#Inauguration of Barack Obama

[deadpresidents]

What is your first political memory? Mine is President Obama’s Inauguration in 2009.

I woke up that morning and unbeknownst to me, my mom planned to keep me home from school so that I could witness the historic event. I had turned 8 two months before so I wasn’t aware of the 2008 campaigns - or politics at all for that matter. At the time, I was just a kid happy to have a day off from school. President Obama is the first president I have any real memory. In those years, I grew up thinking “Exactly. This is what America is. A country that could elect a black man as president.”

Having President Obama made it easier for me to accept the narrative that America had been deeply troubled and flawed, but it led to such a powerful outcome so all of the fight was worth it, I told myself. Seeing a man like President Obama, a man that looked like me be in office made me feel safe in a way that I didn’t realize at the time. It gave me an overly simplistic, optimistic view of our country and the world in general. I was in high school during the 2016 election and that image shattered. I’m an optimistic person by nature, but it’s so hard to maintain that disposition nowadays.

Anyways, I wonder how our first political memories shape us - if at all.

First of all, thanks for making me feel super old that Obama's first inauguration was your earliest political memory.

My earliest political memory is actually Ronald Reagan's second inauguration, or really, adjacent to Reagan's second inauguration. My birthday is actually Inauguration Day, so that would have been my fifth birthday (January 20, 1985). Inauguration Day fell on a Sunday that year and when Inauguration Day falls on a Sunday, there is a brief, official ceremony to swear-in the President for the Constitutional beginning of his new term and then the public inaugural ceremonies are held the following day.

I don't remember Reagan taking the oath of office in the White House on that day, but January 20, 1985 was also the date of Super Bowl XIX between the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins. My memory is of President Reagan presiding over the coin toss before the game via a televised feed from the White House.

(Don't beat yourself up too much about what you felt after Obama's inauguration compared to what has transpired in this country since that moment. I am not an optimistic person by nature, but I was full of hope and optimism when President Obama was elected and inaugurated. I don't think anybody would have predicted how far off the rails this country would careen in the years that followed.)

[jasondamien93]

👏👏👏

[saywhat-politics]

A spokesperson for the Obamas confirmed to PEOPLE that while Michelle plans to skip Trump's swearing-in on Monday, Jan. 20, former President Barack Obama will be in attendance

[thashining]

George wasn’t coming if Michelle isn’t gonna be there. I heard Jimmy Carter also said no beyond the grave.

[tomorrowusa]

Weather wimps who make "Macho Man" their theme song deserve to be the target of ridicule for their hypocrisy.

Temperatures are from NOAA's Presidential Inaugural Weather page.

I only used inaugurations since World War II for the graphic. The temperature at FDR's third inauguration in 1941 was 29° F.

[uwmspeccoll]

Milestone Monday

Trust in Transition

On this day, January 20, 1937, Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first President of the United States to be sworn in on this date. Previously, presidential inaugurations were held on March 4th. The change to January 20 was enacted by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1933, which aimed to reduce the time between the election and the inauguration. This also marked the first occasion when the vice president took the oath of office on the inaugural platform instead of in the Senate Chamber.

Other noteworthy January 20th inaugurations include:

In 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower was sworn in as the 34th President of the United States, making history as the first president to start his term on January 20, following the changes brought by the 20th Amendment.

In 1961, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States, making history as both the youngest person to hold the office and the first Roman Catholic president.

In 2009, Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States, making history as the first African American to hold the office.

In 2021, Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States, making history as the oldest person to assume the office at the age of 78. Along with Kamala Harris, who became the first woman to serve as Vice President of the United States.

Now, in 2025, Donald Trump is returning to the Oval Office, a development that has sparked a wide range of reactions across the political spectrum and reignited discussions about his previous presidency and the policies he is likely to pursue in his second term.

In commemorate this, we present images from:

Changing Times: the Life of Barack Obama (MavenMark Books, 2009) by Glen Jeansonne & David Luhrssen.

Official program. Inaugural ceremonies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961 (Washington: Kennedy-Johnson Inaugural Committee, 1961)

Official program of the ceremonies for the third inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt President of the United States and the inauguration of Henry A. Wallace, Vice President of the United States, January 20, 1941 (Ransdell, 1941)

Official program of the inaugural ceremonies inducting into office for a second term, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, John N. Garner, Vice President of the United States, January 20, 1937. (Ransdell Incorporated, 1937)

Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese’s (University of Nebraska Press, 2019) by Tiffany Midge, a Native American poet, editor, and author. The book includes a foreword by Geary Hobson, a scholar, editor, and writer of fiction and poetry. The featured poem is titled Step Right Up, Folks.

World War Three Illustrated (S. Tobocman, P. Kuper, C. Kohlhofer, 1980-)

View other Milestone Monday posts

-Melissa, Special Collections Graduate Intern

[americanssweetheart]

First Lady Laura Bush accompanied former President George W. Bush's second inauguration in 2005, modeling Oscar de la Renta. To the ball, she wore her iconic V-neck, long-sleeve dress colored with bugle beads and Austrian crystals in a soft blue hue to correspond to her eyes.

[misterlemonztenth]

(via GIPHY) President Joe has kept every promise he made.  America is open!  He passed the largest green infrastructure investments in our history. 14 million jobs. 75% of our population vaccinated!   misterlemonztenth.tumblr.com/archive

[ivovynckier]

The inauguration will take place inside the Capitol?

It's not the weather, folks, it's the crowd size!

[fredthomasiii-blog]

EastcoastTrek 2010 - Inauguration

[deadpresidents]

-- "Packed In for Trump's Indoor Inauguration, Awkwardness Abounds", New York Times

[newslink7com]

[mariacallous]

The longtime owner of a distillery and taproom in Virginia did something new last month: He emailed employees detailed instructions on what to do if immigration agents show up at the business.

Call the business owners immediately. Insist to the agents that they must speak to your employer. Ask them if they have a judicial warrant — signed by a judge. Remember, everyone has a right to remain silent in interactions with law enforcement. And, finally, while Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have the right to enter public facilities, employees who hear about immigration agents nearby should “feel free to move the tasting room sign to CLOSED and lock the door. EVEN IF WE HAVE CUSTOMERS HERE.”

Speaking about the new policy, the distillery owner, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation, told HuffPost he was focused on making his employees and customers feel welcome.

“I sensed there was some fear and apprehension about this topic, and so I wanted to assuage that and basically be proactive and say, ‘Here’s how we’ll handle it if it happens,’” he said.

The company-wide email is part of a growing trend since President Donald Trump’s inauguration. While presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama largely prioritized the arrest and deportation of undocumented people deemed public safety threats, under Trump, federal agents arrest any undocumented person they can get their hands on, regardless of their criminal record or employment status.

Often, that takes place at workplaces — including a Baltimore pizza shop, Philadelphia meat market, New Jersey kebab restaurant, Mississippi concrete contractor and countless others over the past two months.

In response, immigrant rights and legal groups have seen a surge in demand for “know-your-rights” material, which explains how to interact with law enforcement including immigration agents. Demand is notably high from workers and business owners, they told HuffPost.

“We’ve seen an immense uptick” in demand for know-your-rights training, said Wennie Chin, senior director of community & civic engagement at the New York Immigration Coalition. The coalition includes groups that serve farm workers, domestic workers, taxi drivers, street vendors and a variety of other professions. One recent training was held for restaurant owners who wanted to prepare their own workplaces for potential law enforcement encounters, she said.

“Our team’s now doing at minimum three [trainings] a day, in person and virtual,” Chin added. “The volume has more than tripled. There’s not a day where our members are not doing know-your-rights work in the community.”

“The trainings are often hundreds of people in attendance,” said Jessie Hahn, senior counsel for labor and employment policy at the National Immigration Law Center. “A lot of those trainings have been specifically about worksite immigration enforcement and helping people understand their rights with regard to encounters with ICE at job sites.”

[selenepsyche]

Scorpio Moons Are Always the Villains.....Right? Or Did You Just Need One?

"Jennie's lazy." | "Beyonce's in the Illuminati." | "J.Lo doesn't even sing." | "Ice Spice is just a meme."

These are things that have been stated multiple times in the case of these Scorpio Moon musicians. Whether or not you agree with those statements isn't the main point for today's post. I'm here to point out a pattern that I have noticed in Scorpio Moon celebrities.

Scorpio Moon celebs, especially women, are uniquely villainized in the public eye. Not just because of what they do, but because of the energy they give off and who they are. They're powerful, private, and unique. Whether they're deeply misunderstood or genuinely problematic, society reacts with projections, suspicion, and obsession. They immediately accuse them of being cold, manipulative, and sneaky. But I am also gonna include a small lesson in Evolved vs Unevolved Scorpio Moons.

How Scorpio Moons Behave

Scorpio Moons are usually deep, intuitive, passionate, captivating, powerful, mysterious, and creative. We feel emotions deeply and don't trust others easily. It's difficult to truly know us because of how private we are. We have strong intuitive abilities that allow us to perfectly read rooms, sense people's true motives, and live without needing approval. But at our worst, we could become too paranoid, easily hold grudges, withdraw emotionally, and have a fear of being vulnerable. To the outside world, we are usually seen as deceptive, cold, intense, and misleading. That image alone is enough to provoke suspicion and resentment, especially in the public light.

How Fame & Notoriety Affect Scorpio Moons

We already know that being famous is difficult. It can strip away your privacy, morals, willpower, and it's all about competition. People will create their own narratives of you and act like they know you. Scorpio moons are not gonna be able to deal with this easily because they will be more restrictive to what they talk about and what they post online. The only time you'll ever hear from them is if they're dropping a new song or movie trailer. This is why they're seen as fake and calculated. But they're just trying to protect the important parts of themselves that they know fame will devour.

People will become suspicious of their quietness. People could overanalyze their facial expressions. People could say their confidence is threatening and "stuck-up". People could say their boundaries are arrogance. People could think they're hiding something because they don't explain certain things or give the fans what they want.

Beyonce

Beyonce is one of the most celebrated and awarded performers of all time. She has built a legacy on talent, perfectionism, and near-perfect control of her image. She rarely gives interviews. She releases music on her own time. She rarely, if ever, explains herself and gives the public the reaction they want from her at certain times. Things like this have fueled the public's suspicion of her and backlash she's received.

One particular incident that I remember was about her being criticized for using a pre-recorded track while performing at Barack Obama's Inauguration in 2013. She said she didn't wanna risk singing live because she didn't have time to practice with the band and since it was such an important event, she didn't wanna risk it. She was severely dragged for this.

Over the years, she's also been accused of being apart of the Illuminati, stealing artistic concepts and choreographies, sabotaging other women's careers to get ahead, and using feminism and black culture performatively. Some of these critiques may be valid and some are speculative. Either way, they've all been triggered by the same emotional reactions: distrust, obsession, and the desire to expose her as something she's not showing us. She's been dealing with hate like this for the majority of her career.

But she doesn't react. She comes back with albums that are revolutionary and game-changing, from Sasha Fierce, to Lemonade, to Black is King, to Renaissance, to Cowboy Carter. She comes back with different personas, as an entirely new and stronger person than before. Classic Scorpio Moon.

Jennie Kim

Jennie is in one of the biggest K-pop girl groups of all time, Blackpink. She has always stood out from the very beginning. Even before her official debut, she was collaborating with K-pop icons such as Lee Hi and G-Dragon. She quickly became a fan-favorite due to her talent, presence, and beauty. She's also considered the it-girl of the 3rd generation of K-pop. Jennie was also pretty different because she didn't behave in a way that most idols are expected to. The love quickly turned into hate.

The first major controversy she experienced was her "lazy dancing" scandal in 2018-2019. I was there to witness it, and it was so much hate being thrown her way. So many YouTube videos were being made about it. She was being attacked for dancing "lazy" while they were on tour, when in reality, she was most likely exhausted from the intense schedules. She also had a ankle injury at the time.

People were also pointing out how she was more a bit energetic for her solo stages at the time, but "lazy" for the group performances. I feel like this might have also been a misunderstanding because when you're performing solo on stage, you have to give it your all since all eyes are gonna be on you. She's still being called out to this day for dancing "lazy". I think it's clear that has low stamina now, which can easily be improved and I understand people's criticism about it. But people are still hanging this over her head to this day. The main valid criticism that I've seen Jennie receiving though is when it comes to appropriating Black culture.

People were also attacking her for her dating rumors with Kai from EXO and V from BTS. People were attacking her and saying they don't deserve to be together, even though nothing was ever confirmed. But throughout all this, Jennie has never addressed rumors and hate (I don't remember if she has in interviews). She continues to build her career in ways that'll make her a legend. She doesn't seek approval. She sets standards. She even has a song that's praising herself (Like Jennie).

Jennifer Lopez

Now let's be for real, not every Scorpio Moon artist is a misunderstood saint. I wanna use Jennifer Lopez and Kali Uchis for these examples. Just as this placement can cultivate emotional resilience, privacy, and depth, it can also cultivate manipulation, control, and the unwillingness to take accountability (Evolved vs Unevolved Placements). Even though they aren't saints, my point still stands about how they've been uniquely villainized in the public eye.

Jennifer Lopez has been exposed for using other black female artists vocals in her earlier songs without crediting them (Ashanti, Christina Milian). Their vocals carried her hits and Jennifer just lip-synced or layered some of her own vocals over them. She has also done interviews where she contradicts herself, disregards people she's worked with, and even potentially lies about her past (ham and cheese on a roll with a orange drink, iYkYk??).

People don't hate her because she's successful. Most people don't like her because of how much she's appropriated and taken from black culture and markets "women empowerment" while stepping on women's necks behind the scenes. She's also officially been exposed for the stuff she did with he who shall not be named, so that's gotten her even more hate. People have been hating on her for years because of all of this, and I don't think it's gonna stop anytime soon. This is a prime example of how people don't just sweep things under the rug with Scorpio Moons.

Kali Uchis

I love her music, but I gotta do it. What makes Kali's case interesting is that she hides behind a spiritual, divine, transformative, and healing persona. These traits are common with a Scorpio Moon and this is how she is seen by most people. She plays it well and knows how to sweep the toxic things she has said and done under the rug with the help of this image. That's why the problematic things she's done aren't talked about that much, unless she messes up and her true self just so happens to slip through the cracks. She has a curated image with alluring, feminine visuals and "soft power". But when faced with criticism, she defaults to passive-aggression, projection, or complete silence.

She has been called out for defending men who have SA'd women, and dated them. Don Toliver has those allegations against him and she has a baby with him now. There was also a situation a few years ago, where she bullied a trans woman for calling her out because she tanned her skin darker to pass as a darker-skinned Latina and changed her whole aesthetic to appeal to the Latin market. She's been exposed for allegedly stealing smaller artists' aesthetics and being rude to fans throughout the years.

With her skincare line, "Homebody by Uchis", she claimed the products are vegan and all-natural. But that was a lie. When someone called her out for this, she blocked them on her main account and her clothing line account (bodiedbyuchis). She also claimed the jeans from her clothing line are not made with polyester, which she made multiple comments on her story at the time about how toxic it is. But guess what? They had polyester. I checked her website again though and it seems they no longer have it in their clothes.

In her most recent controversy, she shared a Billboard 100 chart, showing off her ranking at #4 but covered Sleep Token's pic, whom was in the #1 spot. She also later accused them of using payola in another shady post. When asked why she did this, she claimed it was because she didn't feel comfortable showing someone who does blackface, which isn't true (and racist Morgan Wallen was right under him, yet she didn't cover him). When replying to another comment later, she admits she doesn't even know them but that the picture made her uncomfortable. So you decide to accuse someone you don't even know, of doing blackface and being racist just because they got the #1 spot and you didn't? Girl bye.

I remember when she shared her 2024 Spotify wrapped, she also covered Raveena's face and song, whom was her top song of the year (Hypnosis). It's genuinely odd and it's giving jealousy. Scorpio Moons are known for their intensity but they're also masters of control - controlling narratives, controlling perceptions, and silencing anything or anyone that threatens them. Kali frames anyone who questions her behavior as being jealous, being a hater, or having low vibrational energy. In one breath, she preaches healing and positivity, and in the next, she's throwing shade on her IG stories.

You can be spiritual and still be harmful. You can be sensual and still be emotionally immature. Kali weaponizes self-love and spirituality as a shield from accountability. She is the perfect example of what an unevolved Scorpio Moon looks like. There's also a big difference between emotional privacy and emotional arrogance. Not addressing the problem and deflecting is not okay. Kali reinforces her ego instead of transforming it.

All of these things make Kali disliked in the public eye. Well, I would actually say that it more so hinders her growth as an artist because as I stated before, most of the bad things she's said and done have been buried or covered up due to her spiritual image and maybe management helping her. But since this situation with Sleep Token has been blowing up everywhere, it's been making more people bring up her past. People are definitely gonna hold this over her head for a long time.

In Conclusion.....

Whew, this is the longest post I've ever done. I'm so proud. But to conclude, this post reiterates the fact that Scorpio Moons have an emotional intensity that makes them unforgettable, unbreakable, and often unbearable in the public eye. We don't cry for comfort. We don't explain themselves when they want us to. We usually work privately share only what we want them to know. But because that isn't what's expected of us, especially celebrities, we get hated on for it.

Some, like Beyonce and Jennie, hold their power quietly, gracefully, and "dangerously". They give us access into their personal lives only when they want to. Others, like Jennifer and Kali, show us what happens when that energy calcifies. They show us what happens when the mystery becomes smoke and mirrors.

Scorpio Moons will always be polarizing. We weren't made to be liked, we were made to be felt. And whatever that feeling is - admiration, suspicion, or obsession - it will stick. But with that being said, thank you all for reading this!

dividers: @omi-resources & @anitalenia gifs and pictures: @sir-illmatic | @bey-life | @venompinks | @parkrose | Pinterest

© selenepsyche - All Rights Reserved

[saywhat-politics]

Eight years ago, Michelle Obama stood beside her husband at Donald Trump’s first inauguration, marking a moment of national transition. Now as we approach Trump’s second inauguration on Jan. 20, it sounds like things are going to look a little different.

Michelle Obama’s office announced Tuesday that she will be skipping Trump's inauguration this year. Barack Obama has confirmed that he will be in attendance, along with George W. and Laura Bush and Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Michelle has been notably absent from key events this month, including the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter. Her absence from such a significant moment drew attention, especially as Carter’s funeral became a gathering of former presidents and first ladies, many of whom have maintained cordial relationships with the Biden administration.

[directactionforhope]

"On his first day back in the White House, president Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders, including rescinding Biden-era executive actions and withdrawing the US from the Paris climate accord.

Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity during his campaign that he would be a dictator only on “day one” and use his presidential powers to close the southern border with Mexico and expand oil drilling.

“After that, I’m not a dictator,” he said.

As executive orders rolled in on Monday, the accelerated pace amounted to a shock-and-awe campaign. Trump promised in his inaugural speech that these orders would amount to a “complete restoration of America”.

Here’s what we know so far about themost significant executive orders and actions Trump signed on Monday.

Ending birthright citizenship

The order: Along with a slew of immigration-focused orders, Trump is targeting automatic citizenship for US-born children of immigrants in the country illegally, to begin 30 days from today.

What Trump said: The order specifies that it would limit birthright citizenship if a person’s “mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth”, or “when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary”.

What it means: Birthright citizenship, which guarantees citizenship to anyone born on US soil, is protected by the 14th amendment and any attempt to revoke it will likely bring immediate legal challenges. The order attempts to deny documents recognizing US citizenship for individuals who meet that criteria and are born in the US 30 days after the order was signed.

-via The Guardian, January 20, 2025. Article continues below.

Leaving the World Health Organization

The order: Trump signed an order to have the US exit the World Health Organization (WHO).

What Trump said: “World Health ripped us off, everybody rips off the United States. It’s not going to happen anymore,” Trump said at the signing. He accused the WHO mishandled the Covid-19 pandemic and other international health crises.

What it means: The US will leave the WHO in 12 months’ time and stop all financial contributions to its work. The US is biggest financial backer to the United Nations health agency.

Renaming the Gulf of Mexico

The order: Trump ordered two name changes: the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Mount Denali.

What Trump said: “President Trump is bringing common sense to government and renewing the pillars of American Civilization,” the executive order said in part.

What it means: Trump ordered the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed the “Gulf of America”, something he promised earlier this month at a press conference. He will rechristen Alaska’s Mount Denali as Mount McKinley, a change first made by former president Barack Obama in 2015 to reflect the traditions of Alaska Natives as well as the preference of many Alaska residents.

It will have no bearing on what names are used internationally.

Revoking electric vehicle targets

The order: Trump revoked a non-binding executive order signed by Biden aimed at making half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 electric.

What Trump said: “The United States will not sabotage our own industries while China pollutes with impunity,” Trump said on Monday afternoon.

What it means: Part of an effort to repeal Biden’s environmental protections, Trump has also promised to roll back auto pollution standards finalized by Biden’s administration last spring.

Reclassifying federal employees, making them easier to fire

The order: Trump’s executive order reclassified thousands of federal employees as political hires, making it much easier for them to be fired.

What Trump said: Aides to the president have long heralded mass government firings as part of an attack on the so-called “administrative” or “deep” state.

What it means: Trump effectively reinstates “Schedule F”, an executive order he signed in the last year of his first term, seeking to reclassify tens of thousands of federal workers. (Biden rescinded the order.)

Key aides to Trump have called for mass government firings. Project 2025 made attacks on the deep or administrative state a core part of Trump’s second term. The rightwing playbook called for civil servants deemed politically unreliable to be fired and replaced by conservatives.

Declaring a national energy emergency

The order: Trump declared a national energy emergency as part of a barrage of pro-fossil fuel actions and efforts to “unleash” already booming US energy production that included also rolling back restrictions in drilling in Alaska and undoing a pause on gas exports.

What Trump said: The order means “you can do whatever you have to do to get out of that problem and we do have that kind of emergency,” Trump said at the White House late on Monday.

What it means: The declaration would allow his administration to fast-track permits for new fossil fuel infrastructure. It is likely that the order, part of a broader effort to roll back climate policy, will face legal challenges.

Creating a policy recognizing only two genders

The order: Trump signed an order to remove “gender ideology guidance” from federal government communication, policies and forms. The order makes it official policy that there are “only two genders, male and female”.

What Trump said: “Agencies will cease pretending that men can be women and women can be men when enforcing laws that protect against sex discrimination,” the order states.

What it means: The order reverses a Biden-era executive action on the acceptance of gender identity.

Pausing the TikTok ban

The order: Trump signed an executive order temporarily delaying the enforcement of a federal ban on TikTok for at least 75 days.

What Trump said: “I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok that I didn’t have originally,” Trump said at the White House, as he signed executive orders according to the New York Times.

What it means: Trump ordered his attorney general to not enforce the law requiring TikTok’s sale. Trump says the pause allows for time to chart an “appropriate course forward” to protect national security and not abruptly shut down the popular app. In his first term, Trump favored a TikTok ban, but has since changed his position due to factors including his own popularity on the app.

Rescinding 78 Biden-era executive actions

The order: Trump ordered 78 Biden-era executive actions to be rescinded, including at least a dozen measures supporting racial equity and combating discrimination against gay and transgender people.

What Trump said: “I’ll revoke nearly 80 destructive and radical executive actions of the previous administration,” Trump told a crowd in Washington after his inaugural speech. He also said he would end policy “trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life” and push for a “color blind and merit-based” society.

What it means: The orders signal a reversal of Biden-era policy that prioritized implementing diversity measures across the federal government. Trump repealed orders signed by Biden advancing racial equity for underserved communities and the aforementioned order combating discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

Declaring a national border emergency

The order: Trump signed an order at the White House declaring an emergency at the southern US border, along with several other immigration-related policies.

What Trump said: “All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,” Trump said in his inauguration speech.

What it means: The executive action paves the way to send US troops to the southern border and makes good on campaign promises to implement hardline immigration policies. There are limited details about how the administration planned to execute its sprawling set of immigration actions that were all but certain to face legal and logistical challenges.

Immigrant communities across the country are bracing for Trump’s promise to carry out the “largest deportation program in American history”, beginning as early as Tuesday morning.

Issuing pardons for January 6 defendants

The order: Trump issued pardons for offenders and commutations related to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. He will direct the Department of Justice to dismiss cases currently in progress.

What Trump said: “I’m going to be signing on the J6 hostages, pardons, to get them out,” Trump said during his rally speech. “We’ll be signing pardons for a lot of people, a lot of people.” Trump said he has pardoned about 1,500 defendants charged in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol and issued six commutations.

What it means: Trump made his pledge to issue pardons for those with convictions related to the January 6 Capitol attack a core part of his re-election campaign. On the campaign trail, Trump often featured the national anthem sung by prisoners in a Washington DC jail. There are more than 1,500 people federally charged with associated charges.

With Trump back in the White House, justice department investigations into January 6 crimes are expected to cease.

Withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement

The order: Trump issued executive action withdrawing the US from the 2015 Paris agreement, along with a letter informing the United Nations of the decision.

What Trump said: “I am immediately withdrawing from the unfair, one-sided Paris Climate Accord rip off” Trump said during a rally at the Capital One Arena. In his inaugural speech, Trump said he would use executive action to “end the Green New Deal”.

What it means: In 2017, Trump exited the Paris agreement. Upon taking office in 2021, Biden rejoined. Monday’s order makes good on a Trump election promise to withdraw from the 2015 global treaty seeking to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis.

Exiting the Paris agreement is part of Trump’s broader efforts to roll back climate protections and policy. Trump has described Biden’s efforts to grow the US’s clean energy sector as “the green new scam”.

-via The Guardian, January 20, 2025