Key moments from Donald Trump's big speech

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Sticking to the teleprompter, and speaking in a more moderate tone than he delivers in his rallies, Donald Trump began his inaugural speech by predicting “the golden age of America begins now” and vowing that the US “will prosper and be respected again in the whole world. The world”.

But the 78-year-old's speech, which was the longest by an incoming US president in nearly a century, soon turned to attacking his predecessor Joe Biden, and is threatening to overturn much of his legacy with a series of executive orders. .

Here are some of the highlights:

This was one of the applause lines lifted almost word for word from Trump's first, and notoriously dark, inaugural address eight years ago.

Trump he also reiterated his criticism of the “establishment”, which he said “has robbed our citizens of power and wealth while the pillars of our society lie broken and seemingly beyond repair”. Four of the world's five richest men and several business executives were among the VIPs watching from seats a few meters away.

Although Trump's rhetoric wasn't as bad as his 2017 inauguration speech of “murdering Americans”, the president took several opportunities to attack Biden's record.

“We now have a government that can't manage a simple problem at home while at the same time stumbling across an ongoing catalog of crises abroad,” he said.

He also criticized “the government that has provided unlimited funding for the protection of the external borders”, in a subtle reference to US aid to Ukraine.

Trump campaigned hard for the White House last year, saying immigrants coming across the southern border were turning the US into a “populated country”. He hit the theme hard again in his inaugural address.

Trump claimed that Biden's immigration policies have provided “sanctuary and protection” for criminals, including “many from prisons and mental institutions who have illegally entered our country from all over the world”.

The new president has pledged to “begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal immigrants to their countries of origin”. He said he would send troops to the southern border to repel the “attack”.

Some of Trump's comments referred to specific policies designed to please different groups in his broad coalition.

He was applauded for saying he would sign executive orders to expand US oil and gas production – tapping America's “liquid gold” – a move he said would lower energy prices and reverse deflation. As he spoke, the White House said it would pull the US out The Paris climate agreement.

Trump also said he would keep his “sacred promise to our great American workers” by repealing the electric car mandate – even though the US has no law forcing people to buy EVs – and vowed to impose tariffs on other countries to “enrich our citizens”.

The president also approved the plan released by his biggest financial backer, Elon Musk, to colonize Mars – a mission that the US government considered a distraction from returning to the Moon.

Halfway through the speech, Trump rattled off a series of eccentric promises. He said the US would rename the Gulf of Mexico “Gulf of America” ​​and restore the name of North America's highest peak, Alaska's Denali, to Mount McKinley, in honor of the former president “who made our country very rich with taxes and with talent” .

He said that the US will “return” the Panama Canal, which Washington gave to the Central American country in 1978.

“The intent of our agreement and the spirit of our agreement has been completely violated,” Trump said. “American ships are overcharged and not treated properly in any way, shape or form,” he added, before falsely claiming – in front of the Chinese president, who was present – that Beijing “works the Panama Canal”.

A messianic feel and a touch of self-righteousness were prominent features of Trump's lengthy speech.

“Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and, in fact, take my life,” Trump said. He referred to a July rally in Pennsylvania when “an assassin's bullet tore through my ear”. I felt then and believe even more now that my life was saved for a reason.

The first suspect to be convicted of arresting the president reiterated the various criminal charges against him over the past few years, vowing that “the brutal, violent and inappropriate tools of the Justice Department and our government will come to an end”.

While he did not repeat his false claim that he had won the 2020 election, Trump said that his victory in November was “a mandate to completely reverse this terrible betrayal”.