President Donald J. Trump's Inaugural Address in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2025.
Transcript: https://www.whitehouse.gov/remarks/2025/01/the-inaugural-address/ ---------- Under the leadership of the President and Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of State leads America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance by advancing the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity. On behalf of the American people we promote and demonstrate democratic values and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world.
The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the President's chief foreign affairs adviser. The Secretary carries out the President's foreign policies through the State Department, which includes the Foreign Service, Civil Service and U.S. Agency for International Development.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much,
everybody. (Applause.) Wow. Thank you very, very much.
Vice President Vance, Speaker Johnson, Senator Thune, Chief Justice Roberts,
justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, President Clinton, President Bush,
President Obama, President Biden, Vice President Harris, and my fellow citizens, the golden age of
America begins right now. (Applause.)
From this day forward, our country will
flourish and be respected again all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation,
and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any
longer. During every single day of the Trump administration, I will,
very simply, put America first. (Applause.)
will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced. The vicious, violent,
and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government will end. (Applause.)
And our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud, prosperous, and free. (Applause.)
America will soon be greater, stronger, and far
more exceptional than ever before. (Applause.)
optimistic that we are at the start of a thrilling new era of national success. 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.
challenges we face. While they are plentiful, they will be annihilated
by this great momentum that the world is now witnessing in the United States of America.
As we gather today, our government confronts a crisis of trust. For many years, a radical
and corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our citizens while
the pillars of our society lay broken and seemingly in complete disrepair.
We now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home while,
at the same time, stumbling into a continuing catalogue of catastrophic events abroad.
It fails to protect our magnificent, law-abiding American citizens but provides sanctuary and
protection for dangerous criminals, many from prisons and mental institutions,
that have illegally entered our country from all over the world.
We have a government that has given unlimited funding to the defense of
foreign borders but refuses to defend American borders or, more importantly, its own people.
Our country can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency, as recently shown by the
wonderful people of North Carolina — who have been treated so badly — (applause) — and other states
who are still suffering from a hurricane that took place many months ago or, more recently,
Los Angeles, where we are watching fires still tragically burn from weeks ago without even a
token of defense. They’re raging through the houses and communities, even affecting some
of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country — some of whom are sitting here
right now. They don’t have a home any longer. That’s interesting. But we can’t let this happen.
Everyone is unable to do anything about it. That’s going to change.
We have a public health system that does not deliver in times of disaster,
yet more money is spent on it than any country anywhere in the world.
And we have an education system that teaches our children to be ashamed of themselves — in
many cases, to hate our country despite the love that we try so desperately to provide to
them. All of this will change starting today, and it will change very quickly. (Applause.)
My recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal and
all of these many betrayals that have taken place and to give the people back their faith,
their wealth, their democracy, and, indeed, their freedom. From this moment on,
America’s decline is over. (Applause.)
destiny will no longer be denied. And we will immediately restore the integrity,
competency, and loyalty of America’s government.
challenged more than any president in our 250-year history, and I’ve learned a lot along the way.
The journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one — that, I can tell you.
Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and, indeed, to take my life.
Just a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear.
But 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. (Applause.)
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
of American patriots, we will be working to meet every crisis with dignity and power and strength.
We will move with purpose and speed to bring back hope, prosperity, safety, and peace for citizens
of every race, religion, color, and creed.
is Liberation Day. (Applause.) It is my hope that our recent presidential election will be
remembered as the greatest and most consequential election in the history of our country.
As our victory showed, the entire nation is rapidly unifying behind our agenda with
dramatic increases in support from virtually every element of our society: young and old,
men and women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, urban, suburban,
rural. And very importantly, we had a powerful win in all seven swing
states — (applause) — and the popular vote, we won by millions of people. (Applause.)
To the Black and Hispanic communities, I want to thank you for the tremendous
outpouring of love and trust that you have shown me with your vote. We set records,
and I will not forget it. I’ve heard your voices in the campaign, and I look forward
to working with you in the years to come.
— this will be a great honor. But in his honor, we will strive together to make his dream a reality.
We will make his dream come true. (Applause.)
National unity is now returning to America, and confidence and pride is soaring like never before.
In everything we do, my administration will be inspired by a strong pursuit of excellence and
unrelenting success. We will not forget our country, we will not forget our Constitution,
and we will not forget our God. Can’t do that. (Applause.)
Today, I will sign a series of historic executive orders. With these actions,
we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense.
It’s all about common sense. (Applause.)
at our southern border. (Applause.)
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. We will reinstate my Remain
in Mexico policy. (Applause.)
catch and release. (Applause.)
southern border to repel the disastrous invasion
of our country. (Applause.)
we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
(Applause.)
And by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full
and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all
foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil, including our
cities and inner cities. (Applause.)
responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions, and that is
exactly what I am going to do. We will do it at a level that nobody has ever seen before.
Next, I will direct all members of my cabinet to marshal the vast powers at their disposal to
defeat what was record inflation and rapidly bring down costs and prices. (Applause.)
The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices,
and that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency.
We will drill, baby, drill. (Applause.)
and we have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have — the largest amount of oil
and gas of any country on earth — and we are going to use it. We’ll use it. (Applause.)
We will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again right to the top, and export
American energy all over the world. (Applause.)
and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it.
With my actions today, we will end the Green New Deal,
and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and
keeping my sacred pledge to our great American autoworkers. (Applause.)
In other words, you’ll be able to buy the car of your choice.
We will build automobiles in America again at a rate that nobody could have
dreamt possible just a few years ago. And thank you to the autoworkers of our nation
for your inspiring vote of confidence. We did tremendously with their vote. (Applause.)
I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and
families. Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign
countries to enrich our citizens. (Applause.)
External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues. It will be
massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury, coming from foreign sources.
The American dream will soon be back and thriving like never before.
To restore competence and effectiveness to our federal government, my administration
will establish the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency. (Applause.)
After years and years of illegal and unconstitutional federal efforts to
restrict free expression, I also will sign an executive order to immediately stop all
government censorship and bring back free speech to America. (Applause.)
Never again will the immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political
opponents — something I know something about. (Laughter.) We will not allow
that to happen. It will not happen again.
equal, and impartial justice under the constitutional rule of law. (Applause.)
And we are going to bring law and order back to our cities. (Applause.)
This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer
race and gender into every aspect of public and private life. (Applause.)
We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based. (Applause.)
As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United
States government that there are only two genders: male and female. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.)
And I 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. (Applause.) Our
armed forces will be freed to focus on their sole mission: defeating America’s enemies. (Applause.)
Like in 2017, we will again build the strongest military the world has ever seen.
We will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars
that we end — and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into. (Applause.)
My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I
want to be: a peacemaker and a unifier.
one day before I assumed office,
the hostages in the Middle East are coming back home to their families. (Applause.)
Thank you.
rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on earth, inspiring the
awe and admiration of the entire world.
changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America — (applause) — and we
will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley, where it
should be and where it belongs. (Applause.)
through tariffs and through talent — he was a natural businessman — and gave Teddy Roosevelt
the money for many of the great things he did, including the Panama Canal, which has foolishly
been given to the country of Panama after the United Spates — the United States — I mean,
think of this — spent more money than ever spent on a project before and lost 38,000
lives in the building of the Panama Canal.
foolish gift that should have never been made, and Panama’s promise to us has been broken.
The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American
ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape, or form. And
that includes the United States Navy.
Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama,
and we’re taking it back. (Applause.)
is that it is time for us to once again act with courage, vigor, and the vitality of
history’s greatest civilization.
we will lead it to new heights of victory and success. We will not be deterred. Together,
we will end the chronic disease epidemic and keep our children safe, healthy, and disease-free.
The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation — one that increases our wealth,
expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations, and carries
our flag into new and beautiful horizons.
stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars. (Applause.)
Ambition is the lifeblood of a great nation, and, right now, our nation is more ambitious than
any other. There’s no nation like our nation.
entrepreneurs, and pioneers. The spirit of the frontier is written
into our hearts. The call of the next great adventure resounds from within our souls.
Our American ancestors turned a small group of colonies on the edge of a vast continent into a
mighty republic of the most extraordinary citizens on Earth. No one comes close.
Americans pushed thousands of miles through a rugged land of untamed wilderness. They
crossed deserts, scaled mountains, braved untold dangers, won the Wild West, ended slavery, rescued
millions from tyranny, lifted billions from poverty, harnessed electricity, split the atom,
launched mankind into the heavens, and put the universe of human knowledge into the palm of the
human hand. If we work together, there is nothing we cannot do and no dream we cannot achieve.
Many people thought it was impossible for me to stage such a historic political
comeback. But as you see today, here I am. The American people have spoken. (Applause.)
I stand before you now as proof that you should never believe that something is
impossible to do. In America, the impossible is what we do best. (Applause.)
From New York to Los Angeles, from Philadelphia to Phoenix, from Chicago to Miami,
from Houston to right here in Washington, D.C., our country was forged and built by
the generations of patriots who gave everything they had for our rights and for our freedom.
They were farmers and soldiers, cowboys and factory workers, steelworkers and coal miners,
police officers and pioneers who pushed onward, marched forward, and let no obstacle
defeat their spirit or their pride.
raised up the skyscrapers, built great highways, won two world wars,
defeated fascism and communism, and triumphed over every single challenge that they faced.
After all we have been through together, we stand on the verge of the four greatest years
in American history. With your help, we will restore America promise and we will rebuild the
nation that we love — and we love it so much.
nation under God. So, to every parent who dreams for their child and every child who dreams for
their future, I am with you, I will fight for you, and I will win for you. We’re going to
win like never before. (Applause.)
Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.)
In recent years, our nation has suffered greatly. But we are going
to bring it back and make it great again, greater than ever before.
We will be a nation like no other, full of compassion, courage, and exceptionalism.
Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has
been angry, violent, and totally unpredictable.
including by people of religion, faith, and goodwill. We will be prosperous,
we will be proud, we will be strong, and we will win like never before.
We will not be conquered, we will not be intimidated, we will not be broken,
and we will not fail. From this day on, the United States of America will be a free,
sovereign, and independent nation.
we will dream boldly, and nothing will stand in our way because we are Americans. The future is
ours, and our golden age has just begun.
all. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Thank you very much.
Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you. (Applause.)