5 takeaways from the second inauguration of President Donald Trump

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump delivered an inaugural speech Monday that his supporters and anyone who has listened to his exhortations at his rallies would recognize: attacks on his opponents, praise for his own plans, some humor and a few surprises.

In a half-hour address, Trump painted a bleak picture of the United States under his Democratic opponents in terms that echoed his description of the "carnage" at his inauguration eight years ago, but this time mixed with superlatives about his ambitious plans.

Trump also described his role as president in a new way: part of a divine plan to usher the United States into a "golden age" revealed by the failed attempt on his life at a rally in rural Pennsylvania last year that killed one and injured seven others.

"An assassin's bullet ripped through my ear, but I felt then and believed even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason," Trump said. "I was saved by God to make America great again."

Despite his attacks on Democrats in his speech, Trump did not wear his usual long red tie but instead donned a dotted purple one, as if to signal a mix of red and blue as he began his second term as president.

Here are some key takeaways from his address.

Catch and deport

Trump wasted no time revealing his plans to carry out his signature campaign issue: a crackdown on criminals and others in the United States without legal status. "First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came," he said.

He added he would reinstate his "remain in Mexico policy," send troops to the southern border and invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to use federal and state law enforcement to eliminate foreign gangs and criminal networks.

His supporters at the arena and in the Capitol gave him loud and long applause. But Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of the pro-immigrant group America’s Voice, said Trump hit on "his familiar ugly anti-immigrant lies of ‘invasion’ in his inauguration speech." She added, "His radical plan for mass deportations is not what the American people want."

‘Liquid gold’

Trump also laid out plans to tame inflation — another key issue that helped him win the election. His approach includes directing his cabinet members "to marshal the vast powers at their disposal" to rapidly bring down costs and prices. He blamed inflation on overspending and escalating energy prices. "That is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency," he said. "We will drill, baby, drill."

He said the United States "will be a rich nation again" — though it already has the biggest gross domestic product in the world — "and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it."

Trump also announced, "Today, we will end the Green New Deal, and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American autoworkers … We did tremendously with their vote."

Expanding America

Recalling the pioneer days of the United States, Trump called "ambition the lifeblood of a great nation" and promised he would expand and put America front and center. He repeated his plan to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America and to restore President William McKinley’s name to Denali, calling the largest peak in Alaska Mount McKinley. Trump also praised McKinley for raising money through tariffs, as he plans to do.

Trump vowed to take over the Panama Canal, which the United States completed in 1914 and controlled until 1999. "We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made," Trump said. "We gave it to Panama, and we're taking it back." He said China operates the canal, but Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino has recorded statements that it is not. A Chinese company, however, controls two ports by the canal.

Trump did not mention his other plans of taking over Greenland and Canada. But Elon Musk, owner of the SpaceX company that launches rockets into space, laughed and gave a thumbs-up when Trump said, "We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars."

King Day

Trump noted that his inauguration took place on the holiday for slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. "In his honor, we will strive together to make his dream a reality," Trump said — a dream that one day people would be judged by their character rather than the color of their skin. He thanked Black and Hispanic voters who supported him. "I won’t forget it," he said. "I’ve heard your voices in the campaign, and I look forward to working with you in the years to come."

Later in the speech, Trump said, "This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life. We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit based."

Jan. 6 pardons

During his address, Trump said nothing about pardons for the Jan. 6 rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol Building during the Electoral College count for President Joe Biden's victory in 2020. But he took action Monday night, issuing pardons to almost everyone who had faced charges. Trump told his supporters at the Capital One Arena Monday night, "We're going to release our great hostages." Prosecutors had charged more than 1,580 people and secured roughly 1,270 convictions.