Analysis: Trump possesses the capacity to bring in a new 'Golden Age.'
On Monday, Donald Trump started his fast-paced government.
Proclaiming a new American "Golden Age," Trump consolidated power hours into his new term, exercising vast executive authority in an attempt to erase significant sections of Joe Biden's legacy and demonstrating his intention to learn from his first-term failings in order to carry out a revolutionary administration.
With a single black Sharpie signature, Trump pardoned hundreds of rioters from the January 6, 2021 attack. He began his promised immigration sweep and border security strategy, and he welcomed rich tech oligarchs into his inner political circle.
The new president sparked simultaneous political alarms in many foreign capitals with his off-the-cuff foreign policy decisions, abruptly shifting the United States away from the internationalism supported by every president save him since World War II.
In a freewheeling press conference back in the Oval Office, Trump exhibited the ability to drive his own agenda and maneuver global chess pieces in public, something Biden lost as he became older. The vision was of a well-briefed new president setting lofty goals, confident that his first term will teach him how to use the levers of power, and resolved to seize a second opportunity.
However, Trump combined the trappings of Inauguration Day with rally-style grievance politics and copious amounts of untruths, twisted facts, and an increasingly messianic sense of his own power, which was a bad sign for the rule of law. Several meandering and nasty speeches, in addition to his inaugural address, revealed that, as in his first term, his most difficult obstacle in leaving a significant legacy will be to prioritize presidential focus above stunt politics.
Despite the theatricality of issuing a slew of executive orders, the appearance of the first legal challenges signaled the start of fresh political warfare. A substantial second administration will need to balance presidential power with new legislation passed by a slim Republican majority in the House of Representatives. After all, most of Monday's action may be reversed by a future Democratic president in four years, just as Trump did Biden's.
It seemed almost weird to see Trump back at the Resolute Desk in the quickly redecorated Oval Office—as if he had never left.
These were the most significant occurrences on a day marked by soaring rhetoric, an executive power earthquake, and ecstatic celebrations for the 47th president at MAGA inaugural balls that lasted late into a chilly winter night.
Trump gave blanket pardons to around 1,500 January 6 rioters in an unprecedented move that immediately sparked concerns about the equal application of the law. Hours after vowing to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, he made no distinction between those who assaulted police officers and others who invaded the US Capitol but were not convicted of violent crimes. His commutations included some of the country's most prominent radicals, such as Proud Boys and Oath Keepers hardliners.
Trump's surprising decision demonstrated that presidents who take office following attacks on democracy may defy justice and subsequently exonerate their followers. It legitimized the use of violence as a form of political expression, undermining American democracy and implying that people who conduct violent acts in the name of the 47th president may get away with it.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described Trump's actions as a "outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma while protecting the Capitol, Congress, and the Constitution."
But Trump was hardly the only president accused of misusing his pardon power.
Before leaving office, Biden granted preemptive blanket pardons to public servants such as former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, former top government infectious diseases official Dr. Anthony Fauci, and lawmakers and staff from the House select committee that investigated the Capitol riot. Biden claimed that Trump's threats of revenge against innocent people compelled him to act. However, the pardons harmed the credibility of a president who began office wanting to restore the Justice Department's integrity but subsequently pardoned his son Hunter despite promising not to.
Biden also provided Trump with an opening only 20 minutes before the end of his tenure by prematurely pardoning several family members, including his brothers James and Francis Biden and sister Valerie. Biden stated that his family had done nothing illegal, but cautioned that "the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputations and finances."
Presidents have nearly limitless pardon power for federal offenses. However, by issuing multiple anticipatory pardons in recent weeks, Biden has given Trump or any future president incentives to hypothetically encourage staffers or family to break the law in the knowing that they will be pardoned at the end of a term. This implies a massive potential extension of presidential authority that the Founders never intended and which threatens to exacerbate White House corruption.
Trump caught up on the implications instantly. "Now every president, when they leave office, they are going to pardon everyone they met," he said to reporters.
No issue has propelled Trump's political career more than his demagoguery and overblown assertions that America is overrun by undocumented immigrants. In the 2024 campaign, he capitalized on Biden's failure to manage a border issue earlier in his term.
On Monday, Trump used executive orders to gain unprecedented power by declaring an emergency at the southern border, discontinuing the use of an app that permitted legal migrants to enter the country, and beginning the process of terminating birthright citizenship, sparking a legal and constitutional clash. The new president also halted refugee resettlement for four months.
Trump sacked senior Justice Department officials in charge of monitoring immigration courts and pledged in his inauguration speech to send troops to the border. He declined to tell reporters when enforcement raids, which are likely to set up showdowns with Democratic cities, will begin. However, creating doubt and dread is a purpose in itself.
Still, Trump cannot achieve his mass deportation plans just through his pen. To fund his ambitious objectives, he must navigate the complexities of Congress.
Trump also acted quickly on a number of campaign pledges that would excite his MAGA supporters but may stigmatize certain Americans. He, for example, revoked Biden's directives prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation and eliminated federal diversity initiatives. One example of the shift is that the State Department will now require passport and visa applicants to "accurately" indicate their gender on official papers.
Elon Musk arrived at the White House before the new president. The owner of X and SpaceX, who has large federal contracts, attended Trump's indoor inaugural procession in Washington's Capital One Arena. Musk is eager to begin working at the new Department of Government Efficiency, which was established by another presidential action.
Earlier on Monday, Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg joined Trump in a pre-inauguration ceremony and took prominent spots at the inauguration.
It was a shocking demonstration of Silicon Valley kingpins' move away from Democrats and toward Trump. Later, the president argued that it made sense to put such pioneers to work for American interests in a very competitive globe. That is true. However, their presence in his court raises significant potential conflicts of interest. And the CEOs essentially control millions of Americans' information sources, with incentives to mold them to favor Trump.
Trump is back, disturbing the slumber of world leaders.
During his Oval Office press conference, he tossed out foreign policy on the spot. He reaffirmed a widely circulated proposal that NATO countries more than double their committed defense spending to 5% of GDP. That is impossible for allies grappling with economic difficulties and attempting to fund massive welfare systems. This is most likely a negotiation strategy, as the United States does not spend much money. However, Trump is now again focusing on Europe.
Trump continued his war of words over the Panama Canal, claiming that ceding ownership over the key canal was a "foolish gift" from the United States. He erroneously asserted, "China operates the Panama Canal, and we did not hand it to them. We handed it to Panama and now we're taking it back.
He also labeled the Mexican drug gangs as international terrorist organizations. Speaking to reporters, he refused to rule out a high-risk mission into Mexico to pursue the cartels with special troops.
Trump also attempted to spark a bidding war for his first foreign visit, claiming that if Saudi Arabia or any other country spent $500 million on US goods, they would be at the top of the list.
In an intriguing move, Obama increased pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a peace agreement in Ukraine, saying the fighting "does not make him look very good."
Despite previously stating that tariffs were the most "beautiful word," Trump did not instantly slap hefty new international taxes on trading partners, possibly to avoid spooking markets. But he then announced that he will impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada on February 1, heightening the threat of a continental trade war.
He did not provide a timeline for his planned tariffs on China while confirming an invitation to visit Beijing. This implied that Trump is looking for a bargaining chip in the form of new tariffs before embarking on any trip.
Trump has also often stated that tariffs will result in significant financial gains for the United States, despite the fact that the majority of the expense would be paid by American consumers. Trump may also be concerned that they will cause inflation and raise the cost of essential goods, hotels, and gasoline.
Because if he can't address the concerns that drove his 2024 election victory, all of the forceful presidential authority he demonstrated on Monday may be for naught.