Tuesday, January 21

Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States yesterday, confirming the last few details of his jam-packed agenda during his inauguration speech.

Throughout the speech, he promised a new "golden age" for the US, labeling his upcoming term as "the greatest four years in American history." He also made several other promises to bring change within the country, addressing some of the most pressing issues to voters, and described January 20, 2025 as America's Liberation Day.

He began by indirectly denouncing Biden's government, making comments as to how severe the situation was within the country. He called out the responses to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and the Los Angeles wildfires, saying that was going to change as well. He also criticized the country's public health and education systems, promising change in those departments as well.

Next, Trump moved onto the issue of illegal immigration. He confirmed that he would "declare a national emergency" at the border with Mexico, halt all illegal entry, and send troops to the southern border. He also stated that he would begin deporting illegal immigrants, who he labeled as "criminal aliens," and end the practice of catch and release-- a policy where migrants are released into the community while they wait for their immigration hearing instead of being held in detention. In addition, Trump declared that he would begin designating cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations" and would harness the "full and immense power" of the nation's law enforcement to defeat those organizations.

Then, Trump moved onto inflation, another pressing issue facing every citizen in the United States. He claimed that inflation was due to what he called a "national energy crisis," and promised to "drill, baby, drill" to solve the problem. Trump maintained the fact that the United States contains some of the largest oil and gas reserves in the world, and he made it clear that he is aiming to exploit those resources during his term.

Next, he confirmed the addition of two new agencies to the US government. The External Revenue Service, or ERS, will be dedicated to collecting tariffs and revenues from other nations, while the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will cut government spending with billionaire Elon Musk at the helm. Politician Vivek Ramaswamy was also expected to lead the organization, but he was ejected yesterday after irritation from Trump and Musk over his lack of involvement in the organization.

Trump also mentioned several other initiatives, including halting government censorship online, establishing two genders, taking back the Panama Canal, and reinstating military members who were expelled due to their refusal to accept the COVID-19 vaccine.

One of the most interesting moments of the speech was when Trump dropped a comment about renaming two major landmarks-- he declared that the Gulf of Mexico would become the Gulf of America and that the name of North America's highest peak would be reverted to Mount McKinley. The Gulf of Mexico has been known by that name for centuries, dating back to the Aztecs around 500-700 years ago, and other countries would not be required to follow any name change enacted by Trump. Meanwhile, Denali (formerly Mount McKinley) is North America's tallest peak, standing at 20,310 feet tall in the wilderness of Alaska. It was renamed to Denali in 2015 by former President Barack Obama due to the native Koyukon tribe in the area, who call the mountain by that name.

Since taking office, Trump has already done good on several of his promises, slowly ticking off the boxes on his full agenda. He has already issued pardons and commutations to the over 1,500 people involved in the January 6, 2021 riot on the Capitol, as well as withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization. He claimed that the organization was charging the US more money than other countries and also denounced their handling of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, but the WHO has warned that pulling out of the organization could make the US less prepared if another pandemic was to hit.

Trump has also pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement, as promised. The Paris Agreement is a climate treaty signed in 2016 that aims to keep global warming under 2 degrees Celsius and works toward preventing an increase by 1.5 degrees.

Lastly, he is already taking action on the executive orders promised in his speech above, meaning that the United States could see some drastic changes over the next few weeks.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Like humans, rats laugh when they are tickled.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Part of being a winner is knowing when enough is enough. Sometimes you have to give up the fight and walk away, and move on to something that’s more productive. (Donald Trump)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Inimitable (adj, in-IM-it-uh-bul) - Inimitable describes someone or something that is impossible to copy or imitate.

In a Sentence: Courtnay delivered the speech in her own inimitable style.