Trump 2.0: 47th US president to be inaugurated on Monday

Donald Trump’s second presidency will officially commence later on Monday, as he will be sworn in as the 47th US president.

The hours and days that will follow the inauguration have the world holding its breath, as Trump promised voters that his first day in office will include actions that are set to change the country’s trajectory.

Among his pledges, Trump promised to initiate a mass deportation programme and is expected to enforce the US-Mexico border with the military by declaring a national border emergency.

The president-elect is also expected to classify drug cartels as terrorist organisations, intensifying the war on drugs by going against groups that have flooded American streets with narcotics.

Trump also promised to prioritise American goods by implementing tariffs on imported goods from around the world. He vowed to impose a 25% tariff on the country’s closest neighbours, Mexico and Canada, as well as a 60% tariff on Chinese goods.

Meanwhile, there is growing speculation that the Trump administration will create a federal stockpile of Bitcoin that will act similarly as the country’s gold and oil stockpile, fuelling investor hype around cryptocurrencies. Interestingly, both Trump and his wife Melania Trump have recently launched their own cryptocurrencies.

The upcoming administration is expected to roll back a number of environmental policies, as he had promised to remove certain oil drilling restrictions to increase US production of oil. 

Beyond the US, many are eyeing Trump’s plans to end the war in Ukraine as he had promised to end the conflict in a short period of time.

All in all, Trump is expected to sign some 200 executive orders on his first day in office. Executive orders refer to legally-binding orders which give the US president the power to change policy without seeking the approval of lawmakers.

The inauguration, which will take place later on Monday, is the first one in decades to take place indoors due to freezing temperatures which are sweeping through parts of North America.