On Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump was sworn into office commencing his second term.
He promised many actions during his campaign, including lowering prices, hammering down on border security, and enacting tariffs on foreign goods. A promise that has become infamous in recent months, is the idea of renaming the “Gulf of Mexico,” to the “Gulf of America.” His first day as president soon determined if he would follow through with all his promises.
In the first spark of his campaign, rumored connections of “Project 2025” were released to the public. As Democrats feared the outline, Trump continually denied any connection.
Though it was originally planned outside, the inauguration ceremony was moved inside the rotunda of the Capitol because of poor weather conditions.
Some supporters who had purchased tickets to the outside inauguration were unable to attend inside due to limited space. In attendance were some noteworthy guests including billionaires Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk.
In his speech congratulating Trump after the inauguration, Musk made a gesture similar to the Nazi salute. While some defended this as a “Roman salute” many were disturbed. Judge for yourself here.
“The Nazi salute was disrespectful and antisemitism. People are trying to defend it and say that it’s just a Roman salute, but he is an influential person in this country so he should not be acting like that,” says Zoey Zeballos ’26.
To be inaugurated, the elect must raise their right hand to take the oath of office and place their left hand on the Bible while taking the oath. Trump did not place his hand on the Bible.
After being sworn in, Trump’s inauguration speech lasted about a half hour. He proclaimed that “the Golden Age of America starts right now.” He also stated his plans include renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America, drilling more oil, and deporting illegal immigrants and their children.”
This contradicts the U.S. Constitution, section one of the Fourteenth Amendment, which asserts that all people born in the United States are automatically citizens of America. The U.S. Constitution is the law of the land and the President is not above the law. CNN reports that Federal District Court Judge, John C. Coughenour, temporarily blocked the executive order, citing it as “blatantly unconstitutional.”
On his first day in office, Trump wanted to get things done. According to AP News, he signed countless executive orders including removing America from the World Health Organization (WHO), signing out of the Paris Climate Agreement, and declaring that there are only two genders: male and female.
“Currently, my biggest issue is the environment, and a lot of his ideas are aiming to harm it. One of my biggest concerns now is trying to protect the environment,” commented Charlotte Kish, ’26.
While Trump claimed there are only two genders, male and female are sexes. According to the Embryo Project, sex refers to physical characteristics, reproductive organs, and chromosomes. Gender refers to behaviors or socially constructed roles like femininity and masculinity. Intersex is also biologically possible, which is one individual that carries both male and female DNA with both body parts and looks.
Women’s rights have also been a recurring discussion, with Trump giving the states the choice of limiting abortion access with no exceptions for rape, incest, or health risk. Some women fear having their reproductive rights taken away.
He also revoked nearly eighty of President Biden’s actions. Trump has continued to sign executive orders all week, and it does not seem likely to stop.
It is uncertain as to where the future of America is going to go, but the world is watching to see what Trump will do next. Will he uphold his promises and honor the Constitution?
