Trump's return to power shows dueling quests for a legacy and revenge

Moments after he was sworn in as the 47th US president, Donald Trump gave a staid inaugural address in the Capitol rotunda filled with policy pronouncements on inflation, immigration and energy, along with a call for common sense in politics.

Barely an hour later, he was in entirely different form. From Emancipation Hall in a lower level of the building, he delivered an animated rant in which he decried a "rigged" 2020 election, called former US Speaker Nancy Pelosi "guilty as hell" and railed against former congresswoman Liz Cheney. He said his advisers had told him not to talk in his first address about the pardons Joe Biden had issued or the 6 Jan 2021, rioters.

"I think this was a better speech than the one I made upstairs," the president said.

If the defining clash of the first Trump administration was between establishment figures and MAGA loyalists, the dueling speeches offered a glimpse at the central push-and-pull of his second: The new president's desire to score policy victories that offer the tantalizing possibility of a Ronald Reagan-esque legacy, versus his thirst for retribution and vindication.

That tension could also be seen in the raft of executive orders he unveiled Monday, which showed him not just resurrecting his "America First" agenda, but distilling it into its purest form.

Some measures, including an order that declares a national emergency at the border and a proclamation to end the asylum process, suggest a focus on governing from a president who has greater familiarity with levers of power than eight years ago. He also said Monday that he'd pardon some 1,500 of the supporters he calls Jan. 6 "hostages" — an act of tribal score-settling.

Those two impulses offer radically divergent paths for Trump's first 100 days, and his second term overall. Even within the policy realm, there appears to be something of a tug-of-war: While Trump has promised a torrent of new tariffs, he took only cautious steps Monday to further his trade agenda, perhaps reflecting efforts to refrain from roiling markets right out of the gate. He said in the Oval Office later his team is "thinking" of soon putting 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada.

Trump's aides and allies are broadly united around his vision, say people familiar with the policy discussions, but have been sorting into factions that channel his different core instincts.

Some have been pressing him to prioritize policy-oriented executive orders and a sweeping legislative agenda that will leave his imprint on government long after his administration ends. Others, though, are primarily fixated on efforts that would insulate Trump from checks and balances — and better position him to exact revenge after his legal challenges and impeachments.

Trump's tight-knit group of former campaign aides favors a policy blitz, according to Trump allies and advisers. That includes Susie Wiles, the incoming chief of staff who is the first woman ever to serve in that role, as well as some deputy chiefs of staff and top policy aides across the White House.

Wiles is unlike any of the four chiefs of staff that churned through Trump's first administration: She has the unequivocal trust of her boss after successfully steering his 2024 campaign with a level of discipline and professionalism often missing from the first Trump White House.

Wiles has called the first 100 days in office an "artificial metric" and has told allies the Trump team intends to approach its first two years — before the 2026 midterms when Republicans could lose control of either chamber of Congress — with intense urgency.

It's more implied than stated in Trump's inner circle that policy-focused actions might be the ticket to achieving Reagan-like stature in his party. But the conservative standard-bearer is seen as a natural figure for Trump to try to emulate, given that Reagan was a onetime entertainer who some underestimated politically.

At the same time, Trump — who is the first convicted felon to serve as president — has stacked his administration with people who are poised to thwart checks and balances. That includes Kash Patel, the nominee for FBI director, who is expected to reshape the agency into a less-independent one.

In remarks Monday evening at the Capital One Arena, Trump showcased his vengeful streak, saying that to "stop the weaponization of law enforcement," he would "sign an order directing every federal agency to preserve all records pertaining to political persecutions under the last administration."

Trump also said he would issue a temporary hiring freeze in the federal government and signed an order ending its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Presidents often use an early slate of executive orders to signify to voters that they're rolling up their sleeves and getting to work, and it remains to be seen whether every executive order will survive potential court challenges. But Monday's deluge was notable for its breadth, speed and ambition, a clear indication that the new administration will not be shy about wielding executive power.

"The major defining issue in his second term is the very use of presidential power," says Julian Zelizer, a history professor at Princeton University. "That is the area where he is bolder than he was before. He sees how assertive he can be and that his party will protect him."

Indeed, Trump and his aides are entering the White House emboldened after he cemented his improbable comeback.

Only four years ago, he had been abandoned by GOP allies and corporate America after the riot at the Capitol. He refused to attend Biden's inauguration and left Washington seething, returning to Mar-a-Lago surrounded only by a few young aides.

He slowly brought his party back around to him, vanquishing his primary challengers and regaining donor support. His conviction on felony charges didn't much dent voters' enthusiasm for his bid, and his survival of an assassination attempt fostered a sense of invincibility among his supporters.

"I felt then, and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason," Trump said in his rotunda address Monday. "I was saved by God to make America great again."

Now, he is returning to Washington with a tighter-knit group of aides, the backing of a broader coalition of voters, and both chambers of Congress in his party's control. Business leaders including Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, and close confidante Elon Musk sat among his family members and cabinet nominees at his swearing in, a sign of how much corporate America's posture toward him has changed.

"Don't use the word norms and Donald Trump," said Sean Spicer, a White House press secretary in Trump's first term. "The glass has already been broken. If it is has never worked this way before, who cares."

That doesn't necessarily mean he'll have an easy glide-path for political wins. The GOP's majority on Capitol Hill is extremely narrow, and intraparty squabbles threaten to tank any major legislation.

After an election when many voters said the economy was their top issue, it's unclear how Trump's approval ratings would fare if he mostly puts his energy toward punishing his enemies. And there's always the possibility he sows confusion and disorder in his more professional and organized West Wing.

"The kind of chaos, disruption, constant turmoil mode of governing is not over at all," Zelizer added. "I think he sees this as connected. You send everyone on a dizzying spin and then you go forward with what you want."

Disclaimer: This article first appeared on Bloomberg, and is published by special syndication arrangement