21/1/2025
The newly inaugurated president of the United States, Donald Trump, yesterday said God saved him from an assassin’s bullet to “make America great again.”
Trump said this during his inauguration as the 47th President of the United States on Monday.
“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,” he said during his inaugural address.
Trump was shot on July 13 near Butler, in the state of Pennsylvania.
Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to climb to an elevated position with an assault rifle and fire a number of shots at Trump at the rally, with a bullet grazing the former U.S. president’s right ear.
He also said his administration would halt America’s decline, saying the country had been bedevilled with many ills that must be fixed to usher in the country’s golden age.
Trump also pledged to build a prosperous and free economy and put America’s interests above other nations, adding that he would end the “weaponisation” of the Department of Justice.
“The golden age of America begins right now,” Mr. Trump said in his inaugural address in the Capitol Rotunda. “From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected worldwide.”
He rattled off a list of ills that must be fixed, from a broken health care system to an education system that teaches children to “hate” their country.
“All of this will change today and very quickly,” Mr Trump said, with former President Joe Biden seated behind him. “America’s decline is over,” he said, blaming a corrupt establishment for enriching themselves while others fall behind and accused politicians of allowing illegal immigrants to flow into the country.
He did not spare his immediate predecessor, Joe Biden, saying leaders pour money into foreign nations. At the same time, North Carolina suffers from hurricane damage and Los Angeles deals with raging fires. “I will very simply put America first,” he said.
•Ex-Presidents Bush, Obama, Biden witness grand event; Hillary present, Michelle stays away
Dignitaries at the event included former US presidents such as George Bush and his wife, Laura; Bill Clinton and his wife, Hilary; Barack Obama, who came alone; and the immediate past president, Joe Biden and his wife, Jill; his deputy, Kamala Harris with her husband, Douglas Emhoff; America’s famous businessman and billionaire, Elon Musk, and a host of others.
•To rename the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska’s Mount Denali
As part of his policy statement at his inauguration, Trump, who spoke extempore, promised to rename the Gulf of Mexico and Mount Denali as part of his extensive first-day initiative.
The Gulf of Mexico, he said, would be renamed the Gulf of America, and Alaska’s Mount Denali will go back to its original name — Mount McKinley, Mr Trump said in his inaugural address yesterday.
“We will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs,” Mr. Trump said. “President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and talent. He was a natural businessman.”
The renaming is to honour “American greatness” the outlet reported.
He floated the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico while also discussing making Greenland, the Panama Canal, and Canada part of the US.
“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring,” Mr. Trump said earlier this month. “That covers a lot of territory. The Gulf of America is such a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum had earlier criticized the notion, asking why North America should not be renamed “America Mexicana (or) Mexican America.”
Mount Denali, the highest mountain in North America, was renamed by former President Obama in 2015 to honour the local Athabascan name for the hill.
“McKinley was a very good, maybe a great president,” Mr. Trump said at a rally in December. “They took his name off Mount McKinley, right? That’s what they do to people. Now, he was a great president, a very good president. At a minimum, he was a very good businessman. He was a businessman, then a governor, and a very successful businessman.”
These are just two executive orders out of a slew of first-day actions that Mr. Trump took. The actions ranged from a crackdown on illegal immigration to reversing diversity, equity, and inclusion policies to policies for expanding energy production.
•To end birth right citizenship for children of illegal immigrants, halt refugee flow
He promised to sign an executive order ending birth right citizenship for children of illegal immigrants. One of a few border-related orders he pledged to sign was overhauling the US immigration policy and border security, including pausing refugee resettlement for at least four months.
He also promised to sign an order clarifying language in the 14th Amendment, stating that the federal government “will not recognize automatic birth right citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States.”
The 14th Amendment states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”
He also promised to direct the federal government to resume border wall construction and end Biden’s parole policies, including the use of the CBP One app to parole migrants into the US and the parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans.
His second order would send US troops for deployment to the southern and northern borders under US Northern Command and his “instruction to the military to prioritise “our own borders and territorial integrity in strategic planning for its operations.”
A third order will designate international cartels and organizations, including MS-13 and the bloodthirsty Tren de Aragua, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT). An FTO designation allows for targeted action against members, including financial penalties.
Trump, after taking the oath of office, announced that he would soon sign an executive order ending gender diversity, proclaiming that the American federal government will only recognise two sexes — male and female.
“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.
Transgender rights have become a contentious political topic in the United States in recent years. In the last election campaign, many Republicans batted on reversing transgender laws with a particular focus on transgender women participating in sports.
•‘There’ll only be two genders recognized by the US government- male and female’
During a pre-inauguration rally a day ahead of taking the oath as US President, Trump said that he would take action to “keep all men out of women’s sports.”
He also pledged to restrict gender-affirming care.
An official of Trump’s upcoming administration told Reuters that more actions on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes were expected “very soon.”
The official said that federal funds will not be used to promote “gender ideology” as part of the executive orders.
Trump’s recent remark on gender diversity aligns with his previous actions.
In his first term as US President, Trump declared a ban on transgender troops serving in the military and halted the recruitment of transgender personnel.
However, the policy was reversed by Joe Biden after he took office in 2021.
Once the executive orders are signed, reports suggest that government identification papers, like passports, will only have the option to select gender based on biological reality and not self-assessed gender identity.
Experts believe that Trump’s decision would attract backlash from civil and human rights advocates, who argue that slashing diversity, equity and inclusion programmes would undermine longstanding efforts to promote equitable policies.
Of late, many corporations have distanced themselves from DEI measures, with some rolling back initiatives and programs in recent weeks. However, companies such as Apple and Costo, have remained resolute in maintaining their commitment towards gender diversity.