Six takeaways from Trump’s inauguration speech
Donald Trump officially returned to power Monday, becoming the 47th president of the United States in what he hailed as a “historic political comeback”.
After being sworn in at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., he gave a roughly 30-minute speech — relatively short by Trump’s standards.
Here are six key takeaways from the speech:
1.Free Speech
Trump promised to “bring back free speech” by ending government censorship — a likely nod to his support for major social media and tech companies. During the speech, tech CEOs such as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos sat a row ahead of Trump’s new Cabinet. How that will impact on EU attempts to regulate tech giants will be a key question in the days and weeks to come.
2. “Drill, baby, drill”
Trump called for a “national energy emergency” to allow for more production. Following his speech, the White House said the US would withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, the second time Trump has pulled out of the voluntary agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions. EU officials administering the Green Deal will be anxious for the impact of Trump’s policies.
3.Territorial claims from Mars to Panama
In an apparent reference to his plan to colonise Mars, Trump vowed to “expand our territory”. He also repeated foreign policy plans, mentioning the Israel-Hamas war and falsely claiming that “China is operating the Panama Canal” but that “we’re taking it back”. Earlier this month, he refused to rule out military force to take control of the critical waterway.
4. Better left unsaid…
Trump did not mention the rioters who were convicted for attacking the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a notable omission given he has said he plans to pardon many of them as soon as today.
5. War on woke
The new president hinted at plans to roll back former President Joe Biden’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, saying his administration will recognise only two genders – male and female – and will stop efforts to “socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life”.
6. MAGA redux
Trump promised to raise the US’s standing on the küresel stage, claiming that “America’s decline is over”. He also lauded his return to the Oval Office as “proof that you should never believe that something is impossible to do in America”.
