and his executive order which declared a state of emergency on the Mexican border. It is clear that the new President will not be deterred in this sever pursuit. Trump stated that he was launching his “golden age” of the US, but can this really be true when immigrants are facing harsher treatment than ever?
Hillary Clinton represented all of us when she could not contain her laughter at Trump’s order to rename the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ to the ‘Gulf of America’. The former-First Lady and Secretary of State had clearly had her resolve tested listening to Trump’s territorial policies. This was furthered when Trump referenced his desire to acquire the territory of Greenland from Denmark. His commitment to “Expands[ing] our territory” brings questions about how far Trump would go to make the US an even larger nation that it already is. With wars already being fought over territory worldwide, could the US be joining this chaos?
One of the most poignant orders was Trump’s pardoning of nearly all of his supporters from the Capitol Riots back in January, 2021. Around 1,5000 people received pardons, even those convicted of assaulting police officers, and 14 sentences were commuters. It seems that Trump will never be admitting to losing the 2020 election if he is so adamant about protecting those who tried to forcibly contest it.
Elon Musk Controversy
Whilst this may have been Trump’s inauguration, Elon Musk certainly stole attention. One of the most talked about moments of the day was the controversy surrounding Musk’s salute in the Capitol One Arena. According to the Guardian, during his speech “Musk then slapped his right hand into his chest, fingers splayed, before shooting out his right arm on an upwards diagonal, fingers together and palm facing down”. The Media and Professors alike began to debate over whether this was Musk mimicking the Hitler Salute. Ruth Ben Ghiat, a professor at NYU, stated “Historian of fascism here. It was a Nazi salute and a very belligerent one too”, clearly believing Musk’s reference to be intentional. Although, Musk was stating at the time that “my heart goes out to you” and could arguably have not made the Nazi-like gesture with it in mind, but it was clearly a thoughtless, disrespectful action. The Anti-Defamation League weighed in, saying “It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge”. Regardless of the truth behind Musk’s intentions and gesture, the fact that the leap to assume it was done intentionally was so small, reflects the United State’s fears over this man now having significant influence in government.
Donald Trump has been in office for under a week, and yet has already done enough to create concern in the US. We, alongside the states, will have to watch to see how the first presidential term of a convicted felon goes.