Donald Trump will be sworn in for a historic second term as president Monday, promising a new "golden age" for the United States as the world braces for the return of his unpredictable leadership.
Freezing weather has forced the 78-year-old's inauguration ceremony in Washington indoors, but the first hours of the most extraordinary comeback in US politics will be a blaze of activity.
The Republican vowed to unleash a blitz of executive orders undoing outgoing president Joe Biden's legacy, and to launch immediate deportations of undocumented migrants.
If Trump painted a dystopian picture of "American carnage" at his first inauguration in 2017, this time around he is offering a more upbeat promise of a "brand new day" for the United States.
"I will act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing our country," Trump told an inauguration eve rally where he danced with the Village People band.
But the billionaire populist also returned to some of the dark themes that drove his election victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in November.
The incoming 47th US president said he would "stop the invasion of our borders" and reverse "woke" policies including "transgender insanity" in US schools.
At sunrise on Monday morning, the National Mall, where the inauguration was originally due to be held, was largely empty — save for the Fairchild family, who traveled from Michigan to pay tribute to Trump.
"Ecstatic," said grandmother Barb, when asked how they were feeling, adding she thought the move indoors was made "to protect our president."
‘Golden age’
In his final hours in office, Biden issued extraordinary pre-emptive pardons for former Covid-19 advisor Anthony Fauci and retired general Mark Milley to shield them from "politically motivated prosecutions" by Trump.
Biden gave similar pardons to members, staff and witnesses of a US House committee probing the violent January 6, 2021 US Capitol attack by Trump's supporters.
Trump will make history by replacing Biden as the oldest president to be sworn in. He is also just the second president in US history to return to power after being voted out, after Grover Cleveland in 1893.
Ahead of the inauguration, Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host Trump and his wife Melania for "tea and coffee" at the White House, before they all travel together to the Capitol.
The display of civility will be a stark contrast to 2021 when Trump — who riled a crowd that attacked the US Capitol in a bid to overturn his election loss — refused to attend Biden's inauguration.
Due to the intense cold, Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will take the oath inside the domed Rotunda of the Capitol — as Ronald Reagan did in 1985 — rather than in front of a huge crowd on the National Mall.
"As soon as President Trump places his hand on the Bible and swears the Oath to the United States Constitution, the Golden Age of America will begin," spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on X.
But there are still many concerned by Trump's promises — including vows of retribution against his opponents.
He returns to the Oval Office more powerful than ever, capping a journey that saw him defy two assassination attempts and a criminal conviction to win the election.
Once a political outsider, Trump now dominates Washington.
Three of the world's richest men — tech tycoons Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos — will be alongside him for the inauguration.
Tesla, SpaceX and X boss Musk, who will head a cost-cutting effort in the new administration, promised at Sunday's rally to make America strong "for centuries."
‘Very happy’
Trump — who said during the election campaign he would only be a dictator on "day one" — has promised to sign around 100 executive orders within hours of taking office.
They include declaring a national emergency on the southern US border with Mexico, and undoing Biden's directives on diversity and oil drilling.
Trump added that supporters would be "very happy" with a decision pardoning January 6 rioters.
For the rest of the world, Trump's return means expecting the unexpected.
From promising sweeping tariffs, to making territorial threats to Greenland and Panama and calling US aid for Ukraine into question, Trump looks set to rattle the global order once again.
His victory has also emboldened right-wing politicians around the world. Italy's far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is set to attend the inauguration even though foreign leaders are not normally invited.
by Danny KEMP, AFP
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