7 Highlights From Trump’s Inauguration Address: ‘The Golden Age Of America Begins Right Now’

President Donald Trump became the second commander-in-chief ever to serve two non-consecutive terms on Monday. He was sworn in for a second time following two failed assassination attempts and an unprecedented campaign to imprison him.

“The golden age of America begins right now,” Trump said. “From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world.”

The president vowed to transform the nation into the “envy of every nation” beginning with a series of executive orders and efforts intended to unleash the economy, dismantle the leviathan of the administrative state, restore American patriotism, and embark on a new era of exploration in space.

“A tide of change is sweeping the country, sunlight is pouring over the entire world, and America has the chance to seize this opportunity like never before,” Trump said. “But first, we must be honest about the challenges we face.”

Slams Weaponization Of The Justice Department

Trump said he had been “tested and challenged” more than any of his predecessors. He also slammed the “vicious, violent, and unfair weaponization” of the Justice Department, which has been wielded to prosecute the Democrat-dominated Washington regime’s chief dissidents, including the re-elected president himself.

“Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom, and indeed, to take my life,” Trump said, recalling being shot in the ear at a Pennsylvania rally last summer. “I felt then, and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.”

“The vicious, violent, and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government will end,” Trump added. “And our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud, prosperous, and free.”

Pledges To Declare Border Emergency

After capturing the White House for a second time with a platform promoting strict immigration enforcement, Trump indicated the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border was a top priority when outlining the first executive orders of his new administration.

“First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border,” Trump said. “All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.”

Trump also said he would “reinstate” his “Remain in Mexico” program and eliminate Biden-era border protocols such as “catch and release” while also deploying federal troops “to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.”

Trump also pledged to designate criminal gang cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations” in an order signed Monday.

‘Drill Baby, Drill’

Trump characterized the record-setting inflation to plague the nation under the Biden administration as a self-inflicted crisis that can be addressed by harnessing America’s energy resources.

“The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices. That is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency,” the president said. “We will drill, baby, drill.”

“We will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again, right to the top, and export American energy all over the world,” Trump said. “We will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it.”

An End To Federally Subsidized Identity Politics

Trump said that during his first week, he will terminate the federal government’s “policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.”

“We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based,” the president, whose inauguration happened to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, said.

He also added that “[i]t will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.”

Trump Plans Reckoning For Military Covid Shot Mandate

In another stark pivot from his predecessor, Trump pledged to re-hire the more than 8,400 service members kicked out of the military for declining to abide by the Pentagon’s immoral (and scientifically dubious) Covid shot mandate.

“This week, I will reinstate any service members who were unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the Covid vaccine mandate, with full back pay,” Trump said.

The 47th president additionally noted he will “sign an order to stop our warriors from being subjected to radical political theories and social experiments while on duty.”

“It’s going to end immediately,” Trump said. “Our armed forces will be free to focus on their sole mission: defeating America’s enemies.”

Announces Rebrand For ‘Gulf Of Mexico’ As ‘Gulf Of America’

In Trump’s effort to help America “reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth,” the president said he would rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”

Trump also said he would “restore” President William McKinley’s name to North America’s highest peak located in Alaska, which was renamed “Denali” by the Obama administration in 2015. The renaming effort nine years ago was supported by the state’s senior senator, Lisa Murkowski.

Mission To Mars

Trump closed his inaugural message with an aspiration to reverse the chronic disease epidemic and reignite a 21st-century vision of manifest destiny “into the stars” by “launching American astronauts to plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars.”

“[A]s we liberate our nation, we will lead it to new heights of victory and success,” Trump said. “The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation … .”

Such growth, he added, would be defined by a country that “increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations, and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons.”

“From this moment on, America’s decline is over,” Trump said.

Tristan Justice is a national correspondent for The Federalist and the co-author of "Fat and Unhappy: How 'Body Positivity' Is Killing Us (and How to Save Yourself)." He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com. Sign up for Tristan's email newsletter here. Buy "Fat and Unhappy" here.