‘Liberation Day’: 8 Takeaways From Trump’s Second Inaugural Address

Delivering his second inaugural address indoors because of the frigid weather conditions in Washington, President Donald Trump vowed Monday to restore integrity and efficiency to government. 

Having won in November not only the popular vote, but also with a decisive Electoral College victory, Trump struck a mostly unifying tone from inside the Capitol, invoking Martin Luther King Jr. and asserting, “Impossible is what we do best.”

The following are eight takeaways from his address:

1. ‘Stars and Stripes on the Planet Mars’

Among the newer policies Trump spoke of was putting a man on Mars. 

“We will pursue our Manifest Destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars,” Trump said. 

Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX, stood and applauded with a smile after that comment. 

Musk is separately heading up Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to identify waste, fraud, and abuse. 

2. ‘Saved for a Reason’

Trump referenced the attempt on his life on July 13 in Pennsylvania when a would-be assassin shot Trump in the ear and killed a supporter in the crowd. 

The president tied that in with some of the legal cases brought against him seeking to block his path to the presidency. 

“From this moment on, America’s decline is over. Our liberties and our nation’s glorious destiny will no longer be denied, and we will immediately restore the integrity, competency, and loyalty of America’s government,” Trump said. 

“Over the past eight years, I have been tested and challenged more than any president in our 250-year history, and I have learned a lot along the way,” the president continued. “The journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one, that I can tell you. Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed take my life. 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.”

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, appreciated the line in the Trump inaugural address in which the president said, he will “not forget our Constitution, and not forget our God.”

“Today, President Trump did not merely proclaim victory, he declared war upon the betrayals and failures of a federal government, which had forgotten its primary duty to protect the American people at home and abroad and to fight for their best interests,” Lee told The Daily Signal in a statement. “He now takes on that mandate, his mission to usher the United States into a new golden age of strength and freedom.”

3. ‘Weaponization … Will End’

Minutes before leaving office, former President Joe Biden pardoned several family members who had been under congressional investigation for possible influence-peddling, and hours after similar preemptive pardons of political allies.

Early in his speech, Trump vowed to restore integrity to the U.S. justice system, after facing multiple investigations from the Biden Justice Department. 

“Our sovereignty will be reclaimed,” Trump said. “Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced. The vicious, violent, and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government will end.”

4. ‘Liberation Day’ and Honoring MLK

Trump said that Jan. 20, 2025, should be regarded as “Liberation Day.”

“It is my hope that the recent presidential election will be remembered as the greatest and most consequential election in the history of our country,” he said. “As our victory showed, the entire nation is rapidly unifying behind our agenda with dramatic increase in support from virtually every element of our society, young and old, men and women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, urban, suburban, rural, and very importantly, we had a powerful win in all seven swing states, and the popular vote we won by millions of people.” 

Trump referenced the growing support among constituencies that haven’t often supported Republican candidates, as he noted that he was sworn into office on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

“To the black and Hispanic communities, I want to thank you for the tremendous outpouring of love and trust you showed me with your vote,” Trump said. “Today is Martin Luther King Day, and in his honor, this will be a great honor, in his honor, we will strive together to make his dream a reality. We will make his dream come true.”

5. ‘Only Two Genders’ 

Trump also called for ending government social engineering on race and gender. 

“This week, 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,” Trump said. “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.”

6. ‘External Revenue Service’

While the Internal Revenue Service is the Treasury Department agency charged with tax collection from Americans, Trump announced plans for what he dubbed the “External Revenue Service” to fund the government with revenues from foreign countries. 

“I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families,” he said. “Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.”

He added: “For this purpose, we are establishing the External Revenue Service, to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues. It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury coming from foreign sources. The American dream will soon be back and thriving like never before.”

7. ‘National Emergency at Our Southern Border’

Trump said protecting the southern border would be a major priority, and announced numerous executive orders. 

“I will declare a national emergency at our southern border,” 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.”

“We will reinstate my ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy. I will end the process of catch-and-release. And I will send troops to the southern border to stop the disastrous invasion of our country,” Trump said. 

He added that Mexican cartels will be designated foreign terrorist organizations.

“We don’t want criminals coming into our country,” Trump said. “We don’t want the jails of every country in the world virtually being deposited into the United States.”

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said getting rid of the Biden-era Customs and Border Protection app for illegal immigrants to pre-apply for asylum would be an important first step.

“Our kids are dying of fentanyl, and families are being ripped apart by murders and assaults committed by illegal immigrants who aren’t supposed to be here in the first place,” Hawley told The Daily Signal. “President Trump has consistently expressed his commitment to stopping the flow of drugs and criminals invading communities across the country. Shutting down the CBP One app—Biden’s concierge service for illegal immigrants—was a huge step in the right direction.”

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said Trump’s new border policies are a welcome change. 

“After four years of dangerous open borders, soaring inflation, out-of-control crime, and disastrous foreign policy, the national nightmare is finally over,” Norman told The Daily Signal. “The American people overwhelmingly delivered a mandate on November 5: They want President Trump’s agenda, and they want it now. During his first term, President Trump delivered the most secure border in history, a booming economy, law and order in our communities, and peace on the world stage—and today he will pick right back up where he left off.”

8. ’National Energy Emergency’

Trump also vowed to roll back the energy policies of the Biden administration. 

“The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices. That is why today, I will also declare a national energy emergency,” he said. “We will drill, baby drill.”

The Republican majority in Congress will play a key role in enacting Trump’s mandate from the November election victory, said Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz. 

“The American people gave President Trump a mandate to secure our borders, deport criminal aliens, unleash American energy, and enact a return to law and order—a resounding rejection of the agenda of decline enacted over the last four years,” Crane told The Daily Signal. “The president delivered a strong, bold vision of this new Golden Age of America, and it’s up to Congress to support his commonsense agenda. I look forward to working with President Trump to make these changes a reality.”

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