“My family has been subjected to relentless attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to harm me – the worst kind of partisan politics,” the now-former president said in a statement released during Trump’s inauguration speech.
The dueling pardons underpinned an extraordinary inauguration ceremony that Trump was forced to move indoors from the steps of the US Capitol due to frigid weather conditions in Washington.
The festivities began in the morning with a traditional church service at St. John’s Episcopal Church, across from the White House.
Guests included media mogul Rupert Murdoch, tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Tesla CEO and so-called “first friend” Elon Musk.
The Trumps then headed to the White House for morning tea with the outgoing president and his wife Jill, yet another inauguration tradition.
“Welcome home,” Biden told Trump after getting out of the car.
They then headed to the US Capitol rotunda, where Vice President JD Vance was sworn in first, taking the oath read by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh from a Bible given to him by his great-grandmother. Trump followed, using both a familiar Bible like the one President Abraham Lincoln used at his inauguration in 1861 when Chief Justice John Roberts took the oath of office.
President Donald Trump tries to kiss first lady Melania Trump, but is blocked by her hat.Credit: AP
There he promised to usher in a new “golden age” and a “common sense revolution.”
“The journey to take back our republic has not been easy,” he said, drawing on his extraordinary near-death experience last July at the hands of a would-be assassin.
“Those who want to stop our cause have tried to take away my freedom and, in fact, take my life. Just a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania countryside, an assassin’s bullet pierced my ear. But I felt then and believe even more now that my life was saved for a reason. “God saved me to make America great again.”
President Donald Trump, center, gestures as Vice President JD Vance joins him on stage after taking the oath of office.Credit: AP
Declaring that the government faced a “disaster of trust,” Trump demanded “a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal” and promised to “return to the people their faith, their wealth, their democracy and, indeed, their freedom.”
“As of this moment,” he added, “America’s decline is over.”
Regarding immigration, Trump promised to declare a national emergency on the border between the United States and Mexico, send the military to protect it and promised to designate criminal cartels as terrorist groups.
He also issued orders to reform the public service by eliminating diversity programs; ending work-from-home policies; and put on hold for 75 days a law banning TikTok unless it divests its China-based company, ByteDance.
Charging
But it was his decision to grant blanket pardons to about 1,500 Capitol riot defendants and commute the sentences of 14 that surprised observers most, given that Trump had initially suggested he would limit pardons to nonviolent offenders.
More than 140 police officers were injured in the 2021 attack, in which Trump told his supporters to “fight like hell” to prevent Biden’s victory from being certified. The riots also directly and indirectly led to the deaths of several Trump supporters and police officers.
“These are the hostages, approximately 1,500 for a pardon, a full pardon,” Trump said, during his remarks from the Oval Office. “This is a big problem.”
The mother of Enrique Tarrio, a leader of the far-right militant organization Proud Boys who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the Jan. 6 attack, said her son was ready to return home.
Charging
“He’s very excited,” Duarte Tarrio told Florida news website local10.com. “For him it is surreal. “He’s ready to go.”
However, former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who refused to attend Trump’s inauguration, described the move as an “outrageous insult to our justice system and to the heroes who suffered physical and emotional scars.” emotional traumas while protecting the Capitol, Congress and the Constitution.” .
Biden and Trump, who have been bitterly criticizing each other for years, shared a limousine on the way to the Capitol. After the ceremony, Trump walked with Biden to the east of the building, from where Biden departed by helicopter to begin his post-presidential life.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with former President Joe Biden after taking the oath of office.Credit: AP
Trump then headed to the Capital One Enviornment in downtown Washington, where 20,000 fans had watched his inauguration live.
On stage, he greeted relatives of Israeli hostages freed by Hamas this week and lashed out at Biden for leading the “worst administration in history.”
Former President Joe Biden and Jill Biden, aboard a Navy helicopter, take off from the US Capitol en route to Joint Base Andrews.Credit: AP
He then signed a series of executive orders at the stadium, and then in the Oval Office, before heading to three inaugural balls: the Commander in Chief’s inaugural ball, for military members; Liberty’s inaugural ball, where rapper Nelly, Nation singer Jason Aldean and disco legends Village Folks were scheduled to perform; and the Starlight Ball, an event for big-dollar donors.
