The Second Coming: How Trump Made a Comeback to Become President Again.

On Monday, January 20, precisely at 12:00 PM Washington time, Donald Trump took the oath on the Bible and officially became the 47th president of the United States. The event was closely monitored around the globe, as an American inauguration is not merely a vivid political spectacle but rather a showcase of traditions streamed online. Interestingly, looking back at history, the first inauguration of a U.S. president did not go as planned. Congress originally set the inauguration date for March 4, 1789, but due to delays in vote counting, George Washington did not assume office until April 30.

The inauguration ceremony involves both the incoming and outgoing presidents. A notable protocol breaker was John Adams in 1801, who refused to attend the inauguration of his rival Thomas Jefferson. Another "absentee" was Donald Trump, who skipped Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021. Meanwhile, William Harrison holds the record for the longest inaugural speech, which lasted two hours and contained 8,445 words. He passed away from pneumonia a month after taking office, which is believed to have been contracted during the ceremony.

Perhaps the most unusual inauguration was that of President Lyndon Johnson, who took the oath aboard Air Force One following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. No Bible was available for the ceremony, so Johnson swore in on a missal found on a nightstand in Kennedy's plane.

Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009 marked the first time in U.S. history that the ceremony had to be repeated due to a mistake in the wording of the oath. Instead of saying, "I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States," he said, "I will execute the office of President for the United States faithfully." The ceremony was repeated the next day and set a record for the number of attendees (up to 1.8 million people). In contrast, Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021 had a limited audience due to the coronavirus pandemic (3,000 people). Two weeks prior to the ceremony, supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol, prompting the deployment of over 25,000 National Guard troops to Washington due to fears of unrest.

The second inauguration of Donald Trump in 2025 became the most expensive in U.S. history, raising a record $200 million in donations. This amount is more than double what his predecessors, Biden and Obama, spent on similar ceremonial events.

The date of January 20, 2025, was exceptionally eventful for Trump. In the morning, the then-elect president and his wife Melania attended a service at St. John's Episcopal Church near the White House. The newly elected vice president, JD Vance, and his wife Usha were also present. Among the guests at the church were notable figures such as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeffrey Bezos, and Apple CEO Tim Cook. Attending a worship service on inauguration day is a longstanding tradition that dates back to President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933.

After the service, Trump's motorcade headed to the White House, where a traditional tea ceremony took place with Trump and his wife on one side and Biden and his wife on the other. Such events are held in strict secrecy.

Meanwhile, as the Trumps and Bidens enjoyed tea, guests were arriving at the Capitol rotunda. Among them were former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, members of the Trump family, Supreme Court justices, key figures from Trump's cabinet, Congress members, Argentine President Javier Milei, and former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Notably, 89-year-old billionaire Phil Ruffin, a close friend of Trump, was seated in the front row, along with his wife, former model from Odessa, "Miss Ukraine 2001," and founder of the "Miss Ukraine Universe" beauty pageant, Oleksandra Nikolenko.

The first oath of allegiance to the American people was taken by the now full-fledged Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, followed by Donald Trump. The leading Republican solemnly pledged to "faithfully execute the office of President of the United States" and outlined how he would do so. "The golden age of America begins now," Trump promised at the start of his inaugural address to those gathered in the Capitol rotunda. "From this day forward, our country will again thrive, and it will be respected around the world... I will simply put America first... Our sovereignty will be returned to us. Our security will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced. The cruel, harsh, and unjust use of the Department of Justice and our government as a weapon will end."

Donald Trump vowed to immediately sign "a series of historic executive orders," which would allow for "the complete restoration of America and a revolution of common sense." While expressing a desire to be a peacemaker, Trump assured that the American "armed forces will be able to focus freely on their sole mission - defeating America's enemies."

After the inauguration ceremony, the agenda of events was far from over. It included a luncheon organized by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Trump also attended the presidential parade and participated in three inaugural balls. However, the initial program was altered. The parade, which was supposed to proceed from the Capitol to the White House, was shortened and moved to the Capital One Arena. Furthermore, the entire inauguration ceremony was meant to take place outdoors, rather than in the Capitol rotunda, which accommodates a few hundred people. The reason for this change was the inclement weather in the nation's capital. The last-minute adjustments shocked the hundreds of thousands of people who had traveled to Washington for the occasion. According to The Washington Business Journal, over 220,000 tickets to the inauguration were distributed through Congress members, which effectively turned into souvenirs. Notably, the ticket prices for some of the balls attended by Donald Trump reached up to $1 million.

Donald Trump signed his first executive orders while addressing supporters at the Capital One stadium. Among the first signed documents were the cancellation of 78 decisions made during Joe Biden's presidency, as well as the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization (WHO).

After signing the orders, Donald Trump theatrically tossed several pens into the crowd of his supporters, the very pens he used to sign the inaugural documents. According to the 47th president of the United States, this year is expected to bring many unexpected turns and sensations. Overall, watching the news, according to Trump, "will now be quite entertaining."

Following the inauguration, while speaking with journalists in the Oval Office, President Trump commented on the Russia-Ukraine war. He specifically mentioned his intention to meet with Putin and expressed a desire for the war to end "as soon as possible." In addition, the old-new occupant of the White House noted that Volodymyr Zelensky is "open to a deal" and expressed hope that Moscow is also ready to reach an agreement. Interestingly, the Kremlin dictator congratulated Trump on his inauguration and stated that Russia is willing to engage with the new U.S. administration. The main goal of this dialogue, as admitted by international criminal Putin, is "to resolve the military conflict in Ukraine."

However, it is unrealistic to expect any definitive resolution in the medium term. The Kremlin has already hinted that the only possible peace could come with Ukraine's capitulation. High-ranking Kremlin officials, including Putin and Lavrov, have repeatedly stated in recent weeks that the Kremlin refuses to consider any compromises regarding Putin's demands made at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022. These demands include a permanent "neutral" status for Ukraine, its non-alignment with NATO, strict limitations on the size of the Ukrainian army, and the removal of the Ukrainian government from power. Thus, Trump may find himself in an extremely challenging situation where negotiations may lead nowhere.