Bridge of Wills

An unprecedented full-circle moment for Donald J. Trump culminates today; his first inauguration in 2017 was the end of a political journey that brought him from the escalators of Trump Tower to the White House and today, from a political pariah after his 2020 election defeat to a second term in a sizable election win. Though the President’s second inauguration is eight years removed from his first, Trump affirmed today that the populist revolution he sparked in 2016 had become the politically predominant force that lends America into his self-proclaimed golden age.

Inaugural Backdrop 

Frigid temperatures swept through the Capital, prompting an untraditional start to ceremonies and moving inaugural festivities indoors. Motivating stability in an unconventional transfer of power, Trump modeled the spirit of President Reagan’s 1985 inauguration, which was forced inside by similar conditions, a controversial choice swiftly executed by the returning administration. 

Trump was sworn into office surrounded by a crowd of his comrades, ranging from congressmen to the emerging “tech-led oligarchy” with prominent faces such as Tim Cook of Apple, Sundar Pichai of Google, and Mark Zuckerburg of Meta, among others, in attendance. This crowd raised superlative attention for Americans across the nation, following hesitation displayed during the popularized warning within the former President’s farewell address. Exemplified through his attendance, Elon Musk of SpaceX was another enthusiastic supporter throughout the Trump campaign, beaming in his second row with the promise of expanding American influence astronomically, via the planting of Mars’s first American flag and his newly vested authority within the Department of Government Efficiency. 

The chilly atmosphere paralleled icy interactions between the opposing administrations. Biden, Trump, Harris, and Vance were spurred by traditional pleasantries that the outgoing administration provided to the incoming administration. Fraught relationships and acrid tension originated after Harris’s defeat in the 2024 election, with Biden blaming senior democrats and Harris herself, perpetuating a poor opinion of the President-Elect. In final interviews and press appearances, Biden appeared incredulous at Trump’s assertion that the Gaza ceasefire was negotiated because of his influence and at Trump’s attempt to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” Despite his opinions of the incoming President, Biden welcomed Trump home into the White House in a peaceful transfer of power for Pre-Inauguration tea. 

Vice-President Harris maintained a similar attitude to that of Biden, chilly yet respectful: this energy was fully exemplified during Jimmy Carter’s funeral as she directed a furious look toward President Obama for engaging Trump in conversation throughout the event. Harris fulfilled her duties in her capacity as Vice-President delineated by both tradition and the constitution, but the results of the election weighed heavily on her face and mind throughout the ceremony. 

Outgoing Presidents

President Biden and Obama were faced with a similar fate, having to hand their office to Trump: both believed that scandal would make him unelectable, but it didn’t; both believed that their candidates of choice, Hillary Clinton for Obama and VP Harris for Biden would defeat Trump, it didn’t. As Trump came face to face with them both, Biden and Obama understood the gravity of the situation—but Biden much more so. Trump was somewhat of an unknown quantity in 2017, and Obama responded in kind with much more tepid final actions, but almost ten years of the Trumpian era moved President Biden to much more drastic action.

President Biden’s final pardons included Dr. Anthony Fauci, members of the January 6th House Select Committee and their staffs, and his own family, including his two brothers and sister. Biden hasn’t refrained from pardoning immediate family members, but this was an especially shocking move—a move that came just minutes after Biden finished sharing “tea” with Trump in the White House Blue Room, a tradition whose modern form dates back to Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953. The former President’s immediate reasoning was that despite the fact that those he pardoned may not be guilty of any crimes, Trump and his allies would pursue political persecution that would bring prolonged financial difficulties and pain for those involved.

President Trump’s immediate reaction to the pardons was to return to the rhetoric of the campaign, signaling at a congressional luncheon that the “pardons of people that were very, very guilty of very bad crimes, like the unelected committee of political thugs” was “corrupt and unfair.” Trump is resolute in seeking “justice” for the “slights” his political opponents have pursued against him since his entering into politics. 

Now and Then: The Final Word

Key themes that motivated Trump’s first inaugural address shaped the direction of his legacy during his last term. After his past electoral victory mirroring his current win, the narrative stemmed from the theme of American Carnage, painting a picture of the unproductive society under the Obama Administration that would be to change through greater market and governmental intervention. His changing rhetoric opened the newest chapter of his presidency by reflecting these familiar sentiments and enabling Americans to become the dominant global power by “putting America first” in response to domestic global unrest not effectively handled by the Biden Administration. While “American Carnage” isn’t the adjective describing the current state of America during the latest speech, this bold remark manifests itself in Trump’s current administration’s domestic and international policy. With the intention of reclaiming a patriotic America, his vision is being nationally received as an expansionist agenda- marked with the Manifest Destiny to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and encouraging the reclaiming of the Panama Canal and the stars. 

Trump also made a callback towards the retribution he sought to achieve by pledging to “de-weaponize” the justice department, which he perceives to have gone after both him and his supporters. The resistance towards Trump this time around is much less prominent, as shown by the lack of counter-protests in stark difference to 2017 when the Women’s March swarmed across the entirety of DC. Now, with the Senate unwilling to provide any substantive check against Trump’s ability to appoint, he’ll achieve a much greater amount of his agenda with legions of loyalists spread out across the government.

Last First Day on the Job—Executive Orders 

In a packed crowd at Capital One Arena, Donald Trump began a swing against President Joe Biden, disparaging theactions that he had taken, and with a stroke of a pen, in that packed arena, he began to undo many of Biden’s signature achievements. Throwing out the Trump-branded sharpies he used to sign his slew of executive orders, Donald Trump wielded his Presidential power to change the U.S. Government and fulfill his perceived mandate;

At the Capitol One Arena, Trump signed the following executive orders:

• Regulatory freeze
• Freeze on all federal hiring
• Require federal employees to work full-time in person
• Address cost of living increase
• Pull out of the Paris Climate Accords
• Send a letter to the UN pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords
• Freedom of speech for federal government employees
• Overturning 78 Biden executive orders and directives

Inside a packed Oval Office, Trump touted a “landslide” electoral win and continued to sign more executive orders while also curiously finding a note left to him by former President Biden in Presidential tradition at the suggestion of Fox News Reporter Peter Doocy. The executive orders signed include:

• Pardons for January 6th “hostages”
• Declaring a national emergency at the southern border
• Streamlining refugee program
• Designating cartels as foreign terrorists
• Protecting the American people from invasion
• Ending birthright citizenship (arguably his biggest policy change)
• Ending Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion hiring measures in the federal government
• Creation of Department of Government Efficiency
• Opening up Artic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) to drilling
• Reinstating TikTok for 90 days
• Declare energy emergency
• Withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO)
• Establishing the US Government as only recognizing two genders

These are just a handful of nearly 100 executive orders that Trump intends to sign as part of an explosive opening to his administration. While taking questions from the press inside of the Oval Office, Trump hinted at significant changes— putting a 25% tariff on all countries doing business with the United States, ending the Ukrainian War through a deal, and declaring a 100% tariff on Chinese goods were among the directives Trump throughout in a spree.

Conclusion

Trump’s return to office is promising to be a sledgehammer to Washington as he seeks to torch the actions of the previous administrations and retribution against political allies. From carnage in 2017 to a triumphant comeback in 2024, Donald Trump has managed to pull one of the greatest political comebacks in American history. Throughout these four years, Bridge of Wills will cover this administration every step of the way and bring balanced non-partisan coverage to counteract the partisan division that the next four years are sure to create.