A fiery speech from Trump as he throws jabs and makes promisespublished at 17:48 Greenwich Mean Time
Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent
Donald Trump has finished his inaugural address – a mix of
sharp jabs against the outgoing Democratic administration and a promise of
better things to come.
As former President Joe Biden – and other Democrats – sat stoically
behind him, Trump claimed a mandate to reverse “a horrible betrayal” that had
taken place. He lashed out at what he called a “radical and corrupt establishment
that has extracted power and wealth from our nation”.
“All of this will change starting today,” he said.
From there, Trump turned to what he proposed to do –
detailing a string of executive actions on immigration and energy, and pledging
to end government-mandated diversity programmes. He repeated his pledge to
change the name of Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” and to take back the
Panama Canal.
“The US will once again consider itself a growing nation,”
he said, pledging to increase American wealth and expand “our territory”.
That last bit might catch the ear of US allies, who have
already been concerned by Trump’s interest in acquiring Greenland and quips
about making Canada the 51st US state.
On the campaign trail, and in this speech, Trump made a
series of big promises. Now that he is president, he will be challenged to deliver
– and show what the “golden age” he heralds actually means.
