In inaugural address, Trump pledged to reverse what he called ‘America’s decline’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was sworn in for a second, nonconsecutive term in the White House Jan. 20, becoming the nation’s 47th president four years after he left office as its 45th.
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York, delivered the invocation during U.S. President Donald Trump’s swearing-in as the 47th U.S. president in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington Jan. 20.
In his inaugural address, Trump pledged to reverse what he called “America’s decline.”
“My recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal and all of these many betrayals that have taken place, and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy. And, indeed, their freedom,” Trump said.
Trump took a sharply critical tone of his predecessor, without naming him, but also pledged “unity” moving forward.
In his address, Trump confirmed his plans to sign a series of executive orders on Day 1, including declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, shutting down “illegal entry,” and beginning “the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.”
While Trump has not yet offered specifics on how he would carry out such a program, mass deportations more broadly run contrary to the Second Vatican Council’s teaching in “Gaudium et Spes” condemning “deportation” among other actions, such as abortion, that “poison human society” and give “supreme dishonor to the Creator,” a teaching St. John Paul II affirmed in two encyclicals on moral truth and life issues.
Executive orders are legally binding directives from the president and are published in the Federal Register. Conversely, the term “executive actions” is broader and may include informal proposals for policy the president would like to see enacted. While it is typical for new presidents to issue some executive orders on their first day to signal certain priorities, Trump signaled plans that were broader in scope. Some of his planned orders already face legal challenges.
In an oath administered by Chief Justice John Roberts, Trump pledged to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution, as that document requires.
JD Vance, previously Ohio’s senator, also took the oath of office, becoming the nation’s second Catholic vice president. Justice Brett Kavanaugh administered his oath.
The inauguration ceremony was moved indoors amid frigid temperatures in the nation’s capital, taking place in the Capitol Rotunda rather than the exterior West Front of the Capitol Building.
An opening prayer was delivered by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York. He cited the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, whose federal holiday was also observed Jan. 20, “who warned without God our efforts turned to ashes.”
The cardinal prayed that Trump “may know your designs,” and also wished God’s blessings on President Joe Biden in the final moments of his term.
Cardinal Dolan spoke alongside Franklin Graham, son of the late Baptist evangelist Billy Graham.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops did not release an Inauguration Day statement Jan. 20 but did post an Inauguration Day prayer on X. “Assist with your spirit of counsel and fortitude the President of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to your people over whom he presides,” it began. “May he encourage due respect for virtue and religion. May he execute the laws with justice and mercy. May he seek to restrain crime, vice, and immorality.”
The prayer also asked that the “light of your divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress” and for all U.S. citizens, “that we be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of your holy law.”
Prior to the ceremony, Presidents Trump and Biden met at the White House, marking the first time in generations a president had the same predecessor and successor. Only one president, Grover Cleveland, has previously served nonconsecutive terms in the White House. Others, including Martin Van Buren, tried and failed to return to the White House.
In a message to Trump, Pope Francis expressed “the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you wisdom, strength, and protection in the exercise of your high duties.”
“Inspired by your nation’s ideals of being a land of opportunity and welcome for all, it is my hope that under your leadership the American people will prosper and always strive to build a more just society, where there is no room for hatred, discrimination or exclusion,” Pope Francis said, adding, “I also ask God to guide your efforts in promoting peace and reconciliation among peoples.”
At the ceremony’s conclusion, interfaith clergy members, including Father Frank Mann of Brooklyn, New York, delivered a blessing.
