Trump Changes White House Direction on Day One with Dizzying Speed: 'The Golden Age of America'
WASHINGTON - Within hours of taking the oath of office, President Donald J. Trump began moving the country in a new direction, using his presidential power to make good on many of his promises.
On day one of the transition, Trump said he was "saved by God to make America great again." His first order of business was to use his executive pen to put an end to Biden-era policies.
Reports indicate the 47th U.S. president signed over 100 executive actions, including several that dealt with the immigration crisis. He also pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate treaty, pardoned 1,500 J6 prisoners, commuted the sentences of six others, and rescinded 78 executive orders signed by former President Biden.
MORE: Trump Pardons 1,500 J6 Defendants, Begins Signing Slew of Executive Orders
It began with an intimate inauguration ceremony that had been moved inside to the ornate Capitol Rotunda to escape dangerously freezing temperatures. In that moment, President Trump seized on his electoral mandate.
"The golden age of America begins right now," he told gathered lawmakers and supporters.
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Trump is promising to spend each day back in the Oval Office putting America first, starting at the border. Among a stack of executive orders signed in his first hours on the job, he's sending troops to help secure the southern border, designating Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorists, and moving to put an end to automatic birthright citizenship.
"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," he said.
Wielding his executive pen, and even tossing a few of those pens to supporters in a packed Washington arena, Trump also declared a national energy emergency, halted what he calls "radial environmentalism," and began dismantling many of Biden's policies.
"It will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female," he also declared.
And following the release of the first three Israeli hostages of the ceasefire, the president greeted families of Hamas victims attending his inauguration, inviting them on stage during his remarks.
His inauguration coincided with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Trump thanked Black and Hispanic Americans who supported him in new and historic ways and committed to helping achieve Dr. King's dream by being a president for all Americans no matter their color, ethnicity or faith, adding America must not forget its God.
WATCH: President Trump's Inaugural Address | Transcript of FULL Speech HERE