Potus Inauguration Updates: Trump back to White House with vengeance, targets immigrants but pardons rioters

The crowded dais in the Capitol Rotunda on Inauguration Day featured four of the world’s five wealthiest men, five U.S. presidents, tech titans and business moguls, and two foreign leaders with prime spots.

After four years, Donald Trump is back in the White House. Within hours of taking the helm, the 47th president of the United States made sweeping changes to his residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, including inside the Oval Office.

Within hours of taking oath as the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump raised anxieties across continents as he pledged again to annex Panama Canal in Latin America and Greenland from Denmark. He said that the annexations were essential for US national security.

Leaders from around the world reacted to Donald Trump’s return Monday to the White House, offering congratulations and urging good relations with the mercurial leader.

Here are some of the first reactions after Trump took the oath of office for a second term:

‘Dear friend’: India

“I look forward to working closely together once again, to benefit both our countries, and to shape a better future for the world,” said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, congratulating his “dear friend” Trump.

‘Just peace’: Ukraine

“President Trump is always decisive, and the peace through strength policy he announced provides an opportunity to strengthen American leadership and achieve a long-term and just peace, which is the top priority,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

‘Lasting peace’: Russia

Congratulating Trump and saying he was open to dialogue with the new US administration on the Ukraine war, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: “I want to emphasise that its goal should not be a brief truce… but a lasting peace based on respect for the legitimate interests of all people.”

‘Best days’ to come: Israel

“I believe that working together again we will raise the US-Israel alliance to even greater heights,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding that the “best days of our alliance are yet to come”.

‘Two-state solution’: Palestinians

“We are ready to work with you to achieve peace during your term, based on a two-state solution,” Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said, adding that meant “the State of Palestine and the State of Israel living side-by-side in security and peace, ensuring security and stability in our region and the world”.

Following up on his promise, Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday hours after taking oath as the 47th US president to delay the enforcement of the TikTok ban by 75 days.

Donald Trump is now the president of the United States. After taking oath at the US Capitol Rotunda, Potus delivered an inaugural speech – it was fiery and delivered some shockers. Trump signed a series of executive orders, some of which revoked 78 of Joe Biden’s policies.

US President Donald Trump said Monday he was not confident a ceasefire deal in Gaza would hold, despite trumpeting his diplomacy to secure it ahead of his inauguration.

Asked by a reporter as he returned to the White House whether the two sides would maintain the truce and move on in the agreement, Trump said, “I’m not confident.”

“That’s not our war; it’s their war. But I’m not confident,” Trump said.

JD Vance was sworn in as the 50th Vice President of the United States during the inauguration ceremony held on Monday in the Rotunda of the US Capitol.

However, it was his two-year-old daughter who captured everyone’s attention on Inauguration Day.

It is the world’s most famous address. So far, every American president except George Washington has stayed in the White House. Now it has got a new resident or rather an old one has returned. Donald Trump moved in after he took oath as the 47th president of the United States on a frigid day in Washington DC. For the next four years, this will be his office and home.

The US Senate on Monday approved the Laken Riley Act, making it the first piece of legislation passed by the upper chamber after US President Donald Trump took over the White House. According to The Hill, 64 senators voted in favour of the bill while 35 voted against it. 12 Democrats ended up supporting all the Republicans to ensure that the legislation passes with a clear majority.

Shortly after his inauguration, President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders, with one of the most notable being a move to revoke 78 actions taken by the Biden administration. Among the targets was the executive order from October 2023, which outlined important guidelines for artificial intelligence (AI). Trump made it clear that these actions were part of a broader effort to “repair our institutions and our economy,” signalling his intention to undo many of Biden’s policies.

With Donald Trump back as US president with his confrontational style, Chinese, European and Ukrainian leaders are expected to defend global cooperation on Tuesday at the annual gathering of the world’s elites in Davos.

There will no doubt be a Trump-sized elephant in the rooms at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss Alpine resort even if some leaders avoid saying his name — although the man will speak himself by video link on Thursday.

Trump returned to the White House on Monday, bringing with him a more protectionist administration and fears he will deliver on promises to slap heavy tariffs on China and US allies including Canada and the European Union.

In his inaugural address, he vowed Washington will “tariff and tax foreign countries”.

“What a great feeling,” Trump told reporters when asked how it felt to be back in the Oval Office on Monday. “One of the better feelings I’ve ever had.”

Trump acted as if he’d never left. Nor was there any mention of how he had left in disgrace after his supporters attacked the US Capitol in January 2021 trying to overturn his election defeat to Joe Biden.

Instead, the 78-year-old launched straight into an impromptu, 50-minute press conference in the symbolic heart of the US presidency.

The blossoming relationship between Trump and Elon Musk was on full display throughout Monday’s inauguration ceremonies.

Musk sat near Trump during the ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, and he pumped his fists when the president promoted the goal of putting American astronauts on Mars.

The moment sharply illustrated the unusual partnership the billionaire tech titan, who has lucrative contracts with the federal government, has established with the incoming president.

Ahead of his inauguration, President Donald Trump held a victory rally where he shared some exciting news about Apple’s plans to increase investment in the United States. Trump revealed that he had spoken with Apple CEO Tim Cook, who reportedly committed to a major investment in the country, according to a report by Fox Business. Although the specifics were not detailed, Trump seemed enthusiastic, mentioning that Cook’s decision was influenced by his election win.

Joe Biden on Monday wrapped up a more than 50-year political career, but promised that “we’re not leaving the fight,” as he bid farewell to the presidency and flew to California to unwind with his family and ease back into private life.

Former police personnel who were posted at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, have condemned President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon people who attacked the Capitol that day to hijack the Senate proceedings.

Trump appeared at the Commander in Chief Ball and talked by satellite to a small group of American service men who were stationed in South Korea.

He began by enquiring about the leader of North Korea, an adversary of the United States and its partner, South Korea.

“How’s Kim Jong Un doing?” Trump enquired, describing Kim as someone with “bad intentions” and a “tough cookie,” but he also stated that he had a good connection with the secretive ruler.

Trump controversially met with Kim during his first term and has frequently praised him, despite his nuclear goals and tensions with the United States and its regional allies.

House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said Trump’s actions to pardon and commute sentences of those convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capito; attack are “shameful.”

“The President’s actions are an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution,” Pelosi said in a statement. “It is shameful that the President has decided to make one of his top priorities the abandonment and betrayal of police officers who put their lives on the line to stop an attempt to subvert the peaceful transfer of power.”

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday congratulated Donald Trump on his return to the White House and said he wanted to build a “relationship of trust”.

Japan and the United States are key defence allies and each other’s top foreign investors, but businesses and diplomats are bracing themselves for potential changes under Trump.

During his first term Trump had pressed US allies to increase defence spending, and this time has threatened them with trade tariffs.

Cuban president says Trump’s decision to redesignate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism is an act of “arrogance and contempt for the truth.”

“It is not surprising. His goal is to continue strengthening the cruel economic war against Cuba for the purpose of domination,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on the social platform X.

Díaz-Canel said that being on the list, along with the U.S. embargo, is one of the reasons behind the “shortages” on the island that are driving people to immigrate to the U.S. territory.

Trump on Monday reversed an executive order issued by Biden that had lifted the designation.

Newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump on Monday reversed the Biden administration’s recent decision to remove Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, the White House said.

Nayib Hassan, an attorney for former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio, said in a statement that his client’s pardon “symbolizes a turning point for our nation.”

“Throughout this journey, we have steadfastly maintained that the charges and the subsequent prosecution were politically motivated, and today, with President Trump’s act of clemency, that long-fought battle concludes,” Hassan said.

Trump signed an memorandum allowing his White House counsel to grant interim six-month security clearances — including access to the highest levels of government information — to some aides whose federal background checks are pending.

Trump delayed in signing an agreement with the outgoing Biden administration last year that would have enabled the FBI to begin processing those clearances faster. Trump’s memo directs that they be granted access to federal property, technology and information immediately.

Trump is raising the possibility of invoking a wartime power act for the first time since World War II to deport gang members who are deemed members of a foreign terrorist organization.

He is directing the Homeland Security and Justice departments to prepare for him to use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows the president to detain or deport any noncitizen from a country considered an enemy of the U.S.

The law has been invoked only three times: during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II. It was last was used to detain Japanese citizens following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

Trump signed an executive order halting offshore wind lease sales and pausing the issuance of approvals, permits and loans for onshore and offshore wind projects.

Trump’s order says the interior secretary will review federal wind leasing and permitting practices. The assessment will consider the environmental impact of onshore and offshore wind projects, the economic costs associated with the intermittent generation of electricity and the effect of subsidies on the viability of the wind industry, the order states.

Trump wants to increase drilling for oil and gas and has been hostile to renewable energy, particularly offshore wind.

US President Donald Trump ordered a 75-day pause on enforcing a law that would effectively ban TikTok in the US, as he floated an idea of partnering with the app’s Chinese owner.

The executive order delayed implementation of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which took effect January 19 and would prohibit the distribution and updating of TikTok in the United States.

Trump had promised to move fast to save TikTok from the law that was passed overwhelmingly by Congress and signed by president Joe Biden last year.

Asian markets saw big fluctuations Tuesday as Donald Trump took office warning he could impose stiff tariffs on Canada and Mexico next month but appeared to delay any action against China for now.

The new US president’s announcement that the country’s closest neighbours could be hit with 25 percent levies as soon as February 1 also jolted currency markets, with the Mexican peso and Canadian dollar tumbling.

His comments came amid the signing of a slew of executive orders that indicated he could resume his hardball approach to global diplomacy and trade, including pulling out of the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organization.

The dollar rebounded in choppy Asian trade on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump suggested the United States could impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico in the near future, though details were lacking.

Trump was quoted saying his team was thinking of tariffs around 25 per cent which could be announced on February 1, but offered no other specifics.

The India-US ties are expected to be stronger under newly sworn-in President Donald Trump and this was indicated at his inauguration in the White House on Monday, where External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, who attended the event as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special envoy, was offered a seat in the front row, alongside Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa.

Hours after assuming the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order which would pull the United States out of the World Health Organisation (WHO). This is the second time Trump has unleashed an attack against the global health body. Before Trump signed the executive order, several health experts warned the move would isolate the US at a time when viruses are spreading all around the world.

Trump has signed a sweeping execution order on the death penalty, directing the attorney general to “take all necessary and lawful action” to ensure that states have enough lethal injection drugs to carry out executions.

Trump wrote that “politicians and judges who oppose capital punishment have defied and subverted the laws of our country.”

A moratorium on federal executions had been in place since 2021, and only three defendants remain on federal death row after Biden converted 37 of their sentences to life in prison.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te congratulated Trump and Vance on their inauguration in a message on the social platform X.

“Taiwan looks forward to working with your administration to promote enduring freedom, peace & prosperity around the world,” the statement read. “We wish you great success in the years ahead.”

The U.S. is Taiwan’s largest unofficial backer and arms provider. The government in Taipei hopes the Trump administration will continue to offer its support in the face of annexation threats from China, which considers the self-ruled island its own territory and threatens to take it over, by force if necessary

President Donald Trump announced severe new restrictions on immigration and asylum in the United States hours after taking office Monday, declaring that he will send troops to the US-Mexico border and attempt to end birthright citizenship.

Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border and used a careening press conference in the Oval Office to announce the controversial order seeking to revoke the right of US nationality to anyone born in America.

“That’s a big one,” he told reporters.

The US Senate on Monday unanimously confirmed Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a China hawk and staunch backer of Israel, as President Donald Trump’s secretary of state.

The Senate backed Rubio by a vote of 99-0, days after the long-term member of the Senate foreign relations and intelligence committees sailed through his friendly confirmation hearing.