Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on a cold Monday in Washington, D.C. President Trump was sworn in shortly after noon Eastern Time in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.
“From this day forward, our country will prosper and be respected again around the world,” Trump said in his 30-minute inaugural address. “We will be the envy of all nations. And we will no longer allow ourselves to be exploited.”
Trump is the first president since Grover Cleveland to serve two non-consecutive terms in the Oval Office. Past President Joe Biden was present at the swearing-in ceremony and left for California shortly after a peaceful transfer of power.
All major news networks were on hand for Inauguration Day, providing coverage from dawn to dusk, the content of which sometimes varied by network. Increasing coverage of MSNBC, for example, Rachel Maddow—who returns to the anchor chair five nights a week during Trump’s first 100 days— made stark comparisons between how Biden approached his role in this American tradition and Trump’s approach four years ago.
“You may recall that Donald Trump did not attend any of these events with Joe Biden four years ago, when it was Biden becoming the new president to succeed Trump,” Maddow noted. “It was the first time since the 1860s that the sitting US president did not attend the inauguration of his successor.”
On Fox News, meanwhile, the observations were more laudatory, while remaining mixed with mild criticism in some cases. The co-host of the Five Harold Ford Jr. called Trump’s speech “extremely ambitious,” while adding, “He should understand now and all his supporters should understand, he’s president now and looking back doesn’t do him much good.” He must look to the future and start tackling the enormous agenda he has proposed.
“Watching it, we felt like it was more of a State of the Union than an inauguration,” noted Ford’s co-host on The Five, Jessica Tarlov. “Some were muted, others were more like a rally.”
Meanwhile, journalists who attended various inauguration events — and the early hours of Trump’s return to the Oval Office — were sharing throughout the day what they saw, heard and thought on X, formerly Twitter . Here’s a sample of what Inauguration Day 2025 looked like through their eyes and ears.
In his second inaugural address, Trump attacks Biden’s presidency while sitting just feet away. “We now have a government that cannot handle a single crisis at home,” Trump said. “All of that is going to change starting today, and it’s going to change very quickly. »
-Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) January 20, 2025
Will schools now teach that the Gulf of Mexico is the Gulf of America?
– Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) January 20, 2025
Not even 20 minutes after Trump finished his speech, members of the Senate Printing and Graphics Office had already printed and framed photos of Trump’s swearing-in taken by an official Senate photographer to present to Trump during lunch. Note: they are wearing white gloves pic.twitter.com/65FZIdI25r
-Lauren Fox (@FoxReports) January 20, 2025
Split screen –
Trump addresses his supporters at the Capitol, disparages Biden’s last-minute pardons for January 6 committee members, and more.
As Biden leaves Washington with his family, pic.twitter.com/QRKBvtjYes
– Jay O’Brien (@jayobtv) January 20, 2025
As President Biden finishes his farewell message to staff and friends, chants of “Thank you, Joe!” » burst.
– Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 20, 2025
Stack EOs on the red desk in the Capital Arena. Also arrange the pens. President Trump is here and the crowd is ready to see him come out pic.twitter.com/7z51OmxzFf
-Erin Burnett (@ErinBurnett) January 20, 2025
President Trump attends the exclusive inauguration luncheon and shakes hands with Pete Hegseth, Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Ginni. pic.twitter.com/4gCjNNeu5s
– Bo Erickson Reuters (@BoKnowsNews) January 20, 2025
Remember when Steve Bannon said he would “make Elon Musk go away by Inauguration Day.”
How did it go?
– Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) January 20, 2025
I just want to note for everyone that the Nazis saw Musk’s gesture and thought it was one of their greetings, but everyone from Tesla investors to elected officials and the ADL are suggesting that we gave him grace because it was probably just a clumsy gesture.
What do you do with that…
– Symone D. Sanders Townsend (@SymoneDSanders) January 20, 2025
Close. Trump entered Capital One Arena. He walked down a long staircase, shaking hands with supporters alongside first lady Melania Trump.
– Norah O’Donnell 🇺🇸 (@NorahODonnell) January 20, 2025
Turns out the delay of the inaugural events by several hours doesn’t help with the all-consuming bitterness I felt about the scheduled inaugural events that kept me from attending this game. https://t.co/0Bc1xk4wjP
– Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) January 21, 2025
Thanks for watching. I have taken over the first three signatures of decrees in full. I received comments from @brithume & Mark Penn, then I came back and heard the last EO sign in its entirety. We missed three in the middle. Other EOs will be signed at the Oval this evening. https://t.co/2HWrE1Fynd
– Bret Baier (@BretBaier) January 21, 2025
