Washington DC [US], January 21 : In a major announcement just after being sworn in as the 47th US President, Donald Trump declared that it will be the official policy of the United States to recognise only two genders - male and female.
Trump said his administration will work to make a "merit-based" and "colourblind society."
The move is part of Trump's plans to change the US government's policies on gender and diversity, especially targeting Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) programmes.
Several US companies, including McDonald's, Walmart and Facebook parent company Meta, have ended or scaled back their DEI programmes since Trump was elected in November last.
Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. US Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath to Trump.
Prior to Trump's swearing-in, JD Vance was sworn in as the 50th US Vice-President.
During his inaugural address, he started executing the promises he made during the campaign and announced that he would declare a "national emergency" at the southern border and send in the troops to stop the "disastrous invasion" of the country.
He further stressed that the US will deport "millions and millions of criminal aliens" and will also designate the cartels as foreign terrorist organisations.
"First I will declare a national emergency at the 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 place from which they came. We will reinstate my 'remain in Mexico' policy," Trump said after taking oath.
"I will abandon the practice of catch and release. I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country. Under the orders I signed today, we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organisations," he added.
After taking the oath, Trump declared that the "golden age" of America had begun and today marks the 'Liberation Day' for the country.
The 47th US President further spoke on the inflation in the country and reiterated his earlier slogan of 'drill baby drill' which refers to his promise of drilling for oil."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.
Referring to the wildfires in Los Angeles, the US president criticised the response of the administration and emphasised that this can't be allowed to happen.
"More recently Los Angeles, where we are watching fires still tragically burn. From weeks ago without even a token of defence, they're raging through the houses and communities, even affecting some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country, some of whom are sitting here right now. They don't have a home any longer, that's interesting, but we can't let this happen," Trump said.
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