The inauguration of President Donald Trump for his second term in office has captured the attention of many. From the presence of the worlds richest men, the pardoning of 1,500 individuals convicted of offenses related to the attack on the Capitol in 2021, to the United States withdrawing from the Paris Accord. Indeed, there is much to recap regarding this years controversial inauguration ceremony.
Who Attended the Inauguration?
Some of the celebrity names among those who attended the proceedings were that of singer-songwriter Carrie Underwood, podcaster Joe Rogan, boxer and influencer Jake Paul, as well as the musical group The Village People (makers of the hit late 70’s disco track ‘YMCA’). More significantly, there were several tech leaders also present at the ceremony. Chief among them: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos, Apple leader Tim Cook, Google chief Sundar Pichai, and chief executive of Tiktok Shou Zi Chew.
Notably, the Tiktok app was taken offline on Saturday 18 for a short period of time. The next day, Tiktok was restored in the United States. A message displayed on the app in the aftermath credited its speedy restoration to President Trump.
Messaging
Moreover, the families of the Israeli’s captured on October 7 met with President Trump. The meeting took place at the inauguration just a day after the officiation of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. The families held up photographs of their captured family members during the proceedings. Shortly after, President Trump shifted his focus onto discussing the pardoning of those involved in the January 6 riots. Trump, having made promises about pardoning those involved in the attack on Capitol Hill made sweeping pardons for those involved in nonviolent and violent activities. The pardons included 169 individuals who plead guilty to assaulting police officers.
Trump argued that his time in office would reverse a “horrible betrayal” visited upon the country by the Democratic party. He also spoke of giving people back their “faith, their wealth, their democracy and indeed, their freedom.”
Indeed, Trump made the trajectory of the country clear during the inauguration by signing many executive orders. Executive orders are formally written statements outlining the presidents agenda for how the government is run. While executive orders cannot be directly overturned by lawmakers, checks and balances via Congress can prevent an order from coming to fruition.
Trump’s Executive Orders
Many executive orders had a politically isolationist charge to them. Namely, the orders that prescribed withdrawing from international climate agreements like the Paris Agreement, the World Health Organisation. The ‘America First Trade Policy’, recommends protectionism and tariffs, while the ‘Unleashing American Energy‘ order calls for a review of activities that could inhibit the development of domestic energy resources, and explicitly advocates for the continued use of fossil fuels.
The United States has to wait one year before its commitments to the Paris Agreement are officially dissolved. Trump also issued an executive order titled ‘Initial Rescissions Of Harmful Executive Orders And Actions‘, which is set to dismantle many diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The executive order itself states that DEI initiatives have “[replaced] hard work, merit, and equality with a divisive and dangerous preferential hierarchy.”
The order on DEI initiatives reinforces Trump’s claim that open borders have negatively impacted the life of American citizens. One other key executive order of a similar nature that passed declared an emergency at the southern border and called for a stronger military presence at the border in order to protect American livelihoods and the economy.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk has more recently become a significant figure in American electoral politics. His new role in the cabinet is to lead Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency. The role of the new department is to reduce government overspending and to crack down on regulation.
However, the most controversial element of the inauguration was not the presence of the tech billionaire, but his arm and hand gestures. During the post inauguration rally, Musk thanked the crowds and then subsequently performed what has been likened to a ‘nazi salute’. Musk addressed the crowds, stating: “My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilisation is assured.” The salute was met with immediate backlash from media outlets, as well as those on social media.
Responding to the backlash on X, Musk wrote: “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.” In the aftermath of the salute, Musk has been defended by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The ADL is a pro-Israel and self-described anti-Semitism watchdog group, and described Musk’s gesture as “an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm” in a social media post.
President Trump has yet to publicly comment on Musk’s gesture at the event.
Feature Image: Business World
MA International Journalism, with a passion for animal, climate and political issues
