As Donald Trump prepares to be inaugurated to the White House a second time, we take a look at all changes he’s vowed to usher in.
The Republican Party leader is set to officially become the 47th US President, as he’s sworn into office in Washington DC later from 11.30am Eastern Time today (20 January).
From cryptocurrency to education and everything in between, here’s everything Donald Trump has promised to do as he returns to office…
Be a ‘dictator’
Trump admitted that one of his plans for his first day back in the Oval Office would be to be a ‘dictator’ when discussing the possibility of his win in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity last year.
He referred to himself as a ‘dictator’ during the interview, when asked by Hannity if he was promising to ‘never abuse power as retribution against anybody’.
In response, Trump said: “Except for Day 1.
“I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill. We’re closing the border and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling,” he continued.
“After that, I’m not a dictator.”
Delay the TikTok ban
TikTok went dark yesterday (January 19), but it was bought back after mere hours with a message reading: “Welcome back! Thank you for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US!
“You can continue to create, share and discover all the things you love on TikTok.”
Trump will reportedly sign an executive order to delay the ban saying he wants to ‘make a deal to protect our national security.’
Scrap ‘electric vehicle mandates’
Trump plans to scrap Biden administration’s so-called electric vehicle mandate, referring to new pollution standards that incentivize auto manufacturers to increase production of electric and lower-emission vehicles.
Despite vowing to get rid of the policy on his first day, Trump told podcaster Joe Rogan the move could take ‘maybe two days, because it’s a little bit busy’.
Make US ‘crypto capital’
My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW. Go to https://t.co/GX3ZxT5xyq — Have Fun! pic.twitter.com/flIKYyfBrC
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2025
Back in 2021, Trump called crypto a ‘scam against the dollar.’ But four years on, he’s pulled a u-turn as he vowed to make the US the ‘crypto capital of the planet’.
On social media, Trump claimed crypto would be ‘mined, minted and made in the US’.
Both he and wife Melania released their own memecoins ahead of the inauguration, while experts previously predicted Bitcoin could reach up to $250,000 this year.
Trump also said he would ‘fire’ Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler ‘on day one’ – referencing the Joe Biden-appointed SEC chairman who has taken an aggressive approach to crypto regulation.
Free some of the January 6 rioters
It was Trump’s loss in the 2020 election that led to the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, resulting in the arrests of a number of Trump supporters.
However, the president-elect told reporters on voting day this year that his supporters are ‘not violent people’, and that there would be ‘no violence’ surrounding the most recent election.
This belief echoes Trump’s previous claim that some of the people sentenced for their role in the insurrection were ‘wrongfully imprisoned’, and explains why he has shared plans to free them of their sentences as one of his first acts when he returns as president.
In a post shared on his social media channel, Trump said: “I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can’t say for every single one, because a couple of them, probably they got out of control.”
End Green Deals
Five years after introducing the Green New Deal, we’ve helped secure the largest US investment to combat the climate crisis, launched the American Climate Corps, and more.
And we’re just getting started. pic.twitter.com/ZK779KfUCv
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) February 12, 2024
Trump has spoken previously about his plan to ‘terminate the Green New Deal’, which he dubbed the ‘Green New Scam’.
The Green New Deal was pitched by Democrats Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey, but it was never signed into law. However, Trump has used the term to refer more generally to Joe Biden’s climate and energy policies.
Addressing the policies in a speech in September, Trump said: “To further defeat inflation, my plan will terminate the Green New Deal, which I call the Green New Scam. Greatest scam in history, probably.
“We [will] rescind all unspent funds under the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act.
“I’m going to write it out in an executive order. It’s going to end on Day 1.”
Fire the man who indicted him
Trump faced two federal cases in relation to the 2020 election result from special counsel Jack Smith, and the future POTUS has no plans to work with him again.
Speaking on October 24, Trump told the Hugh Hewitt show he would fire Smith ‘within two seconds’.
“He’ll be one of the first things addressed,” he said.
Plan over 100 executive orders
TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2025
It’s been reported by AP that Trump plans on preparing over 100 executive orders on his first day in the White House.
Trump’s allies have reportedly spent time preparing documents that Trump can sign quickly, on issues such as deportation, school gender policies, and vaccine mandates, without input from congress.
“There will be a substantial number,” said Senator John Hoeven, R-N.D.
Make hidden government files public
Including the assassinations of JFK and Martin Luther King Jr., Trump promised at his recent rally in Washington D.C that, in a bid to increase government transparency, he will be making these disclosures in ‘the coming days’.
“And in the coming days, we are going to make public remaining records relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert Kennedy, as well as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” he said.
Mass deportations
Making it clear this will be a priority from day one, Trump wants to start his second presidential reign by using the military to deport masses of undocumented immigrants.
In November 2024, Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton put these claims to social media, to which Trump simply replied: “TRUE!”
In a lengthier statement during a rally at Madison Square Garden, he said: “On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out.
“I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, then kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible.”
It’s thought the move will impact an estimated 11 million people.
Getting rid of birthright citizenship
Exactly as it sounds, Trump once declared he wanted to get rid of birthright citizenship, which immediately gives citizenship to anyone born in the US.
Noting that this may not be possible as it’s written into the constitution, he said he wants to achieve this by executive order – bypassing congress again – ‘if we can’.
Arrange green cards for college graduates
Despite making his stance on immigration clear, Trump has advocated for non-US citizens to receive green cards to stay in the country if they graduate from college.
During an episode of the ‘All In’ podcast recorded this year, Trump said: “Anybody graduates from a college, you go in there for two years or four years, if you graduate, or you get a doctorate degree from a college, you should be able to stay in this country […]
“Somebody graduates at the top of the class, they can’t even make a deal with the company because they don’t think they’re going to be able to stay in the country. That is going to end on Day 1.”
The ‘Make Greenland Great Again Act’
In a bid that has not gone down well with Greenlanders – shocking – Trump has said he wants to buy Greenland, with Republican lawmakers having drawn up a bill which will allow Trump to start negotiations when he enters the White House January 20.
Taking to his social media platform Truth Social, he said: “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.
“Greenland is an incredible place. The people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation. We will protect it, cherish it, from a very vicious outside World.
“MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”
Cut federal funding for schools educating on ‘inappropriate’ topics
Speaking early last year, Trump addressed a crowd in Iowa and made plans to ‘save [the] country from destruction’.
As part of this, the president-elect shared his plans to crack down on schools which include certain lessons about race, gender or politics.
“On day one, I will sign a new executive order to cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity,” he said, per NPR.
Trump also said he would target schools pushing ‘any other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content on our children’.
