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Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
Donald Trump’s inaugural address eight years ago became known as the “American carnage” speech for his call to a dystopia of rusting factories, poverty and crime. His second struck, in part, the most brilliant tone ever recorded, promising a “golden age of America.” But much of the punitive rhetoric was still there, imbued with a sense of vindication and personal mission born of his extraordinary political comeback. For his supporters and critics alike, the bottom line must be that Trump’s second era promises to be even more important and disruptive than the first.
There were moments of high rhetoric as Trump evoked the achievements of American pioneers, from those who opened up the US West to those who took humanity to the stars. He insisted that America would regain its “rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, and most respected nation on Earth.”
But he railed at the same time against a “radical and corrupt establishment” that had extracted power and wealth from citizens, and a government that could not manage “even a simple crisis”. Opponents will fear his pledge to end the “weaponization” of a justice system he believes has been rigged to target him will in reality be using the tools of American justice to settle scores. with his enemies. And while there was no mention of annexing Canada or seizing Greenland, his declaration that America will retake the Panama Canal will worry allies and opponents alike.
From a returning Trump, such warnings have gained strength. Although he was limited in his first term by his ignorance of Washington politics and by the “adults in the room” he appointed as advisers, he became a president of consequence. It reshaped Western attitudes toward China, accelerated a retreat from multilateralism, and empowered right-wing populist parties around the world.
The man who took the oath of office in the Capitol Rotunda on Monday – where rebels four years ago tried to block the transfer of power to President Joe Biden – is much more powerful this time. He commands almost total loyalty in a Republican party that holds majorities in both houses of Congress. His cabinet choices are determined by loyalty to him. And not just Silicon Valley billionaires, but many corporate leaders have rushed to kneel Trump. A narrow victory in the popular vote is now seen as a change in the political climate.
Trump 2.0, moreover, has a detailed agenda to bring about a detailed change in the way America is governed and how it deals with the rest of the world. He made it clear that among the nearly 100 executive orders he has already begun signing are declarations of national emergencies on issues including immigration and energy, giving him the power to rush the new measures.
Trump is holding off, for now, on the long-awaited tariffs, despite his campaign promises to impose a universal tax on global imports and higher tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. But Trump’s confirmation that he would end Biden’s Green New Deal and that the US would withdraw from the Paris climate accord are blows to climate action. Some of his other orders are set to be unprecedented, radical and legally dubious.
There are many reasons, too, for Americans beyond the Maga base to fear for their democracy. Biden rightly warned in his farewell speech that the marriage of great wealth and political influence in Trump’s new district was an “oligarchy . . . taking shape in America”. The fact that Trump and his wife launched memecoins to take advantage of the world’s most speculative market in the days leading up to his inauguration is emblematic of this self-interested shift. The legal world, watchdogs and media groups should pay close attention. Trump’s first term and its end were quite turbulent. But the checks and balances of American power are about to be tested like never before.
