Donald Trump sworn in as 47th US President

WASHINGTON (Reuters): Donald Trump pledged to rescue America from what he described as years of betrayal and decline after he was sworn in as president on Monday, prioritizing a crackdown on illegal immigration and portraying himself as a national savior chosen by God.

“For American citizens, January 20, 2025, is Liberation Day,” Trump, 78, said inside the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, the symbol of U.S. democracy that was invaded on Jan. 6, 2021, by a mob of Trump supporters intent on reversing his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden.

The half-hour speech echoed some 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.

The inauguration completes a triumphant return for a political disruptor who was twice impeached, survived two assassination attempts, was convicted in a criminal trial and faced charges for attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss. He is the first president in more then a century to win a second term after losing the White House.

“I was saved by God to make America great again,” Trump said, referring to the assassin’s bullet that grazed his ear in July.

Trump is the first felon to serve as president after a New York jury found him guilty of falsifying business records to cover up hush money paid to a porn star.

“Many people thought it was impossible for me to stage such a historic political comeback,” he said. “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.”