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Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world

Donald Trump’s inaugural address eight years ago became known as the “American carnage” speech for his invocation of a dystopia of rusted-out factories, poverty and crime. His second hit, in parts, the sunnier tone flagged, promising a new “golden age of America”. But much of the retributive rhetoric is still there, laced with a sense of vindication and personal mission born of his remarkable political comeback. For his supporters and critics alike, the conclusion must be that Trump’s second age promises to be even more consequential, and disruptive, than the first.

There were moments of high rhetoric, when Trump evoked the achievements of American pioneers, from those who opened the west of the US to those who brought humanity to the stars. He insisted that America reclaim its “rightful place as the greatest, most powerful and respected nation on Earth”.

But at the same time he questioned a “radical and corrupt establishment” that took power and wealth from the citizens, and a government that could not manage “even a simple crisis”. Opponents fear his pledge to end “weaponization” of a justice system he believes is being manipulated to target him at the true cost of using the tools of US justice. settling scores with his enemies. And although there is no mention of annexing Canada or capture of Greenlandhis declaration that America would take back the Panama Canal upset allies and adversaries alike.

From the returning Trump, such warnings have gained strength. Although he was forced out of his first term because of his ignorance of Washington politics and the “adults in the room” he appointed as advisers, he became president as a result. He changed western attitudes to China, accelerated the retreat from multilateralism, and empowered rightwing populist parties around the world.

The man who took the oath of office in the Capitol Rotunda on Monday – where rioters four years ago tried to block the transfer of power to President Joe Biden – is more powerful this time. He commanded the near total realization of a Republican party with majorities in both houses of Congress. His cabinet picks are defined by their loyalty to him. And not just Silicon Valley billionaires but many corporate leaders are rushing to bend the knee to Trump. A small victory in the popular vote is now seen as a turning point in politics.

Trump 2.0, moreover, has a detailed agenda to bring about a sea change in how America is governed, and how it deals with the rest of the world. He made it clear that among the 100 or so executive orders he has begun to sign are declarations of national emergencies on issues including immigration and energy, giving him the power to rush new measures. .

Trump stopped short, for now, of imposing the long-awaited tariffs despite his campaign promises to introduce a universal tax on global imports and higher prices to Canada, Mexico and China. But Trump’s confirmation that he will end Biden’s Green New Deal and that the US will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement are bursts of climate action. Some of his other orders were set as unprecedented, radical, and legally dubious.

There are many reasons, too, for Americans beyond the Maga base to fear their democracy. Biden rightly warned in his farewell speech that the marriage of great wealth and political influence in Trump’s new circle is a “oligarchy. . . formed in America”. That Trump and his wife launched memecoins to take advantage of the world’s most speculative market in the days before his inauguration is emblematic of this self-interested shift. The legal world, watchdogs and media groups should be very careful. Trump’s first term, and the end of it, was a mess. But the checks and balances of American power are about to be tested like never before.