In a nearly 30-minute speech, Trump called for “change” after he claimed a litany of national failures under Biden’s watch.
His first standing ovation came after announcing that he would declare a national emergency at the Southern border, a move that will allow the Pentagon to deploy troops to the region. The declaration would also free up resources to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, an effort he was forced to abandon at the end of his last administration.
Trump later said he would reinstate service members who were fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine and give them full back pay.
The GOP has long vowed to reinstate troops fired for refusing the vaccine. They slipped in the 2024 defense authorization bill a requirement for the Pentagon to consider reinstatement for that reason.
Trump also said he would stop “radical political theories” and “social experiments” for members of the armed forces.
“It’s going to end immediately,” he said.
Trump vowed to “build the strongest military the world has ever seen.”
In addition, he said the U.S. will once again become a “growing nation,” vowing to take back the Panama Canal during his inauguration speech.
The newly sworn-in president added that he wants his legacy to be that of a “peacemaker and unifier” as he touted the release of Israeli hostages a day before his inauguration.
One notable omission from his inaugural speech was the Russia-Ukraine war, soon to enter its third year. Trump has promised to end the conflict war even before he was sworn in.
The immediate visible effects of the new Trump administration could be found at the Pentagon, where a portrait of retired Gen. Mark Milley, the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who has feuded in highly public spats with Trump, was taken down on Monday. No reason was given for the change.
Trump has clashed with Milley over several national security issues during his first time in the White House, with Trump once suggesting that the four-star general deserved to be executed. Milley, who retired in 2023, has called Trump a fascist.
In his last few hours in the Oval Office on Monday, Biden issued preemptive pardons to Milley and several other people, which he said were not an admittance of guilt but were issued for their service.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
