WASHINGTON, Jan 21: Donald Trump hailed the dawn of a "golden age" for the United States as he was sworn in as the country's 47th president on Monday.
"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.
Donald Trump signed a blizzard of divisive presidential orders as he was sworn in for a historic second term Monday, pardoning supporters who violently attacked the US Capitol and clamping down on immigration, even as he vowed a new "golden age" for America.
Trump also withdrew the United States from the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organization and threatened huge trade tariffs on neighboring Canada and Mexico in a whirlwind return to the White House.
The Republican said in a speech after taking the oath at the Capitol -- in a ceremony held indoors due to freezing weather -- that "America's decline is over" after four years of Democrat Joe Biden's presidency.
But after the pomp and ceremony it was the showman Trump of his first term -- along with the sometimes strongman-style rhetoric -- who was on display later in the day.
"Could you imagine Biden doing this? I don't think so," Trump told a cheering crowd at a Washington sports arena as he threw them the pens he had used to sign a first round of orders.
Trump, 78, then made his triumphant return to the White House, four years after leaving in disgrace, to complete the most remarkable comeback in US political history.
Back in the Oval Office he held an impromptu 50-minute press conference as he signed more orders -- including one pardoning around 1,500 Capitol rioters.
They were charged for taking part in the assault on Congress on January 6, 2021 by thousands of Trump supporters seeking to stop certification of Biden's election victory.
"We hope they come out tonight frankly," Trump said. "They're expecting it."
He signed orders declaring a national emergency at the Mexican border and said he would deploy US troops to tackle illegal immigration -- a key campaign issue that drove his election victory over Kamala Harris.
Trump also vowed to "drill, baby, drill" for oil, and scrap rules aimed at persuading motorists to buy electric vehicles.
Finally he vowed to "plant the Stars and Stripes" on the planet Mars.
The returning president often struck a nationalistic tone, pledging to impose trade tariffs, rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, and take "back" the Panama Canal, which has been controled by the Central American country since 1999.
But he played down his earlier promises to get a peace agreement in Ukraine before taking office.
He confirmed he would meet Vladimir Putin and said Putin was "destroying Russia" by not making a deal to end the war.
In contrast to his ousting four years ago, Trump was surrounded by America's wealthy and powerful for the inauguration.
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, plus Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos and Google CEO Sundar Pichai all had prime seats in the Capitol alongside Trump's family and cabinet members.
Musk -- who will lead a cost-cutting drive in Trump's administration, raised controversy however on Monday when he made a gesture at a later event that some on social media likened to a "Nazi" or "fascist" movement.
Former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton all attended the ceremony with their spouses -- except for ex-first lady Michelle Obama who pointedly stayed away. —AFP