President Donald Trump’s second inauguration on Jan. 20 featured a last-minute change of venue, a promise to initiate a new “golden age of America,” and a flurry of executive orders.
Hundreds of people, including famous attendees from the tech industry, gathered in the U.S. Capitol rotunda to watch Trump be sworn in as the 47th president before he delivered an address about unity and recapturing the United States’ destiny.
After his inaugural address, Trump gave a second speech and held a post-inauguration rally at Capital One Arena in Washington with thousands of supporters eager to watch the day’s events.
Former President Joe Biden also issued several last-minute pardons for multiple family members before delivering a departing speech after Trump’s inaugural address.
Here are some highlights from Trump’s first day of his second term.
A New ‘Golden Age’
Trump began his first speech as president with the assurance that the United States’ best days were soon to follow.“The golden age of America begins right now,” he said after taking to the podium in the Capitol rotunda.
“From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer.”
The president’s remarks echoed a sentiment shared frequently on the campaign trail—that “the best is yet to come” for the United States.
He also reiterated his pledge to put the United States first “every single day” and to restore safety, justice, and the nation’s sovereignty.
“Our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud, prosperous, and free,” Trump said. “America will soon be greater, stronger, and far more exceptional than ever before.”
Trump Says ‘Saved by God’
The president also reflected on a more somber topic: the recent attempts on his life.
“Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed to take my life,” Trump said in his speech.
“Just a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear. 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.”
Those comments evoked a standing ovation from the audience inside the Capitol rotunda.
Trump was also targeted in a second assassination attempt in September 2024 at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. In that instance, the gunman was spotted by a U.S. Secret Service agent before he could fire a shot.
With those incidents front of mind, the president pledged that his administration would work to “meet every crisis with dignity and power and strength” and “bring back hope, prosperity, safety, and peace” for all U.S. citizens.
“For American citizens, Jan. 20, 2025, is Liberation Day,” he said.
Post-Inauguration Speech
Trump gave a second speech shortly after his inauguration ceremony, in which he thanked his supporters, Vice President JD Vance, and GOP congressional leaders.“We just had a great day. This was amazing,” Trump said. “A lot of people said that was not a journey that was possible, and it was indeed possible.”
Trump said the informal speech (which, unlike his inaugural address, appeared to be unscripted) gave him a chance to discuss topics that he avoided earlier in the day, such as potential actions for Jan. 6 defendants and the last-minute pardons from Biden.
In the second speech, he discussed his frustrations with the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack and some Democratic lawmakers and party leaders, such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Trump said those topics were removed from his inaugural address so that it could be unifying.
“I'd like to think it was a tremendous success,” Trump said.
Tech Titans Attend
Two of the high-profile attendees from the tech world included Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, both of whom were present at ceremonies on Jan. 20.Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple leader Tim Cook, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai all had prime seats during a prayer service at St. John’s Episcopal Church before Trump was sworn in at the Capitol.
Musk, who was tapped to lead Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, gave a speech at Capitol One Arena following the inauguration ceremony.
“Can you imagine how awesome it will be to have American astronauts plant the flag on another planet for the first time?” Musk said, referring to NASA and SpaceX’s efforts to extend human space travel to Mars and beyond.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi were also at the Capitol for Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. This was the first inauguration to feature so many giants from the rapidly expanding technology industry as guests of the incoming president.
Trump’s Capital One Arena Remarks
In front of an energetic crowd at Capital One Arena in Washington, Trump discussed his first executive orders covering the economy, the border, and energy.The executive orders that Trump previewed included a hiring freeze in the federal workforce “to ensure that we’re only hiring competent people who are faithful to the American public.”
“In other words, we are restoring control of our government to the people,” he said.
Trump said he would undo “nearly 80 destructive and radical executive actions” taken by the Biden administration.
One of Trump’s executive orders withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement—a move that he also made in 2017. Biden rejoined the pact in 2021 upon taking office.
Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, addressed the crowd before Trump. He spoke about his goals to bring peace to the Middle East and to bring home the hostages that the Hamas terrorist group took on Oct. 7, 2023, during its attack on Israel.
Family members of the hostages stood behind Trump as Witkoff addressed the crowd.
Supporter Interviews at Parade
Collin Stacy, a parade attendee from Kentucky, said he appreciated the executive orders dealing with the border and requiring federal bureaucrats to return to work.“We need to secure our border so we don’t have criminals running around, and federal workers need to get back to work because why are [they] sitting at home?” he told The Epoch Times.
David Kreutz, a Trump supporter from Long Island, New York, called the day “wonderful” and “something we’ve never seen before in American politics.”
“This just continues the mesmerizing ride that is Donald Trump’s political career,” he said.
Kreutz told The Epoch Times that the executive orders “were necessary first steps in shifting from the previous administration, and now we’re going to see full steam ahead in the coming days.”
He said the energy-related executive orders were most significant.
“I think the most important thing we saw there was the redirection of our energy and the redirection of how we are going to approach, continuing to not necessarily manage, but assist in the production of American goods and utilities,” Kreutz said.
“There is a significant attitude shift in how we’re going to use energy, how we’re going to manage the climate.”
Biden Departs
Before departing with former First Lady Jill Biden, Biden delivered a short speech following his successor’s inaugural address.“Jill and I are forever grateful,” Biden said. “No president gets to choose the moment to enter history, but they get to choose [their] team ... and we chose the best damn team in the world, because of you.”
Biden thanked his supporters, friends, Cabinet members, and family for the past four years in office and told them all to never give up.
“We’re leaving office; we’re not leaving the fight,” Biden said. “The country needs you again, so stay engaged in all the ways you can, whether it’s in public service, the private sector, philanthropy, academia, running for office yourself, or anything else you choose to do.
“I’m giving you my word; we believe in you.”
As Biden and his wife departed, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, along with Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance, bid them goodbye as they embarked on their final journey on Marine One.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, and members of the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack—including former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.)—received sweeping pardons for “any offenses they may have committed or taken part in” from Jan. 1, 2014, to the present.
Biden also granted unconditional clemency to each of his siblings and their spouses for any nonviolent offenses they may have committed during the same period.
In issuing the pardons, Biden suggested that the recipients would otherwise become the targets of politically motivated investigations and indictments.
Incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized the pardons of Biden’s allies as an abuse of executive power to shield those who “led the unconstitutional and failed witch hunts against President Trump.”
Trump echoed that sentiment following his inauguration, noting that the Jan. 6 panel has been accused of destroying evidence from its investigation.
Barrage of Executive Orders
Trump signed a collection of executive orders right after his inauguration on Jan. 20 while speaking at Capital One Arena and another batch once he reached the Oval Office.
