From Donald Trump not taking his oath on the Bible, to the pardoning of 1,500 Jan. 6 criminals, and Elon Musk performing a gesture too similar to a Nazi salute, Trump’s inauguration left many dumbfounded and scared for the next four years.
Discourse around Trump’s second inauguration and presidency has been buzzing online since it was announced he would become the nation’s 47th president. NBC News reported that Trump signed 46 executive orders on his first day back in the White House.
In the weeks leading up to President Trump’s inauguration, it seemed like every day there was a new “day one promise.”
Allan Piper, Courier reporter, said in a TikTok video, “A lot of Trump’s day one promises were illegal. Many were impossible. Most of them he broke.” Trump signed many executive orders he promised to enact on his first day, but some of those promises did not come to fruition.
Trump posted on his own social media platform, Truth Social in November that on his first day in office, he would impose the tariffs he had been threatening.
The 47th president said he would put a 25% tariff on trading goods from Mexico and Canada, the country’s biggest trading partners. He has yet to sign the executive order enacting those tariffs.
His disdain for Mexico and Canada did not end there. Trump decided he wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. According to the BBC, the gulf can only be renamed on a national scale and not globally. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo said the world will continue to call it the Gulf of Mexico and rejected the new name.
Many are aware that Trump also threatened to purchase Greenland and Canada. Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to Jen Psaki on MSNBC about Trump’s threats. “No American wants to pay 25% more for electricity or oil and gas coming in from Canada,” Trudeau said.
Emma Huber, a third year studying public relations and ethics and a practicing Catholic, said Trump’s lack of a hand on the Bible during his oath was “pretty gross.” Huber argued that if Kamala Harris had won and refused to take her oath on the Bible, there would have been an uproar.
Huber said she is upset by the double standards, the revoking of women’s rights, and Trump’s removal of the U.S. from the Paris Health Climate Agreement, which worked on combating climate change and public health.
Additionally, Neo-Nazis are very excited for Elon Musk to play a role in America’s government. Musk threw his stiff right arm into the air in a gesture many have likened to a Nazi salute. To do it twice makes people think differently, and if Nazis are happy, that cannot be a good sign. Musk may be awkward, but the richest man on Earth’s actions won’t go unnoticed.
It was only the second time Inauguration Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day fell on the same date, the first being Bill Clinton’s second inauguration. MLK Day, which celebrates the civil rights leader’s birthday, was contrasted by the inauguration of a man who built his political platform on divisiveness. It could have been a historic day if the first female president had been sworn in instead.
It is going to be an interesting four years. Biden ended his presidency with a letter to Trump that read, “The American people – and people around the world – look to this house for steadiness in the inevitable storms of history, and my prayer is that in the coming years will be a time of prosperity, peace and grace for our nation.”
We can only hope that Trump listens.
Ally • Jan 28, 2025 at 10:35 pm
You’ve outlined important information and points that we should consider when reflecting on what it means to live in this country. Hundreds of thousands of men and women have given their lives to defend our freedoms and democracy. This ultimate sacrifice was made to protect the rights of all Americans. Succumbing to an oligarchy and dictatorship isn’t acceptable. No matter one’s political affiliation, we can’t allow a small number of individuals strip away the foundations of what our country was built on and our core values.