“From day one,” turned out to be more than just a hollow campaign slogan for Donald Trump. A riveting morning inaugural ceremony in Washington DC gave way to the freezing dusk and to early evening festivities dominated by the new president’s signing of an executive order pardoning almost all of the 1,600 defendants in the January 6th attacks on the US Capitol in 2021.
The noontime oath-of-office and Trump’s inaugural address, at once combative and optimistic, took place in the Rotunda, the splendid domed centrepiece of the Capitol, and the presidential pageantry was rich in symbolism given the vivid memory of the riots and attacks that had taken place in the same hallowed building after Trump’s infamous Ellipse speech on January 6th four years ago. The assumption, voiced by vice-president JD Vance recently, was that prospective pardons of those jailed would take place on a case-by-case basis. By nightfall, supporters of the J6 prisoners had gathered outside the city jail, in anticipation of their immediate release.
The order was the most eye-catching of a day of sweeping legislative action. Trump found time to sign his name to 196 executive actions, in between giving three full speeches – he followed his Rotunda address with a looser, more typical riff in the Emancipation Room, and was back in rally mode when he took the stage at the Capital One Arena, home to the woebegone Wizards basketball team, in the late afternoon.
[ Donald Trump threatens tax war over US multinationalsOpens in new window ]
In 2017, Trump’s inaugural speech was defined by the phrase he used, “American Carnage”. Monday found him in a different gear: 78 years old now, but driven by a sense of vindication complete. From early morning, when he attended the service at St John’s Episcopal church, the tone he set was of American Relentlessness.
“From day one,” was the catch-cry through his interminable rally seasons of last year. And so it went. After an hour-long performance at the arena, where he signed several executive orders at a ceremonial table to the delight of the crowd, the daunting cavalcade made its short journey through the city centre to the White House.
Darkness comes early to Washington at this time of year. The late decision to move the inauguration ceremonies indoors pitched the city into a strange place. Road closures, blocked avenues and stands and crowd barriers were all in place to accommodate a 200,000-plus crowd that never materialised. It meant the heart of the city was a no-go for traffic and pedestrians.
So, by sunset the avenues near the White House looked and felt like the bits of film that might be found on Stanley Kubrick’s cutting room floor: eerie city centre streets empty apart from secret service and military officers packing serious artillery; couples dashing for the various evening balls packing equally serious stilettos and bow ties; rows and rows of disconsolate sellers of Trump merchandise stalls stunned at how their bonanza day had turned out, and the hardiest of Trump supporters braving the weather.
In Old Ebbitt Grill, one of the more famous downtown watering holes, a happy crowd in for the Ohio State-Notre Dame college football finale also enjoyed the early evening bonus of the presidential motorcade passing by outside, breaking into cheers as the deserted street was suddenly filled with blue and red warning lights and limousines as the Trump entourage passed by: history in motion.
Within 20 minutes, Trump was back on television, now behind the desk in the Oval Office. The decor had been changed since Biden exited that morning; behind the new president sat black and white photographs of the Trump family, and a collection of medals. He was there to sign more executive orders but as he wrote, Trump began to address the questions of the waiting White House press members. What followed was one of the more extraordinary hours of American political showmanship.
It is too easily forgotten that as much as he denounces the media, Trump has always enjoyed both the repartee and the limelight. He was in generous mood here, and clearly was in no hurry as he answered questions about everything that was thrown at him:
– “It is Washington DC. People go into trial and they say ‘oh I have a wonderful lawyer and I didn’t do anything wrong’ and they end up in shackles immediately, in jail. No. We’re not going to let it happen.”
– “Finland? Oh, Greenland. Greenland is a wonderful place. We need it for international security and I’m sure Denmark will ... come along. It is costing them a lot of money to maintain it. The people of Greenland are not happy with Denmark. I think they are happy with us. So, we will see what happens.”
– “The first foreign trip typically has been with [the] UK but I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450 billion of our product.”
– “Yeah he has told me he wants to make a deal. [Volodymyr] Zelenskiy wants to make a deal. I don’t know if [Vladimir] Putin does or not. I think he should. I think he is destroying Russia by not making a deal.”
– “That’s an interesting one ... I think Bill Clinton was a very good politician. I don’t think he was used properly. They disrespected him. When Hillary [Clinton] was running, he said, you know, you better get up to Michigan and Wisconsin – every house has a Trump sign on it. And they all laughed at him because the Republicans hadn’t won Michigan or Wisconsin for decades. A long time. And they all laughed at Bill Clinton. Like, what the hell does he know? And he turned out to be right because I won both of them. And now we just won both in this election too.”
– “I was surprised that president [Joe] Biden would go and pardon his whole family ‘cos that makes him look very guilty. I could have pardoned my family. I could have pardoned myself. But I said if I do that it’s going to make me look very guilty. If I did that I don’t think I would be sitting here right now, frankly. Because it would have shown you were guilty.”
On and on, question after question, without a care in the world. All of this happened on live television as Trump signed book after black book of executive orders, as casually as though he was writing the cheque after a good dinner at the 21 Club. But with each stroke of the pen came seismic hammer blows – the United States withdrawing from the World Health Organisation, from the Paris climate agreement. The improvised department of government efficiency was formalised; an energy emergency was declared.
[ Trump inauguration speech signals regime change rather than a transfer of powerOpens in new window ]
There was a performative point to it all: the casual, open-house nature of Trump’s Oval Office stood in striking contrast to the rare and heavily choreographed media appearances of his predecessor. “Did Biden ever do anything like this?” Trump asked gleefully at one stage, lest the point had been missed.
Then he left, bound for the same bedroom the Bidens had occupied the night before (strange, surely, even for someone as extrospective as Trump) to change into his tuxedo, run a blow drier across the mane and proceed to the first of three of the inaugural balls he was scheduled to attend. Shortly before 10.30pm, he took the stage at the Commander-in-Chief Ball to dance with the first lady, president again.
Clearly, the events of January 6th did not sway the majority of the American electorate in November. But those scenes remain a vivid and deeply troubling chapter in US electoral history for a significant minority. Fifty-seven per cent of Americans said they disapproved of the January 6th pardons in a recent Wall Street Journal survey.
Earlier in the day, Trump had declared his wish to be a “unifying president”. For his tens of millions of supporters, his opening act is proof of his promise of the rebirth of the American empire. For the vast army of never-Trumpers, the first hours will deepen their dread that the next four years are there to be endured.
But there is also a significant number of Americans among those who voted for Kamala Harris who have since leant into the essential reservoir of native optimism and now hope that Trump can surprise them.
The actions of the first day will have done little to brighten their optimism. But they will delight the Republican majority who were won over by his promise to cleanse this city of its tired political cobwebs and complacency.
At midnight, Donald Trump was still dancing and talking. Outside, it was minus-12 in Washington. But still molten too.
How should Ireland navigate the return of Trump?
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
