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6 hours ago
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Donald Trump’s aides have signaled that Monday’s inauguration speech will strike a noticeably more upbeat tone than his equivalent address eight years ago, when he talked darkly about “American carnage” and depicted the US as a country riddled by violent crime, drugs and economic degradation.
News website Axios cited Trump associates as saying “light” and “unity” would be the guiding themes – exemplified by a “one America, one light” prayer service for donors.
“Light signifies hope, it signifies a new beginning, it signifies a pathway forward. It’s really something that has been a theme for the inaugural … but also a guiding principle for our team over the past couple months,” one person familiar with the preparations told Axios.
However, any light tone is likely to be superseded darker substance once Trump returns to the White House. He previously promised to be a “dictator” for day one of his term – meaning immediate action within hours of taking office.
Trump and his staff issue have promised to issue a flurry of executive orders that are expected to heavily feature a crackdown on immigration, new tariffs on foreign imports and a raft of other campaign promises that have become staples of the president-elect’s rightwing Maga (Make America Great Again) agenda.
During his election campaign Trump campaigned on an extremist platform of remaking American government and the US economy, involving rolling back many of Joe Biden’s actions, especially on the environment, and slashing government spending and the federal workforce.
Earlier this week Trump ally and former top strategist Steve Bannon predicted a hectic and extreme start to the second Trump presidency. He told Politico that the administration would act quickly to push through its agenda.
“‘Days of thunder,’ I think are gonna be the concepts starting next Monday,” Bannon told the outlet “And I think these days of thunder starting next week are going to be incredibly, incredibly intense.”
Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, will skip Trump’s presidential inauguration on Monday in an apparent snub that continues a long-running vendetta between the pair.
No explanation has been provided for the decision, which was confirmed by a spokesperson for Pelosi. It contrasts with other senior Democrats, including Biden, who have said they will attend in the interests of observing America’s time-honoured tradition of peaceful transfers of power, although Michelle Obama, the former first lady, has decided against attending.
Trump avoided Biden’s inauguration after his defeat four years ago, baselessly claiming that the 2020 election had been stolen.
When a pro-Trump mob stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, several of his supporters invaded and defiled Pelosi’s office, with one being photographed in her chair with his booted foot on her desk. Trump has vowed to pardon many of those convicted of the Capitol insurrection as one of his first acts in office.
Pelosi’s decision to avoid the ceremony appears all the more pointed given that she has been turning up at Congress to participate in House votes even though she is recovering from a broken hip sustained after she fell on an official trip to Luxembourg last month.
Bad blood between between Trump and Pelosi stems from the incoming president’s first term, during which Pelosi became House speaker for the second time, before clashing with him over government funding and his spearheading his first impeachment.
After the two crossed swords, Trump refused to shake her hand before the 2020 State of the Union address, after which Pelosi – seated behind the president – theatrically tore up his speech as his Republican supporters gave a standing ovation.
Trump has belittled Pelosi with the title “crazy Nancy” and mocked a violent attack on her husband Paul by an intruder at the couple’s San Francisco home, repeating conspiracy theories that the incident was staged.
