Trump sworn in as US President, promises to ‘take back’ Panama Canal

Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th President of the United States in a ceremony at the Capitol in Washington DC on Tuesday morning, NZT.

Trump makes history as only the second US President to serve non-consecutive terms, as well as being the first convicted felon to move into the White House and the oldest US President-elect (he is five months older than Biden was at his inauguration).

Join us as we bring you live updates from Trump’s Inauguration Day in the US.

STORY CONTINUES AFTER THE LIVE BLOG

STORY CONTINUES

A sweeping deportation programme, “drill, baby, drill” and peace for Ukraine: the President-elect has vowed to move big and fast when he returns to the White House today.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Republican billionaire will declare a state of emergency on the border with Mexico, which would unlock additional Department of Defence funding and assets.

Immigration

Trump has promised a hardline stance against an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States.

As well as the state of emergency, he has also vowed on the campaign trail to end birthright citizenship, calling it “ridiculous”.

Analysts also expect him to issue executive orders on other aspects of immigration policy, including possibly terminating an app used by migrants hoping to petition for asylum.

However, birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the US Constitution and any deportation programme will face legal challenges as well as potential refusals by some countries to accept deportees.

Trade wars

Trump has vowed to slap a 25% tariff on goods imported from Mexico and Canada – top US trading partners – as punishment for what he says is their failure to stem the flow of drugs and undocumented migrants into the United States.

But is Trump really ready to unleash a trade war with US neighbours, rupturing a North American free trade agreement? Some see this – and an even more provocative suggestion that Canada should be absorbed into the United States – as pre-negotiation bluster.

Beijing should also buckle up.

Trump has threatened to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese products, adding to existing tariffs that date back to his first term. Trump accuses China of failing to crack down on the production of chemical components used to make fentanyl.

January 6 pardons

The President-elect has suggested he might pardon some or all of the people involved in the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol, when his supporters tried to overthrow the 2020 election in which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump has described them as “hostages” and “political prisoners”.

He told a pre-inauguration rally that his supporters would be “very happy” with the decision he plans to make on the matter on his first day in office.

More than 1500 people have been charged with federal crimes in the deadly assault and more than 1100 of them have been sentenced.

Wars and diplomacy

Trump warned that “all hell will break out in the Middle East” if Hamas does not release Israeli hostages before his inauguration – and promptly took credit when a ceasefire and hostage release deal negotiated by the Biden administration was announced on Wednesday.

Trump also says he intends to quickly end Russia’s war against Ukraine, though it is unclear when or how he plans to do that.

After promising over the summer to end the nearly three-year conflict “in 24 hours”, Trump more recently suggested a timeline of several months.

Climate

Climate sceptic Trump has promised to “drill, baby, drill” for oil and gas.

He plans to repeal some of Biden’s key climate policies, such as tax credits for electric vehicles, which are meant to encourage a transition to a green economy.

Trump also wants to boost offshore drilling, though he might need to secure congressional support to do that. Biden has selected swaths of ocean as protected no-drill areas.

Transgender rights and race

“With the stroke of my pen on day one, we’re going to stop the transgender lunacy,” Trump said in December, vowing to “end child sexual mutilation, get transgender out of the military and out of our elementary schools and middle schools and high schools”.

He added the US Government would recognise only two genders, male and female.

Also among his plans is cutting federal funding to schools that have adopted “critical race theory”, an approach that looks at US history through the lens of racism.

TikTok lifeline

Trump has vowed to save the popular video-sharing app TikTok from a law banning it on national security grounds.

TikTok briefly shut down in the United States as a deadline loomed for its Chinese owners ByteDance to sell its US subsidiary to non-Chinese buyers.

However, it went back online after Trump, who has credited the app with connecting him to younger voters, promised to issue an executive order delaying the ban to allow time to “make a deal”.

He said on his Truth Social platform that he “would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture”.

– AFP with NZME