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(Washington) Donald Trump begins the second day of his return to the White House on Tuesday with the desire to build on the myriad of presidential decrees signed after his inauguration but with questions about the realism of his ambitions.
The Republican will travel to Washington National Cathedral in the morning for a more sober religious service, after the pomp and euphoria of the previous day’s ceremonies.
Then it’s back to political matters: the president will receive Republican congressional leaders at the White House early this afternoon, with the agenda for the first 100 days on the agenda for discussion.
A “major infrastructure announcement” will also be made later today, new White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday morning on Fox News, without giving further details.
“President Trump will speak to the press later from the White House,” she added.
Donald Trump began his second term the day before with a bang, signing decrees emphasizing his electoral program: fighting illegal immigration, increasing hydrocarbon production, and recognizing “two sexes” solely to put an end to the “transgender delirium.”
The American president said overnight that he had ordered his team “to actively identify and remove more than a thousand people appointed by the previous administration.”
People “who are not aligned with our vision to make America great again,” he said on his Truth Social platform.
State of emergency
It remains to be seen to what extent Donald Trump, who often showed a certain reluctance in the face of the demands of the presidency during his first term, will be willing and able to follow through on his thunderous announcements, particularly in the face of slim majorities in Congress or the constitutional limits of executive power.
“The golden age of America begins,” he declared on Monday after taking the oath of office under the dome of the Capitol, surrounded by his family, but also by figures from the global far right and many billionaires such as Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Elon Musk (SpaceX, X, Tesla), and the Frenchman Bernard Arnault (LVMH).
If some hoped to see a calmer Donald Trump once his return to the White House was formalized, it was a lost cause.
In a dark and vengeful speech, the Republican quickly promised to tackle a “corrupt and radical elite”, under the gaze of his successor and now predecessor Joe Biden, whose face remained stone.
He also announced the first acts of his anti-immigration offensive. A “state of emergency on the southern border” with Mexico was declared, allowing the mobilization of the armed forces “to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.”
“We will begin to deport millions and millions of criminal aliens,” he said.
Withdrawals
Donald Trump has also initiated a complete reversal of US policy to combat global warming.
The billionaire has declared a state of energy emergency to boost hydrocarbon production in the United States, already the world’s leading producer.
The world’s second-largest polluter will also withdraw, again, from the Paris climate agreement. Joe Biden reversed an initial withdrawal during the Republican’s first term.
Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Reiterating his expansionist ambitions, the president said the United States would “take back” the Panama Canal, Denmark would “come to terms” with giving up Greenland, and an American flag would be planted on Mars during his term.
Donald Trump, who has long promised to “take revenge” on his political opponents, took care to pardon in the evening “more than 1,500” of his supporters who had stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021 to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s victory.
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