Donald Trump targeted his opponents and touted a massive AI project Tuesday in a shocking and frightening start to his second presidency — but faced a challenge, including a rare public disguise from a bishop .
The Republican also defended his large pardons of US Capitol rioters, including key figures from the far-right groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who were released from prison on Tuesday.
Trump has promised a “new golden age” for America, signing a series of executive orders in his first 24 hours on immigration, gender and climate that upend many of Democrat Joe Biden’s policies.
Flanked at the White House by executives from Japanese giant Softbank, Oracle and ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Trump announced a company called “Stargate” that will “invest at least $500 billion” in AI infrastructure in the United States.
“This monumental undertaking is a resounding statement of confidence in America’s potential,” Trump said.
Tech barons have lined up behind Trump, with the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, even joining his administration. Trump said he was open to Musk buying the Chinese app TikTok to keep it open in the United States.
But Trump – at 78 the oldest person ever to be sworn in as president – has also promised retaliation as part of what he says is an attempt to overhaul Biden’s ‘deep state’ .
His administration fired Coast Guard Chief Linda Fagan – the first woman to lead a US military service – with one official blaming her for “leadership deficiencies” and an “overfocus” on diversity programs.
– ‘Have mercy’ –
Trump also withdrew Secret Service protection from former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton, the target of an alleged Iranian assassination plot, with whom he fell out.
“He was a very stupid person,” Trump said.
Trump earlier announced plans to fire some 1,000 opponents in federal positions. Four people had already been “FIRED!” » he wrote, notably to retired General Mark Milley, his former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who had become a prominent critic.
Trump also faced fresh criticism from an unexpectedly powerful voice Tuesday when a Washington bishop told him from the pulpit that he was sowing fear among American immigrants and LGBTQ people.
“I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President,” Mariann Edgar Budde of the Washington National Cathedral told an unsmiling Trump, seated in the front pew for the customary inaugural service next to his wife Melania.
Early Wednesday, Trump blasted Budde on his Truth Social platform, calling the Episcopal bishop “nasty” and demanding an apology.
“The so-called bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service Tuesday morning was a hard-line radical left hater,” Trump wrote, without naming Budde.
“She brought her church into the political world in a very unsightly way. She had a nasty tone, and was neither convincing nor intelligent.”
Railing against “illegal migrants”, the president also castigated Budde’s “very boring and uninspiring” service.
“She’s not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!” he said.
Trump took steps Monday to halt the arrival of asylum seekers and illegally expel migrants from the country.
He also decreed that only two sexes – male and female, but not transgender – would be recognized.
– ‘Ridiculous’ –
He also granted clemency to more than 1,500 people who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, including those convicted of assaulting police officers.
Two prominent rioters had their sentences commuted: Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys party, and Stewart Rhodes, leader of another such group, the Oath Keepers.
“I thought their sentences were ridiculous and excessive,” Trump told reporters.
Trump infamously told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” when asked during a debate with Biden in 2020 whether he condemned white supremacy and militias.
Democrats condemned these “shameful” pardons.
At the same time, the Republican president had to face refusals regarding his order revoking the right of citizenship – guaranteed by the American Constitution -, 22 Democratic-leaning states having launched legal action against the project.
This would prevent the federal government from issuing passports or citizenship certificates to children whose parents are in the country illegally or temporarily.
Trump is offering a supercharged agenda after his inauguration Monday, in which he delivered a speech mixing dark images of a failing America and promises of renewal.
It also sows new upheavals on the international scene.
Trump on Tuesday threatened to impose tariffs on the European Union, adding Canada and Mexico as potential targets.
He added that Russia would likely face further sanctions if it did not agree to a peace deal in Ukraine.
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