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Trump Sworn In a Second Time, Says He Was ‘Saved by God’ to Rescue America
Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th US President in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC, on Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS
Donald Trump pledged to rescue America from what he described as years of betrayal and decline in his inaugural address on Monday, prioritizing a crackdown on illegal immigration and portraying himself as a national savior chosen by God.
“First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border,” he said. “All illegal entry will be immediately halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.”
The speech echoed many of the themes he sounded at his first inauguration in 2017 when he spoke of the “American carnage” of crime and job loss that he said had ravaged the country.
Trump, 78, took the oath of office to “preserve, protect, and defend” the US Constitution at 12:01 pm ET (1701 GMT) inside the US Capitol, administered by Chief Justice John Roberts. His vice president, JD Vance, was sworn in just before him.
Trump will be the first felon to occupy the White House after a New York jury found him guilty of falsifying business records to cover up hush money paid to a porn star.
Trump intends to sign a raft of executive actions in his first hours as president, incoming White House officials said on Monday, including 10 focused on border security and immigration, his top priority.
In addition to declaring an emergency, the president will send armed troops there and resume a policy forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their US court dates, officials told reporters.
He will also seek to end so-called birthright citizenship for US-born children whose parents lack legal status, a move some legal scholars have said would be unconstitutional.
The inauguration completes a triumphant comeback for a political disruptor who survived two impeachment trials, a felony conviction, two assassination attempts, and an indictment for attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss.
“The journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one, that I can tell you,” Trump said, before referring to the assassin’s bullet that grazed his ear in July. “I was saved by God to make America great again.”
The ceremony was moved inside the Capitol due to the cold, four years after a mob of Trump supporters breached the building, a symbol of American democracy, in an unsuccessful effort to forestall Trump‘s loss to Democrat Joe Biden, 82.
Biden and outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump in November, were on hand inside the Capitol’s Rotunda, along with former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016, arrived with her husband Bill, but Obama’s wife, Michelle, chose not to attend.
Numerous tech executives who have sought to curry favor with the incoming administration — including the three richest men in the world: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — had prominent seats on stage, next to cabinet nominees and members of Trump‘s family.
Trump, the first US president since the 19th century to win a second term after losing the White House, has said he would pardon “on Day One” many of the more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. He skipped Biden’s inauguration and has continued to claim falsely that the 2020 election he lost to Biden was rigged.
Biden, in one of his last official acts, pardoned several people whom Trump has targeted for retaliation, including former White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci, former Republican US Representative Liz Cheney, and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley.
Trump will restore the federal death penalty, which Biden had suspended, and require that official US documents such as passports reflect citizens’ gender as assigned at birth, incoming administration officials told reporters.
They said he will also sign an order ending diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the federal government on Monday, which is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday in memory of America’s most famous civil rights leader.
But Trump will not immediately impose new tariffs on Monday, instead directing federal agencies to evaluate trade relationships with Canada, China, and Mexico, a Trump official said, an unexpected development that unleashed a broad slide in the US dollar and a rally in global stock markets on a day when US financial markets are closed.
Some of the executive orders are likely to face legal challenges.
Even as he prepared to retake office, Trump continued to expand his business ventures, raising billions in market value by launching a “meme coin” crypto token over the weekend that prompted ethical and regulatory questions.
Earlier Trump and incoming first lady Melania Trump arrived at the White House, where Biden and outgoing first lady Jill Biden greeted them with handshakes.
“Welcome home,” Biden said.
DISRUPTIVE FORCE
As he did in 2017, Trump enters office as a chaotic and disruptive force, vowing to remake the federal government and expressing deep skepticism about the US-led alliances that have shaped post-World War Two global politics.
The former president returns to Washington emboldened after winning the national popular vote over Harris by more than 2 million votes thanks to a groundswell of voter frustration over persistent inflation, though he still fell just short of a 50 percent majority.
In 2016, Trump won the Electoral College — and the presidency — despite receiving nearly 3 million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton.
Trump, who surpassed Biden as the oldest president ever to be sworn into office, will enjoy Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress that have been almost entirely purged of any intra-party dissenters. His advisers have outlined plans to replace nonpartisan bureaucrats with hand-picked loyalists.
Even before taking office, Trump established a rival power center in the weeks after his election victory, meeting world leaders and causing consternation by musing aloud about seizing the Panama Canal, taking control of NATO ally Denmark’s territory of Greenland, and imposing tariffs on the biggest US trading partners.
His influence has already been felt in the Israel-Hamas announcement last week of a ceasefire deal. Trump, whose envoy joined the negotiations in Qatar, had warned of “hell to pay” if Hamas did not release its hostages before the inauguration.
Unlike in 2017, when he filled many top jobs with institutionalists, Trump has prioritized fealty in nominating a bevy of controversial cabinet picks, some of whom are outspoken critics of the agencies they have been tapped to lead.
The inauguration took place amid heavy security after a campaign highlighted by an increase in political violence that included two assassination attempts against Trump, including one in which a bullet grazed his ear.
The traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue past the White House will now take place indoors at the Capital One Arena, where Trump held his victory rally on Sunday. Trump will also attend three inaugural balls in the evening.
Some diehard Trump followers slept in the street in frigid conditions to make sure they were in line to get a seat at the arena.
A desk and chair sat on the stage, where Trump was expected to sign some of his first executive orders in front of his supporters before heading to the White House.
The post Trump Sworn In a Second Time, Says He Was ‘Saved by God’ to Rescue America first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Some Progress in Hostage Talks But Major Issues Remain, Source tells i24NEWS
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – A source familiar with the ongoing negotiations for a hostage deal confirmed to i24NEWS on Friday that some progress has been made in talks, currently taking place with Egypt, including the exchange of draft proposals. However, it remains unclear whether Hamas will ultimately accept the emerging framework. According to the source, discussions are presently focused on reaching a cohesive outline with Cairo.
A delegation of senior Hamas officials is expected to arrive in Cairo tomorrow. While there is still no finalized draft, even Arab sources acknowledge revisions to Egypt’s original proposal, reportedly including a degree of flexibility in the number of hostages Hamas is willing to release.
The source noted that Hamas’ latest proposal to release five living hostages is unacceptable to Israel, which continues to adhere to the “Witkoff framework.” At the core of this framework is the release of a significant number of hostages, alongside a prolonged ceasefire period—Israel insists on 40 days, while Hamas is demanding more. The plan avoids intermittent pauses or distractions, aiming instead for uninterrupted discussions on post-war arrangements.
As previously reported, Israel is also demanding comprehensive medical and nutritional reports on all living hostages as an early condition of the deal.
“For now,” the source told i24NEWS, “Hamas is still putting up obstacles. We are not at the point of a done deal.” Israeli officials emphasize that sustained military and logistical pressure on Hamas is yielding results, pointing to Hamas’ shift from offering one hostage to five in its most recent agreement.
Negotiators also assert that Israel’s demands are fully backed by the United States. Ultimately, Israeli officials are adamant: no negotiations on the “day after” will take place until the hostage issue is resolved—a message directed not only at Hamas, but also at mediators.
The post Some Progress in Hostage Talks But Major Issues Remain, Source tells i24NEWS first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump’s Envoy Witkoff Meets with Putin in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Photo: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met for talks in St. Petersburg on Friday.
Witkoff flew to Russia on Friday morning for talks with President Vladimir Putin about the search for a peace deal on Ukraine, the Kremlin said, saying the two men might also discuss a Trump-Putin meeting.
Witkoff has emerged as a key figure in the on-off rapprochement between Moscow and Washington amid talk on the Russian side of potential joint investments in the Arctic and in Russian rare earth minerals.
Putin was also in St Petersburg on Friday to hold what the Kremlin called an “extraordinarily important” meeting about the development of the Russian Navy, which is in the throes of a major modernization and expansion drive.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov played down the planned Witkoff-Putin meeting, telling Russian state media the US envoy’s visit would not be “momentous” and that no breakthroughs were expected.
The meeting will be their third this year and comes at a time when US tensions with Iran and China – two countries with which Russia has close ties – are severely strained over Tehran’s nuclear program and a burgeoning trade war with Beijing.
Witkoff is due in Oman on Saturday for talks with Iran over its nuclear program after Trump threatened Tehran with military action if it does not agree to a deal. Moscow has repeatedly offered its help in trying to clinch a diplomatic settlement.
Putin and Trump have spoken by phone but have yet to meet face-to-face since the US leader returned to the White House in January for a second four-year term.
Trump, who has shown signs of losing patience, has spoken of imposing secondary sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil if he feels Moscow is dragging its feet on a Ukrainian deal.
The post Trump’s Envoy Witkoff Meets with Putin in Russia first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran, US End High-Level Talks in Oman, Agree to Resume ‘Next Week’, Tehran Says
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Iran and the US held talks in Oman on Saturday and agreed to reconvene next week, the Iranian side said, a dialogue meant to address Tehran’s escalating nuclear program with President Donald Trump threatening military action if there is no deal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi posted on his Telegram channel that his delegation had a brief encounter with its US counterpart, headed by Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, after they exited the indirect talks mediated by Oman.
“After the end of more than 2-1/2 hours of indirect talks, the heads of the Iranian and American delegations spoke for a few minutes in the presence of the Omani foreign minister as they left the talks,” Araqchi said.
He said the talks – a first between Iran and a Trump administration, including his first term in 2017-21 – took place in a “productive and positive atmosphere.”
“Both sides have agreed to continue the talks next week,” Araqchi wrote, without elaborating about the venue and date.
There was no immediate US comment on the talks.
Underlining the profound rift between the US and Iran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei earlier said on X that each delegation had its separate room and would exchange messages via Oman’s foreign minister.
“The current focus of the talks will be de-escalating regional tensions, prisoner exchanges and limited agreements to ease sanctions (against Iran) in exchange for controlling Iran’s nuclear program,” an Omani source told Reuters. Baghaei denied this account but did not specify what was false.
Oman has long been an intermediary between Western powers and Iran, having brokered the release of several foreign citizens and dual nationals held by the Islamic Republic.
Tehran approached the talks warily, skeptical they could yield a deal and suspicious of Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran if it does not halt its accelerating uranium enrichment program – regarded by the West as a possible pathway to nuclear weapons.
While each side has talked up the chances of some progress, they remain far apart on a dispute that has rumbled on for more than two decades. Iran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons capability, but Western countries and Israel believe it is covertly trying to develop the means to build an atomic bomb.
Saturday’s exchanges appeared indirect, as Iran had wanted, rather than face-to-face, as Trump had demanded.
“This is a beginning. So it is normal at this stage for the two sides to present to each other their fundamental positions through the Omani intermediary,” Baghaei said.
Signs of progress could help cool tensions in a region aflame since 2023 with wars in Gaza and Lebanon, missile fire between Iran and Israel, Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and the overthrow of the government in Syria.
HIGH STAKES
However, failure would aggravate fears of a wider conflagration across a region that exports much of the world’s oil. Tehran has cautioned neighboring countries that have US bases that they would face “severe consequences” if they were involved in any US military attack on Iran.
“There is a chance for initial understanding on further negotiations if the other party (U.S.) enters the talks with an equal stance,” Araqchi told Iranian TV.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on key state matters, has given Araqchi “full authority” for the talks, an Iranian official told Reuters.
Iran has ruled out negotiating its defense capabilities such as its ballistic missile program.
Western nations say Iran’s enrichment of uranium, a nuclear fuel source, has gone far beyond the requirements of a civilian energy program and has produced stocks at a level of fissile purity close to those required in warheads.
Trump, who has restored a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran since February, ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers in 2018 during his first term and reimposed crippling sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Since then, Iran’s nuclear program has leaped forward, including by enriching uranium to 60% fissile purity, a technical step from the levels needed for a bomb.
Israel, Washington’s closest Middle East ally, regards Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat and has long threatened to attack Iran if diplomacy fails to curb its nuclear ambitions.
Tehran’s influence throughout the Middle East has been severely weakened over the past 18 months, with its regional allies – known as the “Axis of Resistance” – either dismantled or badly damaged since the start of the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza and the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria in December.
The post Iran, US End High-Level Talks in Oman, Agree to Resume ‘Next Week’, Tehran Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.