Donald Trump will officially become the 47th President of the United States this Monday, January 20 during an inauguration ceremony with strong right-wing influence, both by the guests and by the first presidential decisions that the Republican intends to endorse.
Donald Trump’s second term will kick off this Monday, January 20. For his inauguration, the 47th president of UNITED STATES will go through ceremonies, speeches and above all make his first decisions by moving into the White House. A busy program which will, in part, take place in front of a crowd of guests: the 78-year-old Republican will be able to count on support like Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, but also on other billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, boss of Amazon and Blue Origin, or Mark Zuckerberg who is at the head of Meta.
Political figures will also be present, but contrary to tradition, foreign leaders and politicians have also been invited to the “Inauguration Day”. Invitations mainly sent to representatives of the extreme right, in particular those of Europe: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and MEPs who sit in the same group as these politicians including the French Marion Maréchal Le Pen and Sarah Knafo, Eric Zemmour’s wife. The boss of the Reconquest party was also invited even though he had no political mandate. Donald Trump also invited the Argentine President Javier Milei, the President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele, both far-right, and the Chinese President Xi Jinping. The latter should not be present, however.
Trump’s oath and first executive orders
The 60th inaugural ceremony of the President of the United States will begin at 9:30 a.m. (3:30 p.m. French time), and will be broadcast on French news channels continuously, reports Public Senate. Donald Trump will begin the day by attending a mass at St. John’s Episcopal Church, located across Lafayette Park from the White House, a tradition for presidents-elect, reports Associated Press. He will then go to the White House with his wife, Melania, to drink tea with Joe and Jill Biden, also a traditional stop.
It is only at midday that the serious things will begin: Vice-President JD Vance will take the oath of office at 11:30 a.m., followed by Donald Trump at noon (6 p.m. in Paris). With one hand on the Bible and the other in the air, the president-elect will pronounce this famous sentence: “I solemnly swear to faithfully discharge the duties of President of the United States and, to the fullest extent of my means, to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” The ceremony initially planned to take place on the Capitol lawn will be held indoors, and therefore without an audience other than guests, due to freezing temperatures.
Donald Trump will receive the Chief Justice’s swearing-in and outline the goals of his term with his inaugural address. It is only after the ceremony that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will leave their place by leaving the Capitol. The rest of the day will be busy for Donald Trump: he will go to the Senate for the signing ceremony to validate the appointment of the members of his cabinet; he will have lunch with the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies in the presence of a few guests; he will participate in the presidential parade linking the Capitol to the White House through Pennsylvania Anevue in the company of military troops, floats and marching bands. Once in the White House, the American president will sign his first decrees and Donald Trump is expected to make around a hundred decisions on his first day according to the Associated Press and Reuters, compared to 32 during the first 100 days of his previous mandate. In its sights: the fight against immigration, the introduction of customs taxes, anti-environmental measures to allow drilling and even anti-transgender measures. “I will act with unprecedented speed and force,” Donald Trump declared during a meeting in Washington on the eve of his inauguration.
Artists and balls
Artistic performances will punctuate the inauguration of Donald Trump. Country singer Carrie Underwood, accompanied by the Army Choir, will sing before or after the oath of office of the 47th President of the United States. Other artists could be present. The Village People group will perform later in the day at one of the three balls Donald Trump is expected to attend at the end of the day. They should sing their title YMCA which has become an essential part of the Republican’s rallies during his campaign.
09:45 – Trump promises tariffs to three countries
Donald Trump also plans to pass economic measures by presidential decree and in particular to introduce customs taxes on three countries. He first wants to target Mexico and Canada, countries neighboring the United States and linked by a free trade agreement. “On January 20, for one of my many first executive orders, I will sign all the necessary documents to impose 25% customs duties on Mexico and Canada on all products entering the United States,” he announced. at the end of November after his election. A decision that he justifies by the entry of right-wingers and illegal migrants through these borders, but which could also serve as a threat in order to initiate negotiations from which he would emerge victorious. Donald Trump has used this strategy several times in recent years.
The US president-elect is also considering applying a 10% increase in customs taxes to China, in addition to the taxes already imposed on certain products since Trump’s first term. Europe could soon be targeted by a similar threat.
09:14 –
Donald Trump, who wants to act on his first day in the White House for his second term, has one subject in particular in his sights: immigration. “As soon as I take the oath, I will launch the largest expulsion program in American history,” he promised yesterday during a meeting in Washington. He wants to issue several decrees to declare a state of national emergency and call on the military to enforce measures and expulsions, in particular he wants to remove an application used by asylum seekers and a program specifically designed for migrants in from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Decrees whose application could, however, encounter difficulties, like the “Muslim Ban” taken during his first mandate to prohibit inhabitants of certain countries in Africa and the Middle East from entering the United States which had been rejected by judges.
Donald Trump also wants to eliminate land law, but this time it is the 14th amendment to the American Constitution which would prevent the Republican from acting as he pleases.
08:56 – Up to 100 executive orders for Trump’s first day?
Donald Trump will be inaugurated as President of the United States once he is sworn in this Monday, January 20. From then on, he will be able to make his first presidential decisions, notably by passing decrees, and the Republican plans to sign nearly a hundred of them according to information from the Associated Press and Reuters. If this number is confirmed, it could set or approach a record. In 2016, Donald Trump signed 32 decrees in 100 days, which was already a lot compared to his predecessors: 13 for Bill Clinton, 11 for George Bush and 19 for Barack Obama.
With so many decrees, Donald Trump wants to set the tone for his policy and prove that he will follow through on his ideas and his program. The man who had promised to make decisions within 24 hours of his arrival at the White House, going so far as to compare himself to “a dictator for a day”, confirmed yesterday during a meeting in Washington that he “[agira] at unprecedented speed and force” to “resolve each of the crises facing [le] country is facing.