After an electoral victory of 312 votes and a popular vote victory of 49% to 48%, Donald Trump has found himself in the White House for a second term. On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump was sworn in for the second time. Following a cold snap, temperatures in Washington D.C plummeted, going as low as 8 degrees according to Wtop News. With one of the coldest ceremonies since Ronald Reagan’s 1985 inauguration, Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration was planned to be held indoors, in the Capital One Arena.
Unlike President Trump’s 2017 inauguration, which had struggled to garner any popular names to perform, his second inauguration was much better attended, with many more celebrity performers throughout the event. Carrie Underwood sang “America the Beautiful”, and the Village People, who originally had sent Trump a Cease and Desist letter for his use of their songs during his campaign, according to Forbes, performed at the pre-inauguration events. They even joined Trump on stage as they played “Y.M.C.A”, one of Trump’s favorite songs which he used frequently during his campaign. Alongside these two performers were others like Gavin DeGraw, Jason Aldean, and Billy Ray Cyrus, according to NPR News.
President Trump’s inaugural address was one of both optimism and aggression. He proclaimed that a new “golden age” of America had begun, by promising to increase manufacturing jobs through the implementation of tariffs, sending Americans to Mars under his administration, and encouraging his audience that nothing is impossible with effort, representing his unexpected political comeback. However, he also made a series of critical comments about the previous administration and took a hostile approach toward many other pressing issues. For instance, he criticized the Biden administration directly in front of the former president and vice president, criticized former Attorney General Merrick Garland for attempting to prosecute him for the Capitol attacks of January 6, 2021 and politicize the Department of Justice, and threatened to reinstate the Alien and Sedition Acts and take more aggressive measures through executive action to combat illegal immigration.
Alongside these comments, President Trump spoke incredibly highly of himself in his address, a common staple of his speeches. According to the Washington Post, Trump claimed that he had been subjected to more adversity and hardship than any other president, including Abraham Lincoln, who had led the United States during the Civil War, and George Washington, who had led the country during the Revolutionary War. Alongside these comments, the president claimed he had been chosen by God. This event came after controversy stemming from Trump not putting his hand on the Bible when swearing his oath, though this had no impact on the oath and was not legally required, according to CBS News.
Aside from President Trump, there was another notorious celebrity, whose actions garnered infamy as he addressed his audience. As Elon Musk, one of Trump’s biggest donors, addressed the crowd, he gave a hand gesture which appeared to be a Nazi salute. Several news outlets and political organizations criticized Musk for the gesture. Professor of History Ruth Ben-Ghiat of New York University, claimed the gesture to be “A Nazi salute–and a very belligerent one, too”. Though Musk claimed that he had not done a Nazi salute, and called the criticism politicized, this criticism was not without reason. Several European political parties decried Musk, insisting he be banned from entering their countries. On the flip side, the salute was celebrated by white supremacist and Neo-Nazi groups. Nick Fuentes, a far-right activist most recently notorious for being doxxed following his comments against women’s bodily autonomy, claimed that the salute was “straight up Seig Heil, like loving Hitler energy”. With a dramatic shift in party and political interest conveyed at this inauguration, the next four years will determine the direction in which the United States will lean, with impacts for a long time to come.
Junior Chessie Bovasso is a Staff Writer. Her email is fbovasso@fandm.edu.