Online Desk  :  Donald Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, was sworn in Monday as the 47th U.S. president, taking charge as Republicans claim unified control of Washington and set out to reshape the country’s institutions. Trump’s swearing-in ceremony was moved indoors due to intense cold, and began at noon on Monday. Festivities started earlier when the incoming president arrived for service at St. John’s Episcopal Church.

Trump in his first remarks as the 47th president declared that the “golden age of America begins right now.” “From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world,” he said. Trump referred to the assassination attempt against him, saying he was “saved by God to make America great again,” drawing a standing ovation from Republicans in the room while Democrats, including Biden and Harris, remained seated and still. Trump says the election has given him “a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal” he says has taken place, “and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and indeed their freedom. From this moment on, America’s decline is over.”

Trump marked the fact that his inauguration is occurring on Martin Luther King Jr. Day., saying in his speech that his administration will “strive together to make his dream a reality.”“To the Black and Hispanic communities, I want to thank you for the tremendous outpouring of love and trust that you have shown me with your vote. We set records and I will not forget it,” Trump said. “We will make his dream come true,” Trump vowed of the Rev. King. Trump said “all illegal entry will immediately be halted,” with few details on how he will achieve that. He said he would end the practice of releasing migrants in the United States to pursue asylum, known as “catch-and-release,” but didn’t say how he would pay for the enormous costs of detention.

Part of his plan relies on resuming the “Remain in Mexico” policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court, a hallmark of his first term. The Mexican government has agreed, signaling perhaps one of the most concrete and immediate changes that will be seen at the border. Trump said little about his plans for mass deportation, saying only that he would deport “millions and millions of criminal aliens.” Trump says he wants to send American astronauts to Mars, saying he “will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars” and “plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars.”

Billionaire Elon Musk of SpaceX threw his hands up in the air as Trump announced the U.S. would plant its flag on Mars. Trump vowed to “defeat what was record inflation.” Inflation peaked at 9.1 percent in June 2022 after rising steadily in the first 17 months of Biden’s presidency from a low of 0.1 percent in May 2020. The most recent data shows that as of December it had fallen to 2.9 percent. But other historical periods have seen higher inflation, such as a more than 14 percent rate in 1980, according to the Federal Reserve. Moreover, Trump promised to issue several executive orders on his first day.