Students Weigh in on Donald Trump’s Inauguration
On January 20, 2025, for the second time in eight years, Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the President of the United States–making him the only U.S. President other than Grover Cleveland to serve non-consecutive terms.
The oath of office was attended by all four living former United States Presidents and former First Ladies, except for Michelle Obama. Additionally, many world leaders such as Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, Argentine President Javier Milei, and Italian Premier Georgia Meloni attended Donald Trump’s inauguration. Historically, world leaders do not attend inaugurations, but several broke precedents and attended at Donald Trump’s invitation. Among other note-worthy attendees were the world’s tech titans, including Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who will play a large role in Trump’s administration as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Apple CEO Tim Cook. Rounding out the familiar faces was Carrie Underwood singing “America the Beautiful” at the official ceremony.
As is customary, the swearing-in ceremony was preceded by a service at the historic St. John’s Church, followed by tea for President-Elect Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the White House hosted by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. The day continued with the traditional farewell to the outgoing President and Vice President, the signing ceremony in the President’s Chamber in the U.S. Capitol, a luncheon, a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue, the Oval Office signing ceremony, and three celebratory balls. The National Prayer Service on the following morning concluded the official inaugural activities, funded largely by Trump supporters who chipped in an estimated $170 million.
The most notable events of the day were Donald Trump’s inauguration speech and his flurry of Executive Actions. In his speech, President Trump vowed to usher in a “golden age” for the United States under his administration. He reiterated several of the promises made during his campaign saying that he would put America first, restore its standing on the world’s stage, and give the American people back their faith, democracy, freedom, and wealth.
He talked about securing the southern border and the immigration policies he would implement, some of which had been in place during his first term and reversed by President Biden. He addressed economic issues, including inflation, tariffs, and taxes. Tying energy to economic policy, he announced the end of the Green New Deal and said he would declare a national energy emergency and permit increased drilling for fossil fuels. With echoes of John F. Kennedy’s 1962 speech “We choose to go to the moon” and a nod to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Trump set forth his goal for our astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on planet Mars. The speech lasted about 30 minutes.
When talking with a few Riverdale students about Trump’s speech, the three interviewees agreed that Trump’s policies would provide a vast contrast to former President Biden’s administration. Tenth grader Dean Vouyouklis said, “I think that the next four years will be very different from the last four. At this moment, it is unclear what the outcome will be.” Tenth grader Will David took a pessimistic view, lamenting that “the next four years will be bad for Americans and worse for the world. Trump’s speech had no shortage of anti-NATO and isolationist bluster, coupled with a nonsensical brand of hoo-rah nationalism.” Referring to tariffs, tenth grader Florian Kroker McCormack made the point that “[Trump] is going to do a lot of stupid things which we have already seen. Like come on–you can’t sanction your closest neighbor and ally, Canada.” Will David expanded on McCormack’s sentiment about tariffs, adding that President Trump will “weaken America’s standing with our allies, stabbing our friends in the back when we need them the most.”
Wasting little time putting his speech into action, President Trump signed over 20 executive orders and actions on his first day in office, more than any previous U.S. president has done. Six of Trump’s executive orders concern immigration, three energy and the environment, one the economy, four crime, and 14 implement governmental changes, including the recession of 78 (out of 162) executive orders approved by former President Joe Biden, the end of government DEl programs, and a requirement that all government employees return to work in-person on a full-time basis.
While the Riverdale students interviewed are skeptical of what lies ahead, hopefully, for the sake of our country and the world, the next four years will prove them wrong.
