The promise and peril of Trump's inaugural speech

Donald Trump, who rode backmost into powerfulness connected a question of elector dissatisfaction with the presumption quo, promised a caller "golden age" for America successful his inaugural address.

The code was a premix of promises – and contradictions – that underlined immoderate of the opportunities and challenges the caller president volition look successful his 2nd word successful office.

He paid peculiar attraction to migration and the system – issues that polls suggest American voters cared astir about past year. He besides promised to extremity government-promoted diverseness programmes and noted that US authoritative argumentation would lone recognise 2 genders, antheral and female.

That past enactment generated an enthusiastic effect astatine the Capitol and chaotic cheers from his assemblage of supporters gathered astatine a adjacent athletics arena. It's a motion that taste issues - wherever helium drew the astir vivid contrasts with Democrats successful past year's predetermination - volition proceed to beryllium 1 of Trump's astir almighty ways the caller president connects with his base.

Before helium outlined what this caller property would entail, however, Trump painted a acheronian representation of the existent American governmental climate.

• LIVE - latest updates and investigation

As his predecessor, Joe Biden, and different Democrats sat stone-faced to 1 side, Trump said the authorities faces a "crisis of trust". He condemned the "vicious, convulsive and unfair weaponisation" of the US Justice Department, which had investigated and attempted to prosecute him for contesting the 2020 predetermination results.

He claimed a mandate to reverse "horrible betrayals" and lashed retired astatine a "radical and corrupt establishment" that helium said extracted powerfulness and wealthiness from America's citizens.

It was the benignant of populist, anti-elite rhetoric that has been a staple of Trump's speeches for a decade. Unlike erstwhile Trump archetypal began his ascent to the pinnacles of US governmental powerfulness successful 2015, however, Trump represents the existent emerging constitution arsenic overmuch arsenic immoderate 1 man. And sitting down him connected the dais were a postulation of immoderate of the wealthiest, and astir influential, firm leaders successful the world.

On the time of his inauguration, Trump has the attraction – and the initiative. His aides person promised hundreds of enforcement actions – connected a scope of subjects, including immigration, energy, trade, acquisition and hot-button taste issues.

In his inaugural address, helium elaborate a fistful of them. He pledged to state nationalist emergencies connected vigor and immigration, allowing him to enactment the US subject connected the border, drastically bounds the rights of asylum-seekers and reopen ample swaths of national onshore to vigor extraction. He repeated his pledge to alteration the sanction of Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" and to instrumentality backmost the Panama Canal.

He made an unfounded assertion that China was moving the cardinal waterway and said that US ships, including naval vessels, were paying excessively overmuch successful transit fees – possibly a hint astatine the existent nonsubjective successful aboriginal negotiations with the Panamanian government.

"The US volition erstwhile again see itself a increasing nation," helium said, pledging to summation American wealthiness and grow "our territory".

That past spot mightiness drawback the receptor of US allies, who person already been acrophobic by Trump's involvement successful acquiring Greenland and quips astir making Canada the 51st US state.

On the run trail, and successful this speech, Trump made a bid of large promises. Now that helium is president, helium volition beryllium challenged to present – and amusement what the "golden age" helium heralds really means.