
Oil slid as the market braced for a period of uncertainty and turmoil at the start of his second term in the White House. Brent crude retreated near $80, accelerating declines after the Wall Street Journal reported the incoming president will stop short of new tariffs on his first day.
“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 declared.
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Labelling the nation’s untapped fossil fuel reserves as “liquid gold,” he asserted that expanding drilling would restore the country’s wealth and energy independence.
Trump outlined plans to dismantle environmental initiatives introduced during President Biden’s tenure, including ending the “Green New Deal” and halting federal mandates on electric vehicles.
Breaking tradition, the Republican president delivered his remarks from inside the Capitol Rotunda due to the bitter cold outside. He spoke to several hundred elected officials and pro-Trump VIPs, tech titan Elon Musk among them.
Trump delivered his speech in front of a crowd estimated at only around 600 in the Capitol Rotunda, which was limited to members of Congress, Cabinet nominees, Trump’s family, business leaders and political VIPs.
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In fact, a collection of tech titans, led by Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, were positioned in front of Cabinet members in some cases. And while the business leaders were allowed to bring their spouses, members of Congress were not. Thousands of his supporters watched a broadcast of the swearing-in at Capitol One Arena instead.
First Published: Jan 20, 2025 11:20 PM IST