
Four years ago, the political establishment exiled Donald Trump from Washington in revulsion and fear over his supporters’ attack on the Capitol to stop the confirmation of Joe Biden’s election victory. At the time the top Republican in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, said the mob was “un-American” and Senate leader Mitch McConnell said if “this isn’t impeachable, I don’t know what is”. The Democrats soon began the impeachment process and Trump’s time in office was judged to be an unfortunate aberration.
But by 28 January, McCarthy was on a plane down to Mar-a-Lago to make amends with the former president. Trump’s recapture of the Republican Party began apace. He recast the riot as a story about the deep state persecuting his supporters in the same way they were persecuting him. He squashed Florida governor Ron DeSantis’ run for the party’s presidential nomination as the “Trumpism without Trump” candidate. The various legal cases brought against him only fuelled his argument that he was the victim. His ability to turn what seemed to be a fatal blow into a political opportunity had been underestimated.
Trump’s second inauguration today (20 January) is the crowning moment of this political resurrection. It is a testament to the persuasiveness of his project: an American First foreign policy, lower taxes for the rich, mass deportation of undocumented migrants, the lifting of linguistic and social taboos around race and gender. “I feel completely liberated,” as one Trump supporter put it to me over the weekend. American politics now dances to Trump’s rhythm.
The changing of the guard in Washington began weeks ago. Republican staffers are hurriedly organising coffees with Trump aides in order to jostle for administration jobs. Flying down to Mar-a-Lago is now seen as a rite of passage for any ambitious conservative. The atmosphere in the capital is celebratory from the yacht soirees in Washington’s Wharf this weekend to the pre-dawn, pre-drinking party to welcome in inauguration day. Then there was the Coronation Ball Sunday night, which billed itself as the place where the neo-reactionary, Maga and the tech right will meet, and where the last few tickets were priced at $20,000.
One Maga socialite told me that aspirant lieutenants must dazzle, entertain and titillate Trump in order to gain favour. Qualifications per se aren’t the key to success – look at the nomination of Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defence secretary. Trump has rarely been impressed by qualifications. As Will Dunn reported for the New Statesman, 26 of Trump’s appointments so far have personal fortunes exceeding $100m; 12 are billionaires. They have a combined net worth of half a trillion dollars, making this administration the richest democratically elected government in history. Trump’s new government is built on the values he holds dear: gratuitous wealth, fealty and a desire to burn down America’s institutions.
When you survey the inauguration later today, bear in mind Frank Underwood’s words from House of Cards: “power is a lot like real estate. It’s all about location, location, location. The closer you are to the source, the higher your property value”. Seated up near the front you might see America’s tech oligarchs, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, paying homage. Such prominence is their reward for ditching the Democrats for Trump. The $1 million each donated to Trump’s inaugural fund could prove the best investment these centibillionaires ever made. Xi Jinping was invited, but has sent Vice President Han Zheng in his place. Elsewhere, you might spy the TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Apple’s Tim Cook and Uber’s chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi. When Trump delivers his second inaugural address, the tech arm of America’s ruling class will be in view just over his shoulder. Bringing up the back might be Trump’s fellow state leaders, including Argentina President Javier Milei and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni. Though the inauguration is taking place inside the Capitol Rotunda due to the freezing temperatures, and therefore many tickets are now invalid, Nigel Farage is still expected to attend.
The move inside will dampen any tedious speculation about whose crowd size was bigger. Some in Washington view Trump’s decision to change location as a sign that he wants to get on with the job. Steve Bannon, who led what he called the “shock and awe” strategy in Trump’s first term, expects “days of thunder” to follow the inauguration. Reports suggest a highly publicised raid on illegal migrants is planned. But before that, the tone of his return to power – and the next four years – will be set in his inaugural address.
[See also: Donald Trump’s empire of ego]