Key moments in Donald Trump’s big speech

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Sticking to a teleprompter, and speaking in a more level voice than he usually uses in his rallies, Donald Trump began his inaugural address by predicting “the golden age of America begins now now” and vowed that the US “will prosper and be respected by the world again”.

But the 78-year-old man’s speech, which was the longest by an incoming US president in nearly a century, soon came under attack from his successor Joe Biden, and threatened to cancel most of his legacy through a series of executive orders. .

Here are some important passages:

This was one of many cheers that were lifted almost word for word from Trump’s first speech, which was dark, eight years ago.

Trump he also renewed his criticism of the “establishment”, which he said “has taken power and wealth from our citizens while the pillars of our society are broken and seem to be completely destroyed”. Four of the five richest men in the world and several business executives were among the VIPs watching from seats a few meters away.

Although Trump’s speech was not as bad as his 2017 “killing America” ​​speech, the president took several opportunities to attack Biden’s record.

He said: “Now we have a government that cannot deal with a simple crisis at home while at the same time it falls into an ongoing list of crises abroad. country.”

He also criticized “the government that has given unlimited funds to protect the borders of other countries”, when talking about US aid for Ukraine.

Trump campaigned strongly for the White House last year, saying that immigrants crossing the southern border were turning the US into a “occupied country”. He hit the topic hard again in his inaugural address.

Trump said the Biden administration’s immigration policies provided “sanctuary and protection” for criminals, including “many in prisons and mental institutions who have come into our country from all over the world”.

The new president has vowed to “begin the process of returning millions and millions of illegal immigrants to their places of origin”. He said he would send troops to the southern border to repel the “attack”.

Some of Trump’s words pointed to specific policies designed to please different groups within the broader alliance.

He drew applause by saying he would sign orders to expand US oil and gas exploration – using America’s “liquid gold” – a move he said would lower energy prices and reverse inflation. As he spoke, the White House said he would also pull the US to The Paris climate agreement.

Trump also said he would keep his “sacred oath to our American auto workers” by scrapping the electric car mandate — even though the US has no law forcing people to buy EVs — and vowed that it will tax other countries “to enrich our citizens”.

The president also promoted a plan proposed by his biggest financial backer, Elon Musk, to colonize Mars – a mission that the US government considered an obstacle to visiting the moon again.

Midway through the speech, Trump rattled off a list of eccentric promises. He said the US would rename the Gulf of Mexico “to the Gulf of America” ​​and restore the name of the highest peak in North America, Denali in Alaska, to Mount McKinley, in honor of the former president who “enriched the country of us mostly in terms of fees and in terms of talent”.

He said the US will “return” the Panama Canal, which Washington gave to the Central American country in 1978.

“The intent of our agreement and the spirit of our alliance have been completely violated,” Trump said. “American ships are being heavily taxed and are not being treated fairly in any way, shape or form,” he added, before lying – in front of the Chinese vice president, who was present – that Beijing was “working on the Panama Canal”.

The notion of a messianic future and the confirmation process were the highlights of Trump’s lengthy speech.

“Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take away my freedom and take my life,” Trump said. He spoke of a July rally in Pennsylvania when “an assassin’s bullet tore through my ear”. “I felt then and I believe even more now that my life was saved for a reason.”

The first convicted felon to run for president has also rebutted various criminal cases brought against him over the past few years, vowing to “work the brutal, violent, and unjust Department of Justice and our government will end”.

While not repeating his false claim that he had won the 2020 election, Trump said his victory in November was “an order to completely undo the horrific fraud”.