President Donald Trump delivered his second Inauguration Day speech on Jan. 20, when he previewed the steps his administration would take to unleash “the golden age of America,” which stretched from locking down the border and streamlining the federal government through the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer. During every single day of the Trump administration, I will, very simply, put America first,” Trump declared at the start of his speech.
“Our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced,” he added.
Fox News Digital looked back at the top vows and declarations Trump made during his speech and where they stand 100 days later after his return to the Oval Office.
FOX NEWS POLL: THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SECOND TERM
Then-President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump look on as they meet with then-President Joe Biden and then-first lady Jill Biden on inauguration day of Donald Trump’s second presidential term in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
Immigration
Ending the illegal immigration crisis that spiraled under the Biden administration was one of Trump’s top campaign platforms and was a topic he focused on repeatedly during his inaugural address.
“First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came. We will reinstate my Remain in Mexico policy,” Trump declared on Jan. 20.
“I will end the practice of catch and release,” he continued. “And I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.”
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DEPORTS 100K ILLEGAL MIGRANTS SINCE INAUGURATION: REPORT
Migrants walk along the road in a caravan in an attempt to reach the U.S. border in Tapachula, Mexico, on Nov. 5, 2023. (REUTERS/Jose Torres)
Trump did sign or authorize executive actions that declared a national emergency, ended catch-and-release policies and sent troops to the U.S. border.
Fox News Digital reported this month that there were fewer apprehensions at the southern border in the entire month of March than across the Biden administration’s first two days of March 2024, when President Joe Biden was still in the Oval Office.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection noted that March was the second consecutive month in which the U.S. Border Patrol averaged its lowest daily nationwide apprehensions in history.
Deportations have also been underway, with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joining immigration raids since her confirmation in January, as well as the administration placing a heightened focus on deporting illegal immigrants with known ties to violent gangs, such as Tren de Aragua and MS-13. The State Department designated both gangs as foreign terrorist organizations in February.
Trump invoked a wartime act, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, to carry out the deportations, which allows deportation of natives and citizens of an enemy nation without a hearing. The act had been invoked three times before, including, during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II.
Restoring ‘competence’ in U.S. government
President Donald Trump, right, tapped Elon Musk to help spearhead DOGE at the start of his administration. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk had both railed against government overspending, bureaucratic red tape and federal agencies that had become bloated in the lead up to Election Day, with Trump saying in his inaugural address that he would restore “competence” in the federal government.
DOGE SLASHES ‘WASTEFUL’ ‘PROBLEM-SOLVING’ CONTRACT WORTH $50K IN LATEST ROUND OF ELIMINATIONS
“Our liberties and our nation’s glorious destiny will no longer be denied. And we will immediately restore the integrity, competency, and loyalty of America’s government,” Trump said during his inaugural address.
“To restore competence and effectiveness to our federal government, my administration will establish the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency,” he added.
Trump signed an executive order in January establishing DOGE, renaming the Obama-era United States Digital Service to the United States DOGE Service.
DOGE leader Elon Musk has been hit with 96% negative coverage on ABC, NBC and CBS evening newscasts, according to the Media Research Center. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
DOGE has been a thorn in the side of Democrats since Musk, the office’s public leader, and his teams began working through various federal agencies in the search of government overspending, mismanagement and corruption.
DOGE has since saved an estimated $160 billion through cancellations of government contracts, grant cancellations, workforce reductions, asset sales and other cuts, according to the DOGE website.
Trump also signed an executive order closing down the Department of Education, citing how American students have fallen behind other nations in education, and instead charged individual states to hold authority over public education. The administration also effectively shuttered the U.S. Agency for International Development, an independent government agency charged with administering economic aid to foreign nations, as DOGE uncovered a slew of programs U.S. taxpayers funded and Musk slammed the group as a “viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America.”
‘Peacemaker and unifier’
President Donald Trump, left, meets face-to-face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time since their Oval Office spat in February. (Vatican and Ukraine Ambassador to Holy See)
Trump entered office just days after Israel and Hamas declared a ceasefire in a war that had raged since Oct. 7, 2023, as well as an ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
“My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be: a peacemaker and a unifier,” Trump said during his inaugural address. “I’m pleased to say that as of yesterday, one day before I assumed office, the hostages in the Middle East are coming back home to their families.”
Trump vowed while on the campaign trail that he would end the wars in the Middle East as well as between Russia and Ukraine, adding that if he had been in office for the 2020-2024 term, neither war would have launched.
The majority of hostages Hamas held have since been released, with the terrorist group still holding at least 59 living or deceased hostages. A final hostage and permanent ceasefire deal, however, has not yet been reached, with Reuters reporting earlier in April that Hamas wants to strike a deal to end the war and return the remaining hostages.
Gaza City, Gaza on Feb. 2, 2025. (Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The war between Ukraine and Russia, which began in February 2022, has continued raging after the Trump administration worked to help facilitate a deal for peace. Negotiations notably hit a wall in February when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a fiery meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
TRUMP BLASTS PUTIN, QUESTIONING IF RUSSIAN LEADER WANTS PEACE OR IS JUST ‘TAPPING ME ALONG’
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his address to the nation in Moscow on March 23, 2024. (Mikhail Metzel/Pool/AFP via Getty Images))
“You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people,” Trump said at one point during the meeting. “You’re gambling with World War III. You’re gambling with World War III. And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country.”
Vance interjected, asking Zelenskyy whether he had “said thank you once this entire meeting.” He also added that Zelenskyy “went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October” and that he should “offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who’s trying to save your country.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this month that the U.S. might “move on” from trying to secure a deal between Russia and Ukraine if progress was not made.
“We are now reaching a point where we need to decide whether this is even possible or not,” Rubio said on April 18 while speaking with the media. “Because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on. It’s not our war. We have other priorities to focus on.”
Trump met with Zelenskyy on Saturday at the Vatican as the pair attended Pope Francis’ funeral mass.
“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, shortly after he met with Zelenskyy at the Vatican on Saturday.
TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY HAVE ‘VERY PRODUCTIVE’ TALK AS THEY ATTEND POPE FRANCIS’ FUNERAL
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!” he added.
Rubio said on Sunday during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the coming week will be “very critical” as the White House weighs whether it wants to continue working towards a peace deal. Rubio warned earlier this month that the U.S. might “move on” from trying to secure a deal between Russia and Ukraine if progress was not made.
“I think this is going to be a very critical week,” Rubio said on Sunday. “This week is going to be a really important week in which we have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in or if it’s time to sort of focus on some other issues that are equally, if not more, important in some cases. But we want to see it happen. There are reasons to be optimistic, but there are reasons to be realistic, of course, as well. We’re close, but we’re not close enough.”
Education
President Donald Trump has moved to pare down the size and scope of the Department of Education, but abolishing it entirely would take an act of Congress. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
Ahead of winning re-election in November, Trump floated that he would shutter the Department of Education to overall improve the nation’s school systems, as well as remove diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) curricula from public schools.
Trump reflected in his inaugural address that he was on the verge of overhauling an education system that teaches students to “be ashamed of themselves” as well as “hate our country.”
“And we have an education system that teaches our children to be ashamed of themselves — in many cases, to hate our country despite the love that we try so desperately to provide to them. All of this will change starting today, and it will change very quickly,” Trump said during his inaugural address.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SIGNIFICANTLY DISMANTLED IN NEW TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER
Trump signed an executive order in March to dismantle the Department of Education and return oversight power of school systems to state leaders after years of the U.S. dragging behind other nations such as Finland and Japan in overall student performance.
“Everybody knows it’s right, and we have to get our children educated,” Trump said while signing the executive order. “We’re not doing well with the world of education in this country, and we haven’t for a long time.”
Trump also signed an executive order in January that removes federal funding from K-12 schools that teach critical race theory and DEI curriculum.
“In many cases, innocent children are compelled to adopt identities as either victims or oppressors solely based on their skin color and other immutable characteristics. In other instances, young men and women are made to question whether they were born in the wrong body and whether to view their parents and their reality as enemies to be blamed. These practices not only erode critical thinking but also sow division, confusion, and distrust, which undermine the very foundations of personal identity and family unity,” the executive order, “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” reads.
Trump also signed an executive order in February that prohibits schools and colleges that receive federal funds and are subject to Title IX from allowing men onto women’s sports teams and into women’s locker rooms, and another in January expanding school choice.
Economy, manufacturing and inflation
President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with former President Joe Biden at Trump’s inauguration in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)
Another top campaign issue was the economy and job creation amid spiraling inflation under the Biden administration.
STEVE MOORE: IF TRUMP MAKES THESE DEALS IT WILL BE ‘VERY POSITIVE’ FOR THE ECONOMY
“The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices, and that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill,” Trump said during his inaugural address.
He added that “America will be a manufacturing nation once again,” and that the administration “will bring prices down” with the aid of unleashing American energy, such as oil and coal.
Inflation has eased since 2024, with the March annual inflation rate falling to 2.4% from 2.8% in February, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The annual inflation rate in March 2024 stood at 3.5%.
The U.S. job market added 151,000 jobs in February, and 228,000 jobs in March, while the unemployment rate sits at 4.2% as of last month, according to BLS data. The unemployment rate sat at 3.9% in March 2024 under the Biden administration.
“The prices are going down, not going up. One of the big things is, energy is going down. I see that we had a couple of states where gasoline was at $1.98 a gallon. Nobody thought they’d see that for years,” Trump said from the Oval Office on April 22 when asked about costs picked up by Americans at the checkout line.
Tariffs and trade relations
A New York Times columnist grilled the Democratic Party for not mounting an aggressive enough attack on President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
“I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to 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,” Trump declared during his inauguration speech in January.
“For this purpose, we are establishing the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues. It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury, coming from foreign sources,” he added.
On April 2, Trump announced his administration’s reciprocal, customized tariff plan to be imposed on dozens of nations as part of his highly-anticipated Liberation Day event. The plan aims to bring parity to the country’s chronic trade deficit.
TRUMP SAYS CHINA’S XI CALLED HIM AMID ONGOING CONFUSION OVER TRADE TALKS
On April 9, when the tariff plan took effect, Trump abruptly changed course and put the reciprocal tariff plan on ice for 90 days. China, however, was not spared from the pause and was instead hit with a 125% after the Asian nation retaliated against the U.S. with its own tariffs.
A tariff negotiation blitz is now underway as nations across the world look to book meetings with the White House to iron out more favorable terms. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent lauded South Korea specifically last week for its negotiations, saying talks have progressed quickly and that the two countries could reach a trade agreement as early as this week.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, left, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, right, are key economic advisors to President Donald Trump’s trade negotiations. (Getty Images)
“We had a very successful bilateral meeting with the Republic of South Korea today,” Bessent said from the White House on Thursday. “We may be moving faster than I thought, and we will be talking technical terms as early as next week as we reach an agreement on understanding as soon as next week.”
“So South Koreans came early. They came with their A game, and we will see if they follow through on that,” Bessent continued.
Concerns have mounted that the tariffs will cause American consumers to spend more at the checkout lines. Trump said during his speech to a joint session of Congress in March that there will be “a little disturbance” with the tariffs, but that America will be made “rich again” through the plan.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it’s happening, and it will happen rather quickly,” Trump said in his March address to Congress. “There will be a little disturbance, but we’re okay with that. It won’t be much.”
Trump said earlier this month that there is a “real chance” tariffs could replace income tax.
“There’s a real chance,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Rachel Campos-Duffy. “There is a chance that the money from tariffs could be so great that it would replace. You know, in the old days, about 1870 to 1913, the tariffs were the only form of money. And that’s when our nation was relatively the richest. We were the richest.”
The president said during the interview that there was a committee formed in the 1880s to “get rid of money.”