Week One, Take Two

Donald Trump was sworn into office for the second time on January 20th, 2025 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. 

Inaugural Address

Donald Trump’s second inaugural address surprised many, as it resembled a State of the Union speech more than a traditional inaugural address. According to CNN, Trump’s speech could be viewed as an attempt to redefine America’s historic mission. His appeal was a powerful call to citizens to be bold and embrace the Golden Age of America.

Highlights

1. Executive Orders - Trump made it clear that he is ready to take immediate action which includes signing a number of executive orders relating to deportation, energy, and tariffs. 

2. Panama Canal - Regarding the Panama Canal, given to Panama during the Carter Administration, Trump said, “And we didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.”  Trump's statement alludes to a return to American Imperialism and a world of great power spheres of influence. 

3. Immigration - Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border, and claimed that all illegal entry will be halted immediately. He will end the Biden Administration's practice of catch-and-release which is the policy that migrants can be released into the United States while awaiting an immigration hearing. He cited the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, invoking the government's “full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the prescient of all foreign gangs and criminal networks.”

4. Taxes - Trump declared that he will immediately “begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families.” His administration will establish the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues from foreign sources.

5. Gulf of America - Despite this body of water being referred to as the Gulf of Mexico for hundreds of years, Trump will be changing the name to the Gulf of America. According to his America First Policy, this name change will be done to bring back American values.

Other topics discussed during his inauguration included criticizing the Biden Administration, industrialization, and gender identity. According to an article from CNN, “Trump didn’t stick long with the poetry of unity. His address seemed more an attempt to assert dominance and to give definition to a second-chance presidency beginning in a blaze of executive power.” This was made clear when Trump claimed that “the golden age has just begun.” 

Donald Trump is coming into his second term ready to make change. According to him, “For American citizens, January 20, 2025, is Liberation Day.”

You can watch his 30-minute speech here. 

Executive Orders -

An executive order titled, "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship" and signed by Donald Trump on January 20, 2025 is aiming to bring clarification to the 14th Amendment that children born to illegal immigrants will no longer be citizens by birthright. 

As of January 22, 2025, 22 states have sued President Trump in two federal district courts to block an executive order that refuses to recognize US-born children of unauthorized immigrants as citizens. Attorneys are arguing that the executive order is unconstitutional as birthright citizenship is protected under the 14th Amendment claiming that neither the President nor Congress has the authority to challenge this. 

This executive order defies over 100 years of legal precedent. The order will not go into effect for 30 days, and if it does go into effect (despite legal battles), this would allow Trump to deny citizenship to about 150,000 newborns every year rendering them undocumented at birth, even rendering them citizens to no country at all.