Donald Trump and Melania share first dance at glitzy Inaugural Ball as 47th president signs slew of executive orders
21 January 2025, 05:48
President Trump and his wife Melania shared their first dance at the Commander in Chief inaugural ball on Monday night.
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The pair arrived at the celebrations after Trump spent the first hours of his presidency signing a slew of executive orders, undoing four years of work by the Biden administration.
“This is quite a gathering huh?' the newly sworn-in president said as he arrived.
The First Lady donned a black and white dress, designed by Hervé Pierre, who also made her 2017 inauguration look.
The pair danced to The Battle Hymn of the Republic played by the United States Marine Band and were joined by Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha.
The Commander in Chief ball marked the first of three stops by President Trump and his wife and his dedicated to the six branches of the military.
“Recruitment numbers are through the roof for the last two months,” Trump told the crowd.
YMCA, a song quickly becoming a MAGA anthem, played as the President and his entourage departed.
Donald Trump spent the opening hours of his second term signing a slew of executive orders, including one pardoning around 1,600 January 6 rioters.
The president spoke to thousands of his supporters at a stadium in Washington DC on Monday evening, as he signed the first orders of his presidency.
The executive actions included the withdrawal of the US from the Paris climate agreement and a 'restoration of freedom of speech'.
Trump also rescinded 78 Biden-era executive actions, after slamming his administration as the 'worst in history'.
He has gone on to pardon around 1,600 defendants charged in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol and is issuing six commutations.
The pardons fulfil his promise to release supporters who tried to help him overturn his election defeat four years ago.
"These are the hostages," he said while signing the paperwork in the Oval Office.
Nancy Pelosi, who was the Speaker of the House at the time of the riots, called the move 'shameful'.
She said: "The President's actions are an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution.
"It is shameful that the President has decided to make one of his top priorities the abandonment and betrayal of police officers who put their lives on the line to stop an attempt to subvert the peaceful transfer of power."
