It is official. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are gone, everyone is cleaned out of the White House Press Office, and Donald Trump is the forty-seventh president of the United States and J.D. Vance is the vice president. It happened.
The day began at St. John’s Episcopal Church, where Donald Trump, his family, and incoming top officials worshiped and demonstrated that class and grace are back in the White House. Melania Trump looked absolutely stunning in a tailored navy coat, pencil skirt, and ivory blouse all designed by Adam Lippes. She accessorized with navy stilettos, black leather gloves, and a navy wide-brimmed hat by Eric Javits.
Pardon Power
Trump and Melania then took a brief visit over to the White House, where President Joe Biden was heard saying two words to President Trump, “Welcome home.” Good line. This lovely little piece of jargon came just after Biden announced pardons for Dr. Fauci, the January 6 committee, Gen. Mark Milley, and many, many others to protect them from “baseless and politically motivated investigations” and just before he pardoned – count ’em – five members of his family with about 15 minutes to go in his presidency.
Biden, for the last time, used his power to protect those around him. He pardoned Hunter Biden in advance, and then he did his brother Jim, sister Valerie, the in-laws, and basically anyone named Biden – other than his daughter Ashley, who, as far as we know, has a substance abuse problem but no criminality in her life.
Trump Takes Over
At noon, Biden’s presidency did come to an end and Trump’s began, per the U.S. Constitution. The atmosphere inside the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. – where Trump’s supporters gathered in lieu of the traditional outdoor inauguration and parade due to the extreme cold – was euphoric as the new president entered the Capitol Building on Capitol Hill.
It was very cool to see. These people were not anywhere near the action. The president was walking into the Rotunda on Capitol Hill a couple miles away, and you would have thought they were right in front of him given those cheers. The enthusiasm in this town right now is palpable. I mean, palpable.
Back in the Capitol, the crowd included Trump’s predecessors, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama (minus Michelle Obama). There were also the guys who got all the media attention: the ‘Tech Titans.’ We saw Elon Musk of X, Jeff Bezos of Amazon and The Washington Post, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Tim Cook of Apple, Sundar Pichai of Google, and more.
The Speech
They were all there as the president delivered a message about unity, about optimism, and about always, now, putting America first. If you watched the speech on TV, you might have noticed no clapping nor any standing ovation from now former-President Joe Biden or any of the Democrats sitting behind Trump – even when he discussed surviving an assassin’s bullet.
Trump seemed contemplative and a bit more serene. He is definitely in a great mood. He has been working around the clock, and you can only imagine what that was like for him to return. He talked about how they tried to kill me, they indicted me, and I’m back. I did it. I survived.
But perhaps my own favorite moment from this speech was President Trump announcing the executive actions he plans to take today. They are happening now, including that the federal government will only recognize two genders. The executive orders are a thing of beauty. And then the speech had a fittingly Trumpian ending where he boldly declared that America is entering a new period of peace and prosperity.
Unsurprisingly, CNN’s John King called Trump’s first speech as the forty-seventh president “dark.” Of course, we always hear that when Trump speaks. And then there was Gayle King over on CBS making it all about race. She said she did not “see many people of color” in the Capitol Building.
Inauguration Day, cont’d
After his historic speech, Trump bid farewell to the Bidens and addressed supporters in the overflow room at the Capitol. There was the luncheon for lawmakers, and then he was heading over to Capital One Arena to see the crowd there and sign his first set of executive orders on the border, energy, and more.
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to episode 986 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.