President Donald Trump on Monday expressed hope that he would be remembered as a "peacemaker and a unifier" during his inaugural address.

"The golden age of America begins right now," President Donald Trump declared at the start of his inaugural address.

Just moments prior, Trump took the oath of office and became the nation's 47th president with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administering the oath. The inauguration ceremony marked the first time in more than a century that a former U.S. president has returned to the office for a non-consecutive second term.

"I return to the presidency, confident and optimistic that we are at the start of a thrilling new era of national success, a tide of change is sweeping the country," he further declared. "We must be honest about the challenges we face while they are plentiful, they will be annihilated by this great momentum that the world is now witnessing in the United States of America."

"We now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home, while at the same time stumbling into a continuing catalog of catastrophic events abroad," he went on. "It fails to protect our magnificent law abiding American citizens, but provides sanctuary and protection for dangerous criminals, many from prisons and mental institutions that have illegally entered our country from all over the world."

Nonetheless, Trump vowed change and to tackle those issues.

"All of this will change starting today," he declared.

His speech then took a faithful tone, with the president addressing a failed assassination attempt on his life in July and asserting "I was saved by God to make America great again."

Revitalizing the American Dream

"The American dream will soon be back and thriving like never before," Trump promised. Among his proposals were the establishment of an External Revenue Service as part of an "overhaul of our trade system protect American workers and families."

"Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens," he promised. "We will build automobiles in America again at a rate that nobody could have dreamt possible just a few years ago. And thank you to the auto workers of our nation for your inspiring vote of confidence, we did tremendously with their vote."

Touting executive orders

During the inaugural address, Trump touted his plans to sign a large number of executive orders addressing a range of subjects. He further promised an end to federal gender-related policies, the reinstatement of U.S. servicemembers expelled for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and the establishment of colorblind and merit-based policies.

Immediately prior to Trump's swearing in, JD Vance was sworn in as the vice president of the United States with Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh administering the oath.

Unity

Trump used the end of his address to plea for unity after a close election and to encourage the American people to embrace a vision of working together to raise the nation to new heights.

"I stand before you now as proof that you should never believe that something is impossible to do in America, the impossible is what we do best," he said. "From New York to Los Angeles, from Philadelphia to Phoenix, from Chicago to Miami, Houston to right here in Washington, DC, our country was forged and built by the generations of patriots who gave everything they had for our rights and for our freedom."

"After all, we have been through together. We stand on the verge of the four greatest years in American history," he vowed. "With your help, we will restore America promise, and we will rebuild the nation that we love, and we love it so much. We are one people, one family and one glorious nation under God. So to every parent who dreams for their child, and every child who dreams for their future, I am with you."

Earlier in the day, Trump attended a service at St. John's Episcopal Church, after which he met with now-former President Joe Biden at the White House. The pair then traveled to the Capitol Rotunda for the inauguration, which was held indoors for the first time since 1985.