President Donald Trump said he was “saved by God to make America great again” during his inauguration on Monday, referring to the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on him in Pennsylvania during his election campaign.
“The journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one, that I can tell you,” the new president said after swearing his oath of office.
“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,” Trump added.
In July, a 20-year-old man fired at Trump who has holding an open-air campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump’s ear was wounded, and a 50-year-old attendee was killed.
Our liberties and our nation’s glorious destiny will no longer be denied, and we will immediately restore the integrity, competency and loyalty of America’s government. Over the past eight years, I have been tested and challenged more than any president in our 250-year history, and I’ve learned a lot along the way,” Trump said on Monday.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York opened the inauguration ceremony in the U.S. Capitol Building, saying the United States must remember God is supreme.
“Remembering General George Washington on his knees at Valley Forge; Recalling Abraham Lincoln at his second inaugural with malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right; remembering General George Patton’s instructions to his soldiers as they began the battle of the Bulge eight decades ago – Pray. Pray when fighting, pray alone, pray with others, pray by night, pray by day. Observing his birthday, the Reverend Maetin Luther King who warned without God our efforts turn to ashes,” the cardinal said.
Dolan said during the inauguration day, “we cannot err in relying on that prayer in the bible upon which our president will soon place his hand in oath as we make our own supplications of King Solomon for wisdom as he began his governance.”
“God of our Fathers, in your wisdom you set man to govern your creatures to govern in holiness and justice to render justice with integrity. Give our leader wisdom, for he is your servant aware of his own weakness and brevity of life,” he continued.
“Please God bless America. Please mend her every flaw. You are the God in whom we trust,” the cardinal said.
In his address, Trump said the United States “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. America will be respected again and admired again, 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,” the U.S. president said.
On Sunday, Pope Francis said it would be a “disgrace” for Trump to make good on promises to expel undocumented immigrants.
Despite these words from the pontiff, the new president vowed to act strongly against illegal immigrations.
“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,” Trump said.
“First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. 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,” he continued.
“I will end the practice of catch and release, and I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country,” he said.
“Under the orders I signed today, we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, 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 US soil, including our cities and inner cities,” Trump said.
He also announced plans to reacquire the Panama Canal, which was in the U.S. territory called the Panama Canal Zone from 1903 to 1979. The Canal itself continued to jointly run by the United States until 1999.
“We have been treated very badly from this 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, and above all, China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back,” Trump said.
“After years and years of illegal and unconstitutional federal efforts to restrict free expression, I will also sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America,” he said.
Trump also said he was going to stop what has become to be known as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
“This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private light. We will forge a society that is color blind and merit based,” he said.
“As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female,” the new president said.
Before giving his pre-inauguration prayer, Biden said the nation was “united in our unity, in our love of country, and we’re all united as one nation under God.”
“We all think of that magnificent little verse that we dare to say, ‘In God We Trust.’ Today, I don’t think we are Democrats or Republicans; are not Red or Blue, we are Red, White, and Blue – as we love our country,” the cardinal said.
Follow Charles Collins on X: @CharlesinRome
