‘A Golden Age’: How the media covered the inauguration of US President Donald Trump – World

Donald Trump has been sworn in as the US president for a second term in office, pledging a blitz of immediate orders on immigration and the US culture wars as he caps his extraordinary comeback.

“The golden age of America begins right now,” he said in his inaugural address, promising that the US would flourish again and be respected all over the world.

Here is how global media outlets covered the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States:

Trump says he’ll end US decline: Taking office, Trump casts himself as rescuer of nation in disarray — The New York Times

Written by Peter Baker, The New York Times’ live story described Trump’s return to the White House as a “remarkable return to power”, adding that he laid out plans for an “immediate blitz of orders and actions meant to dramatically change the course of the country”.

“The golden age of America begins right now,” Baker wrote quoting the president. Trump hailed his election as “a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal” and “give people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and indeed their freedom”.

Trump made it very clear in his 29-minute address that “America’s decline is over”, Baker wrote, noting that the president vowed to “immediately declare a national emergency” at the US’ southern border with Mexico and deploy troops to guard it.

Promises to seize the Panama Canal and end government programmes promoting diversity, equity and inclusion were also noted by Baker as particular points of interest in Trump’s speech.

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Trump promises ‘Golden Age,’ US expansion in inauguration speech — The Washington Post

The Washington Post’s live story briefly described Trump’s inaugural address, stating that he pledged to “put America first” and said “the golden age of America begins right now.”

Expansionist themes in the speech were also highlighted, with Trump quoted as saying that the US would “once again consider itself a growing nation” and one that “expands our territory”.

Trump also critiqued the Biden administration in his speech and started laying out his priorities, including declaring a national emergency at the southern border, according to The Post.

“The president is promising a flurry of actions on Day 1 on immigration, energy production, crime and other issues,” The Post observed.

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Donald Trump promises ‘new golden age’ after he is sworn in as 47th US president: Trump declares national emergency at border in first speech to nation — BBC

The British broadcaster focused on Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the US’ southern border in its full story on the inauguration.

“In his inaugural address, Trump said he is ‘confident and optimistic’ as he returns to the White House with ‘a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal,’ referring to the last four years under his predecessor Joe Biden,” the BBC wrote.

The piece quoted Trump as saying that he “planned to sign a series of executive orders to crack down on the border, boost domestic energy and end government-mandated diversity programmes”.

“The golden age of America begins right now,” the BBC quoted Trump as saying.

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Trump portrays himself as ‘saved by God’ as he announces slew of executive orders: Trump sworn in as 47th president as US braces for a new era of disruption and division — The Guardian

British daily The Guardian took a more critical angle with its coverage, opening its piece by writing, “The United States was launched on a fresh course of disruption and division on Monday as Donald Trump was sworn in as its 47th president.”

The Guardian notef that his speech “immediately struck a nationalistic tone … vowing to “put America first”, while Trump called his election “a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal and all of these many betrayals that have taken place, and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy, and indeed, their freedom”.

Trump was quoted by The Guardian as saying, “The journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one, that I can tell you. Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed to take my life. I was saved by God to make America great again.”

The Guardian concluded: “Despite the alternately positive and threatening tone, Trump’s language still departed from the loftier rhetoric deployed at inaugurations by some of his predecessors.”

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Trump the saviour presents vision of the future in biblical first speech:
The 78-year-old took messianic rhetoric to a higher level than ever before — The Telegraph

Hailing him as a “saviour”, British daily The Telegraph took a more positive direction with its coverage, noting in its story that during the inaugural address, “there were traces of the man we witnessed take power in 2017.”

According to the paper, Trump “promised war on the ‘corrupt’ Washington elite” in his speech, which was called a “speech of deliverance, by a man declaring himself America’s saviour”.

“Taking his messianic rhetoric to a higher level than ever before, the president retold the story of the attempt on his life in July as a tale of biblical magnitude,” The Telegraph wrote.

“In his 30-minute address, Mr Trump set out an idyllic vision of a country without war, disease or discrimination — and with a manned expedition to Mars — in its new ‘golden age’,” the paper added.

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Trump Makes History: First Convicted Felon To Take Oath As President — The Huffington Post

On its homepage, The Huffington Post had a header reading “Carnage part two: Trump sworn in”, while the story itself noted Trump’s historic feat of being the first convicted felon elected to the White House.

“Donald Trump made twofold history Monday, becoming the first to take the oath of office despite having tried to end American democracy, as well as becoming the first presidential convicted felon,” the opening line read.

“In his 30-minute inaugural speech, Trump wasted little time in lashing out at the criminal prosecutions that flowed from his actions that day,” Huffpost wrote.

“‘The vicious, violent and unfair weaponisation of the department and our government will end,’ he said just 90 seconds in.”

Huffpost likened the speech to one of those heard at his campaign rallies, as he “accused the outgoing government of incompetence in basic functions and painted immigrants as ‘dangerous criminals’”.

The publication noted that had Trump been convicted for the January 6, 2021, Capitol Riots, he could have received “decades in federal prison”.

“Instead, he is again commander in chief of the United States armed forces and putative leader of the free world,” Huffpost wrote.

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Header image: US President Donald Trump speaks to the crowd as US Vice President JD Vance looks on after being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States in the US Capitol on January 20. — AFP