Trump Declares a ‘Golden Age’ for America

Summary

Episode Summary: "Trump Declares a ‘Golden Age’ for America"

Podcast: The Journal
Host: Kate Linebaugh & Ryan Knutson, with Jessica Mendoza
Release Date: January 20, 2025

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1. Inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President

• Opening Moments (00:05 - 00:33): The episode begins with Donald Trump taking the oath of office as the 47th President of the United States. His solemn affirmation, “I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States... So help me God,” marks the commencement of his second term. Kate Linebaugh notes the presence of key figures including members of Congress, former presidents, and reporters witnessing this historic moment.

2. Inauguration Speech Highlights

• Declaring a “Golden Age” (00:39 - 09:21): In his inaugural address, President Trump declared, “The golden age of America begins right now” (00:39), emphasizing a vision to restore America’s prosperity and global respect. A political analyst describes the speech as "decisive" and "not unifying," highlighting Trump’s broad promises ranging from increasing oil drilling to ambitious goals like sending Americans to Mars (01:12).

  Key Policy Announcements:

  • Immigration Reform (07:52): Trump announced plans to declare a national emergency at the southern border, aiming to curb illegal immigration and potentially end birthright citizenship. He stated, “In Mexico, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border” (07:45).
  • Economic Strategies (08:32 - 09:10): Addressing inflation, Trump attributed it to “massive overspending and escalating energy prices” (08:41) and declared a national energy emergency, promising increased drilling with the mantra, “We will drill, baby, drill” (08:52).
  • Government Efficiency and Trade (09:21 - 10:12): Trump proposed the creation of a “Department of Government Efficiency” to streamline federal operations and overhauling the federal trade system, including establishing an External Revenue Service to manage tariffs and duties.

  Social Policies (10:03 - 10:57):

  • Trump declared an end to policies “trying to socially engineer race and gender” (10:16), advocating for a “colorblind and merit-based” society. He also announced the official recognition of only two genders, aligning with conservative values on traditional family structures.

  Ambitious Goals (11:43 - 12:10):

  • Beyond policy, Trump expressed grand visions such as renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, retaking control of the Panama Canal, and sending astronauts to Mars. He concluded his speech with an inspiring call to action: “We will stand bravely, we will live proudly, we will dream boldly... our golden age has just begun” (12:10).

3. Inauguration Setting and Atmosphere

• Capitol Rotunda Event (02:43 - 10:16): Due to freezing temperatures, the inauguration was held inside the Capitol Rotunda. The political analyst praised the location's beauty and noted the celebratory atmosphere filled with excitement and camaraderie among attendees. Notably, Trump was flanked by members of the President’s Club, including former Presidents Obama and Biden, and prominent tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, signaling strong support from influential business leaders (03:25 - 04:28).

4. Reception Among Trump Supporters

• Public Celebrations (14:29 - 17:15): Despite the cold weather, Trump’s supporters gathered in Washington D.C. to celebrate his inauguration. They were present along the streets, in bars, and in viewing parties, singing patriotic songs like "America the Beautiful." Interviews with supporters revealed widespread enthusiasm and hope for Trump’s policies:
  • Supporter Perspectives:
    • Gary Garcia: Excited about “a more secure country” and addressing illegal immigration (15:06).
    • Debbie Garcia from Tampa, Florida: Thrilled about the prospective changes and the restoration of America’s standing (16:00).
    • Supporters also expressed approval of Trump’s stance on taking back strategic territories and asserting American stability globally (16:19).

5. Political Analysis and Future Outlook

• Strategic Implications (17:25 - 19:32): The political analyst provided insights into Trump’s leadership style and anticipated actions in his first hundred days. Describing Trump as determined and unwilling to negotiate, the analyst expects aggressive executive actions aimed at fulfilling his ambitious agenda. However, the analyst also highlighted the significant challenges Trump might face in implementing such a vast array of policies, given the narrow Republican majority and potential congressional hurdles (17:38 - 19:32).

• Expectations for the Next Four Years: Trump’s inauguration signals a continuation of his assertive approach to governance, with a focus on executive power to enact sweeping changes. The analyst cautions that while Trump feels supported by influential backers and a committed cabinet, the ambitious nature of his agenda may encounter substantial obstacles, requiring perseverance and strategic maneuvering to achieve his goals (18:25 - 19:32).

6. Conclusion and Teasers for Future Episodes

• Looking Ahead: The episode wraps up with a preview of upcoming content, including an in-depth analysis of Trump’s first 100 days in office by Molly Ball and Ryan Knutsen. Listeners are encouraged to submit their questions, setting the stage for continued coverage of Trump’s presidency and its impact on money, business, and power dynamics in America (19:32 - 20:38).

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Notable Quotes with Attribution and Timestamps

• Donald Trump:

  • “The golden age of America begins right now.” (00:39)
  • “In Mexico, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border.” (07:45)
  • “We will drill, baby, drill.” (08:52)
  • “We will stand bravely, we will live proudly, we will dream boldly... our golden age has just begun.” (12:10)

• Political Analyst:

  • “The speech was decisive, it was not unifying.” (01:12)
  • “He feels like he was elected overwhelmingly and it's time for him to show how he's going to get that done.” (05:48)
  • “This is someone who wants to come in, feels as though he has a mandate and wants to accomplish it.” (17:45)

• Trump Supporters:

  • “I’m looking forward to a more secure country. I don’t like all the people coming into our country illegally.” – Trump Supporter (15:06)
  • “We’re a new America, the America of not putting us first and creating a stability in the world through our stability here at home.” – Trump Supporter (16:19)
  • “People who absolutely love their country. And I support people who love our, our country, not people who hate our country.” – Debbie Garcia (16:52)

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Key Takeaways

• Ambitious Policy Agenda: Trump’s inauguration speech laid out a comprehensive and bold plan addressing immigration, economic reform, energy policy, and social issues, signaling a proactive and assertive presidency.
• Strong Support Base: The presence of influential business leaders and enthusiastic supporters at the inauguration underscores a solid backing from key sectors of society.
• Challenges Ahead: Despite a strong start, the broad scope of Trump’s agenda presents significant challenges in implementation, requiring effective navigation of legislative and political landscapes.
• Cultural and Social Focus: Emphasis on traditional values and social policies reflects the priorities of Trump’s voter base, aiming to reshape societal norms and government policies accordingly.

This detailed summary captures the essence of the episode, providing listeners with a comprehensive overview of President Trump's inauguration, his key policy announcements, the reception among supporters, and expert analysis on the implications for his presidency.

Transcript

[Donald Trump]

Please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Donald John Trump. Do solemnly swear. I, Donald John Trump.

[Kate Linebaugh]

Today, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.

[Donald Trump]

Protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution of the United States. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations, Mr. President.

[Kate Linebaugh]

In his inauguration speech, Trump made big promises about the next four years.

[Donald Trump]

The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world.

[Kate Linebaugh]

In the room were members of Congress, former presidents, special guests and reporters like our colleague Natalie Andrews, all there to witness Trump's first moments as the next president.

[Political Analyst]

The speech was decisive, it was not unifying. And it made promises across the gamut from drilling more oil to ending illegal immigration to going to Mars. Donald Trump's vision is about releasing a new golden age of America. It's not immediately clear what the golden age means, but I think his voters hope that it makes them all a little more prosperous.

[Kate Linebaugh]

Welcome to the Journal, our show about money, business and power. I'm Kate LINEBAUGH. It's Monday, January 20th. Coming up on the show, President Trump term two, day one.

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[Kate Linebaugh]

Trump's inauguration took place inside the US Capitol building due to freezing temperatures in Washington D.C.

[Political Analyst]

The Capitol Rotunda where the inauguration happened is one of the most beautiful places in Washington, DC. It's stunning. You walk in and it's a circular room and there's murals all around you and on the ceiling and natural light streaming through.

[Kate Linebaugh]

And what was the vibe like?

[Political Analyst]

It was a party. People were very excited to see each other. They were very excited to see Donald Trump. They were cheering. The vibe overall was a celebratory one.

[Kate Linebaugh]

And who was up there on stage with him.

[Political Analyst]

So it was an interesting dynamic to. If you're looking at Donald Trump giving a speech, to the right of him was the President's club. Barack Obama, Joe Biden. You know, the President's club made it seem like an old guard. And then on the left of Donald Trump, you had the Trump family right in front. You had tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg. You had Elon Musk. It was quite interesting. You had the TikTok CEO. He was on the very end of the crowd and kind of looked on for most of the time.

[Kate Linebaugh]

Is it unusual to have tech CEOs and business leaders up there?

[Political Analyst]

It seems so, in this quantity. And to note, a lot of these folks had been very friendly with Democrats as well. It's just been interesting to watch how quickly they have not only just kind of been at the inauguration, but also been down to mar a lago taking pictures with Trump. Really become chummy in the last few weeks since Donald Trump was elected.

[Kate Linebaugh]

After J.D. vance took the oath of office as VP, Chief Justice John Roberts swore in Trump as president.

[Political Analyst]

He took oath. People cheered loudly. Every person sitting on the chair had a little sheet that said the etiquette for the inauguration, and it said not to take pictures during the oath of office. And oh my gosh, so many members of Congress ignored that they were all standing.

[Kate Linebaugh]

How would you describe Trump's speech?

[Political Analyst]

This was not a speech about unifying America. This was a speech about Donald Trump taking the promises he'd made on the campaign trail and showing that he had a plan and that he's planning to do a lot of executive action. I think he joked at one point on the campaign trail, and it seemed like a joke that he was going to be a dictator on day one only. And this is him saying, I have presidential powers and I'm going to do them. In part because he does feel like he has a mandate.

[Donald Trump]

My recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal and all of these many betrayals that have taken place and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy, and indeed their freedom.

[Political Analyst]

From this, he feels like he was elected overwhelmingly and it's time for him to show how he's going to get that done. He's very much put a timestamp and urgency on a lot of things, and he didn't hold back.

[Donald Trump]

As we gather today, our government confronts a crisis of trust. For many years, a radical and corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our citizens, while the pillars of our society lay broken and seemingly in complete disrepair.

[Political Analyst]

He was quite critical of the Biden administration when it was that you had Joe Biden and Kamala Harris sitting right there on the front row watching. There was no qualms about that. And then he talked a lot about.

[Donald Trump]

God 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.

[Political Analyst]

It's something that a lot of since the assassination attempt in July and then the subsequent one, you have seen a lot of Trump devotees be very adamant that Trump was saved to restore America. And that language continued from him today.

[Kate Linebaugh]

Then he laid out his policy visions and the actions he's going to take, saying he was going to sign a roster of executive orders, said he was.

[Political Analyst]

Going to sign executive orders right away, for example, banning biological men from playing in women's sports or return on immigration. Really going back to a lot of the executive orders he'd issued in his first term on immigration, such as remain.

[Donald Trump]

In Mexico, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border.

[Kate Linebaugh]

Yeah, he really kicked off the policy portion of his speech talking about immigration. What was his message there and what did he say he's going to do?

[Political Analyst]

He wants to limit border crossings from people who are crossing the border illegally. So he is wanting to implement processes that turn people back, you know, ending people being able to seek asylum and have a court date at a later time. He's also expected to sign an executive order ending birthright citizenship in the country. The idea being that if you come to the country and cross illegally, you cannot have your baby in the US and have that baby be an American citizen.

[Kate Linebaugh]

And from immigration, he went to another key issue from his campaign, which was inflation. What is his plan to address inflation?

[Political Analyst]

Donald Trump wants to push for more business in the country. He wants his whole cabinet to deal with inflation and then do more with energy.

[Donald Trump]

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.

[Political Analyst]

Whereas Biden restricted drilling in the United States, Donald Trump wants to grab more fossil fuels in the United States. He wants to use that to lower costs for fuel.

[Kate Linebaugh]

What else would you say is on his economic agenda that he outlined in his speech?

[Political Analyst]

He, Donald Trump sees kind of a greater efficiency across the board. He wants this idea of the Department of Government Efficiency, which is an office, not a department. But the idea is to go look through every aspect of the federal government and see maybe what can you cut. I think a lot of his kind of policies in general on trade are also so key. And on Monday, he said he's going to overhaul the federal trade system and he wants to establish this External Revenue Service to collect Tariffs and duties that are coming in.

[Kate Linebaugh]

And then he spoke about race and gender.

[Political Analyst]

Yes.

[Donald Trump]

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.

[Kate Linebaugh]

Why was that such a big focus?

[Political Analyst]

Well, there's an aspect of the Republicans who fear, really, really like this idea of the traditional family, the man, woman, child setup. And so that got a lot of cheers. There's been a lot of headlines right now about trans athletes playing in women's sports. And whether or not there's that many trans athletes playing, it's really become something that the cultural right has just jumped on as something they feel very passionate about. So that focus is something that's very important to Republicans right now and to conservatives at large.

[Kate Linebaugh]

Trump also said he plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico to be the Gulf of America, that he wants to retake control of the Panama Canal, and that he wants to send American astronauts to Mars. How did he conclude his speech? What was his final message?

[Political Analyst]

The way he closed his address was not phrasing that he's used before when he ends speeches. This was a very like, we will.

[Donald Trump]

We will stand bravely, we will live proudly, we will dream boldly, and nothing will stand in our way because we are Americans, the future is ours, and our golden age has just begun. Thank you. God bless America. Thank you all. Thank you. Thank you very much.

[Political Analyst]

It was a lot, a lot of promises and saying that our country has suffered and now we're going to restore this golden age. And it was received very well by the Republicans in the room. You know, it's good. It was received very well by the Republicans in the room because to do any of what he promised beyond executive order and to make it stick, he's going to need every single one of those Republicans because he has such a narrow majority.

[Kate Linebaugh]

After the break. How this went down with Trump supporters.

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[Kate Linebaugh]

Despite the cold, Trump's supporters descended on the nation's capital to celebrate. They were on the street as his motorcade drove by. They were in bars watching the inauguration and singing along to America the Beautiful.

[Political Analyst]

From sea to shining sea.

[Kate Linebaugh]

Our reporter Jessica Mendoza and producer Matt Kwong were out in D.C. talking to Trump supporters.

[Political Analyst]

Tell me what you're excited about.

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What are you excited to hear?

[Donald Trump]

More years. I'm excited for the next four years.

[Trump Supporter]

I'm looking forward to a more secure country. I don't like all the people coming into our country illegally. That's a big issue for me. Defense protection of our country is a big deal. And the economy, I think, has just gotten a little out, way out of control.

[Kate Linebaugh]

And he's going to open energy, he's going to drill. Doing that is going to bring in the money and that he's going to be able to accomplish the other things that he wants to accomplish for the American people. So it'll be fantastic. Maybe I might not agree with everything that Trump is going to do or wants to do. I feel there's a captain at the ship now, and that's, you know, I'm not afloat. I don't feel like I'm not a float. After the speech, Jessica caught up with a couple from Tampa, Florida, Debbie and Gary Garcia.

[Debbie Garcia]

We just couldn't wait to hear this and be here, present with all this excitement and exuberance. We're, we're thrilled to be here and just can't wait to see what the next four years has in store for the United States and for the rest of the world.

[Political Analyst]

Did anything from his speech stand out to you?

[Trump Supporter]

I think the taking back of Panama, in whatever capacity we'll do that makes a statement to the world that we're no longer the America of yesteryear. We're a new America, the America of not putting us first and creating a stability in the world through our stability here at home. And we're unstable here at home now, and we, we can be more stable as purveyors in the world.

[Political Analyst]

How does it feel to be celebrating.

[Kate Linebaugh]

Here with other Trump supporters in Washington.

[Debbie Garcia]

D.C. i just feel like these people are Just other people, just average, every day, just like us. People who absolutely love their country. And I support people who love our, our country, not people who hate our country. So it's, it's wonderful to be here with kindred spirits.

[Kate Linebaugh]

Many of the people who Matt and Jessica spoke to shared this feeling of hope for the next four years. It's something that our colleague Natalie has been thinking about.

[Political Analyst]

I met so many voters and folks on the campaign trail who earnestly voted for Donald Trump because they want change. They have hope that Donald Trump can do that.

[Kate Linebaugh]

Given what he said in his speech. What do you think Trump's first hundred days in office will be like?

[Political Analyst]

It seems as like a president who's going to twist arms. This is not a president who's going to want to negotiate. This is a president who's saying, did you see by how much I won with the people are with me and we need to work and get what I want to get done done. This is not someone who's going to be wanting to do carve outs or negotiate with each and every member of Congress for their little part that they want in a certain bill. This is someone who wants to come in, feels as though he has a mandate and wants to accomplish it.

[Kate Linebaugh]

And what about the agenda he outlined? It seems incredibly ambitious.

[Political Analyst]

It's incredibly ambitious. It's incredibly vast. It's, that's very difficult to do. You will face hurdle after hurdle and it will be interesting to see if people are understanding about that. As he tries to get things done.

[Kate Linebaugh]

What does day one tell us about the next four years?

[Political Analyst]

You know, he's determined. Donald Trump is determined. He fought for this. This is a president who's come back. He's made the ultimate comeback and he feels that, he feels that support. He's got the tech CEOs sitting behind him. He's got his cabinet sitting behind him. He had people in the audience who helped get him elected, raised millions to put on the inauguration. So much money they couldn't spend it. So he's feeling as though he has the world behind him to do what he wants to do.

[Kate Linebaugh]

Before you go, we have some exciting news. Molly and Ryan are coming back. Join senior political correspondent Molly Ball and your co host Ryan Knudsen on Friday mornings for the first 100 days of Trump's presidency. They'll unpack the news of the week and answer your questions. So please send us your questions. Either record a voice memo or email them to thejournalsj.com that's thejournalsj.com. that's all for today. Monday, January 20th. The Journal is a co production of Spotify and the Wall Street Journal. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.

[Political Analyst]

These are violent criminals, so they're not going to go down easy. ABC Tuesdays.

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Let's get this done.

[Political Analyst]

The rookie is back.

[Trump Supporter]

We have two new rookies starting today.

[Political Analyst]

Howdy.

[Kate Linebaugh]

Being a cop is stressful 24 7.

[Political Analyst]

Every year on the job is different.

[Kate Linebaugh]

And training day, we have a serial killer at large.

[Political Analyst]

Never ends.

[Donald Trump]

We need an ambulance. The rookie.

[Political Analyst]

All new Tuesdays on ABC and stream on Hulu.