Trump's inauguration speech excerpts: Immigration, foreign wars, God

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. / Chip Somodevilla/Pool via REUTERS

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would sign a series of executive orders on Jan. 20 and promised to begin "the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense," in his inaugural address, while being sharply critical of outgoing president Joe Biden and Democrats.

ECONOMY/INFLATION

"I will direct all members of my cabinet to marshal the vast powers at their disposal to defeat what was record inflation, and rapidly bring down costs and prices. The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices and that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill."

"America will be a manufacturing nation once again, and we have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have: the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth and we are going to use it."

"We will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again, right to the top, and export American energy all over the world. We will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it."

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

"With my actions today we will end the Green New Deal, and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry, and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American autoworkers."

IMMIGRATION

"All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came."

"We will reinstate my 'Remain in Mexico' policy. I will end the practice of catch and release, and I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.

"Under the orders I signed today, we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations."

"And by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil, including our cities and inner cities."

"As commander-in-chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions, and that is exactly what I am going to do."

OVERSEAS WARS AND PLANS FOR PEACE

"We will be a nation like no other, full of compassion, courage and exceptionalism; our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent and totally unpredictable. America will be respected again and admired again."

"My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That's what I want to be: a peacemaker and unifier. I’m pleased to say that as of yesterday, one day before I assumed office, the hostages in the Middle East are coming back home to our family.”

"We will again build the strongest military the world has ever seen. We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into."

"We have a government that has given unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders, but refuses to defend American borders, or, more importantly, its own people."

PANAMA

"Panama's promise to us has been broken. The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States Navy, and above all, China is operating the Panama Canal and we didn't give it to China, we gave it to Panama and we're taking it back.”

RACE AND GENDER

“This week I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life. We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based. As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.”

SPACE EXPLORATION

"The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations and carries our plan into new and beautiful horizons, and we will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars."

ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

"The journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one, that I can tell you. Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed to take my life. Just a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin's bullet ripped through my ear, but I felt then and believe even more so now that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again."

NAME CHANGES

“America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world. A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and we will restore the name of a great President William McKinley to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs.”

UNITY

"We are one people, one family and one glorious nation under God. So to every parent who dreams for their child and every child who dreams for their future, I am with you. I will fight for you, and I will win for you. We are going to win like never before."