Donald Trump insists he was 'saved by God to make America great again' as he delivers inaugural address
20 January 2025, 18:03 | Updated: 20 January 2025, 18:12
Donald Trump has said he was "saved by God to make America great again" as he delivered his inaugural address.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Trump reflected on the assassination attempts against him last year, saying he had been saved "for a reason".
"Just a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin's bullet ripped through my ear," he said.
"But I felt then and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again."
The 78-year-old also said the "golden age of America" begins now as he vowed to "put America first" in his first speech as 47th president of the United States.
He said the nation would be "proud, prosperous and free".
"America will soon be greater, stronger and far more exceptional than ever before," he said.
LIVE: 'The golden age of America begins right now,' says Trump as he is sworn in as 47th US president
Read more: Senior royals poised to visit Trump in bid to renew UK-US ‘special relationship’
Trump was sworn in by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, saying: "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States, so help me God."
It came as part of a historic inauguration ceremony on Monday, marking his second time entering the highest office.
He said a "thrilling" new era of national success had arrived, adding that he was feeling "confident and optimistic" about what is to come.
Addressing black and Hispanic communities, Trump said: "I've heard your voices in the campaign and I look forward to working with you in the years to come."
He added that it was Martin Luther King Day and that "in his honour, we will strive together to make his dream a reality", in reference to his "I have a dream" speech.
Trump also used his speech, which was almost 30 minutes long, to outline the first changes he will be making as president.
He said he will sign a "series of historic executive orders" and begin a "revolution of common sense".
The president said he would declare a national emergency at the southern border, with all illegal entry being "immediately be halted".
He also said he would "declare a national energy emergency" and "drill, baby, drill".
He went on to say that he would end all government censorship "and bring back free speech to America".
"Never again will the immense power of the state be weaponised to persecute political opponents," he said.
Turning his attention to gender, he said: "As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female."
Trump said there would be an end to "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 colour-blind and merit based," he said.
Among other plans set out were the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico and "taking back" Panama Canal.
On Sunday evening, Trump celebrated his election victory “on the eve of taking back our country” in front of a large crowd gathered in the Capital One arena in Washington, DC.
“We won,” Trump told his supporters as he promised "close to 100 executive orders" on his first day in office.
He promised mass deportations and took credit for TikTok coming back online after it went down, and for achieving a ceasefire in the Middle East.
He ran through a variety of topics, and made several promises, including to 'get wokeness out of the military', 'get men out of women's sports'. He also repeated baseless claims that the last election, won by Biden, was rigged.
"We have to set our country on the proper course by the time the sun sets tomorrow evening," he said on Sunday.
"The invasion of our borders will have come to a halt.
"And all the illegal border trespassers will, in some form or another, be on their way back home."
He added: “Somebody said yesterday, ‘Sir, don’t sign so many (executive orders) in one day; let’s do it over a period of weeks.’ I said, ‘Like hell we’re going to do it over weeks, we’re going to sign them at the beginning,’
He spoke about TikTok, which came back online for users across the US today, despite a law banning the app on national security grounds, after Trump said he will delay the ban with an executive order on his first day.
“As of today, TikTok is back,” Trump said, adding: "It’s very popular. And frankly, we have no choice, we have to save it.”
Trump then took credit for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, which he claimed "could only have happened as a result of our historic victory."
“This week we achieved an epic ceasefire agreement as a first step toward lasting peace in the Middle East. And this agreement could only have happened as a result of our historic victory in November,” Trump said, adding, “I’m glad to report that the first hostages have just been released.”
Elon Musk then briefly joined the president-elect on stage. The tech billionaire is a key part of Trump's inner circle and played a large part in his election campaign.
Musk said: “This victory is the start really. What matters going forward is to actually make significant changes...
"Cement those changes and set the foundation for America to be strong for a century, for centuries, forever," he added.
Donald Trump then repeated a promise he had made before, and said he would 'release the remaining JFK records', referring to documents associated with the assassination of John F Kennedy.
Trump finished his speech by repeating a familiar refrain - that he will make America safe, great, healthy, strong, proud and wealthy again.
He then gave way to The Village People as they performed YMCA, and stood dancing behind them.
This is the second time he has been president after first serving from 2016-2020.
Trump was re-elected in November last year, after a landslide victory against Democrat candidate and vice-president Kamala Harris.
