--:-- Asma Khalid: This is The Global Story. I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. I'm Tristan Redman in London.
--:-- Tristan Redman: Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection where the world and America meet. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
--:-- Asma Khalid: This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. America is changing and so is the world. But what's happening in America isn't just a cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.
--:-- Nick Miles: I'm Nick Miles, and in the early hours of Tuesday, the 21st of January, these are our main stories. Donald Trump has been inaugurated as US President for the second time, completing an extraordinary political comeback.
--:-- Asma Khalid: He said he'd immediately start signing orders to prevent illegal migration, encourage oil exploitation and scrap government diversity programmes.
--:-- Nick Miles: In other news, a Palestinian minister says he and his colleagues are ready to go back and run Gaza. If we are looking for rebuilding Gaza or rehabilitating Gaza, then the Palestinian Authority should be there.
--:-- Asma Khalid: There are reports that fighting between the army of the Democratic Republic of Congo and M23 rebels has forced tens of thousands of people to flee the east of the country.
--:-- Nick Miles: And American researchers have published the results of their first study into how weight loss drugs affect the body.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: He's back. The second Trump era has begun in America. With a mixture of the usual formalities modified for Washington's current sub-zero temperatures and a flurry of last-minute pardons and first-day executive orders by the two presidents to hold office on the same day.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: Those formalities are still taking place, but it was an inaugural address by the new president that attracted much of the attention. It was given not as usual on the steps of the Capitol building, but inside in the rotunda.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: The first time an inauguration has been held there since the second time Ronald Reagan took the oath of office in 1985.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: Inside the rotunda, a choir performed for the arriving guests as the president-elect was popping into the White House for the briefest of handovers. Welcome home, the greeting from Joe Biden to the man he replaced and who was about to replace him.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: After a short meeting, the two presidents drove to the Capitol building in the same limousine, oh, to be a fly on the wall, a show of unity far removed from what happened four years ago when Donald Trump snubbed the Biden inauguration.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: Ladies and gentlemen, the 42nd president of the United States, The Honourable William J. Clinton, accompanied by the Honourable Hillary Rodham Clinton.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: The 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush, accompanied by Mrs. Laura Bush.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: The 44th President of the United States, Barack H. Obama.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: Once inside, a roll call of presidents and first ladies, with the notable exception of Michelle Obama, took their seats alongside friends, supporters and titans of tech to watch the change of power.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States the office of President of the United States and will, to the best of my ability and will, to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend Preserve, protect and defend.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: The Constitution of the United States. The Constitution of the United States. So help me God. So help me God.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: Congratulations, Mr President.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: And then came the inaugural address. For the millions watching around the world and the 600 or so in the room with the golden tickets, this was his message.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: During every single day of the Trump administration, I will very simply put America first. America First, the theme that ran through a speech light on foreign policy and underpinned his priorities, from his pledge to drill baby drill to his plan to deport what he called millions and millions of illegal immigrants.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: He said he wants illegal immigrants out, but he wants the Panama Canal back. Panama's promise to us has been broken.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: And that includes the United States Navy. And above all, China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn't give it to China. We gave it to Panama. And we're taking it back.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed to take my life. Just a few months ago in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin's bullet ripped through my ear.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: But I felt then and believe even more so now that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: And that greatness, he added, wasn't confined to this planet. We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: That certainly pleased a beaming Elon Musk, whose SpaceX company also wants to put life on Mars.
--:-- James Kumarasamy: The promise, then, of a new space age for the Golden Age, which Donald Trump insists has just begun.
--:-- Eric Bolling: So how has President Trump's inauguration speech been going down with voters?
--:-- Eric Bolling: I'm a longtime friend and supporter of Donald Trump and am also a conservative commentator and author.
--:-- Eric Bolling: He welcomed the policies the new president says he'll pursue.
--:-- Eric Bolling: First thing that he said he was going to do is fix the border situation. He's been promising to do that since he was elected president in 2016.
--:-- Eric Bolling: He's been talking about that for the better part of the last two years running for president. This time, energy was going to be top of his list. That was second.
--:-- Eric Bolling: And the cultural war that's going on in America that so many independent voters, not Republican, Democrat, so many independent voters felt was proceeding too quickly.
--:-- Neda Torfik: That tone was all about American carnage. This time the tone was American decline is over.
--:-- Neda Torfik: But look, I still think this wasn't a speech full of unity meant to bring the nation together. It still really did touch on some darker themes and some divisive issues.
--:-- Neda Torfik: It almost sounded more of a campaign rally speech than something you would expect to hear for a State of the Union.
--:-- Neda Torfik: But he did say that he was returning more confident, more optimistic, that it was the start of a thrilling new era.
--:-- Neda Torfik: But with Joe Biden just a few feet away with his hand on his face, he criticized that administration, saying they can't even handle a simple crisis at home.
--:-- Neda Torfik: He vowed to kind of end what he saw as the radical corrupt establishment.
--:-- Neda Torfik: So it was very much on brand for Donald Trump in terms of his talking points. But he is trying to signal to his base that he is moving full steam ahead on the pledges he made, whether that be on immigration, some of those very touchy culture war issues in this country.
--:-- Neda Torfik: He said, for example, on transgender issues, that there's only two genders in America, male and female.
--:-- Neda Torfik: There was one moment, though, where I thought he was trying to be more inclusive, particularly with regards to African-Americans and voters in the United States of Latin American origin who voted for him in larger numbers than they had before.
--:-- Neda Torfik: He was saying, I want to bring peace for every race, color and creed in the United States. It's Liberation Day for everybody.
--:-- Neda Torfik: Did that wash, do you think, with many people?
--:-- Neda Torfik: I think that and also mentioning Martin Luther King Jr. Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
--:-- Neda Torfik: Donald Trump made gains with these voters in the election. He got numbers that no Republican president ever before got with the Latino male voters.
--:-- Neda Torfik: Black voters trended toward Donald Trump, again, in impressive numbers. So he very much considers them now a part of his base.
--:-- Neda Torfik: He sees that his message is resonating with them. But there was another line, if you caught in the speech, where he said he wanted his administration to be colorblind and a merit-based society.
--:-- Neda Torfik: Now, on the surface, that sounds great. But to some of his critics, they point out that he is trying to get rid of diversity and inclusion policies across the government and in corporations.
--:-- Neda Torfik: We've already seen corporations roll those back with Donald Trump coming to office. And so many see that as paying lip service to something while actually attacking diversity and other things, for example, that protects minorities in the workplace.
--:-- Cristobal Cabasas: As we heard there, one of President Trump's priorities is to reduce immigration.
--:-- Cristobal Cabasas: In the coming hours, he's set to declare a national emergency at the US-Mexico border.
--:-- Cristobal Cabasas: He said the armed forces would be sent there to combat illegal immigration. And he talked about millions of illegal immigrants being deported.
--:-- Cristobal Cabasas: In light of this, hundreds of demonstrators have been on the streets in Chicago protesting about his plans to deport undocumented people.
--:-- Cristobal Cabasas: Many of the people there felt insulted by Donald Trump's plans.
--:-- Cristobal Cabasas: There's people around you, people in the march today that have been here for 30 years, for 40 years, for 25 years, and not just twiddling their thumbs.
--:-- Cristobal Cabasas: People in Chicago, we have a lot of food manufacturing. People who have been doing essential work during COVID, essential work, sweeping the floors, cleaning, chopping the vegetables.
--:-- Cristobal Cabasas: The majority workers, undocumented workers. So we know our value here. And that's why we're out here fighting, because if we don't fight, there's not going to be any respect.
--:-- Cristobal Cabasas: Donald Trump has put a lot of insults to our community. We have a great self-respect here, and we're not going to let anybody be a bully to us.
--:-- Will Grant: Another theme Donald Trump spoke passionately about was trade, doubling down on his plans to create what he calls an external revenue service, namely the business of imposing tariffs on imports.
--:-- Will Grant: Michelle Fleury, our North America business correspondent in New York, told me more about the tariffs and their possible timeline.
--:-- Michelle Fleury: Donald Trump was known as Tariff Man, and so there been lots of speculation as to how quickly we would see tariffs introduced.
--:-- Michelle Fleury: It appears he holding off for now when it comes to the introduction of tariffs. The question is for how long.
--:-- Michelle Fleury: Instead what he's doing is directing federal agencies to kind of study trade agreements, tariffs, and to review existing agreements.
--:-- Michelle Fleury: So, for example, you've got the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. That's under review next year.
--:-- Michelle Fleury: That could become quite contentious. He also, as you pointed out, directed or suggested this proposal of creating the external revenue service.
--:-- Michelle Fleury: The idea is that it would collect the revenue from tariffs.
--:-- Michelle Fleury: What's interesting there is that there are already agencies that exist that essentially do that job.
--:-- Michelle Fleury: And so for a president who's vowed to kind of try and eliminate any excess in government, this seems sort of a bit at odds with that particular goal.
--:-- Michelle Fleury: But we do know that he's very keen to try and find ways to raise revenue, particularly because he wants to renew his tax cuts.
--:-- Michelle Fleury: And so he views tariffs as a way of doing that. But the fact that we haven't seen an announcement today suggests that there are still divisions to be worked out within his economic team as to sort of how fast and what scale should the administration take when it comes to tariffs.
--:-- Sarah Smith: So what could the next four years hold under a second Trump presidency?
--:-- Sarah Smith: Our North America editor, I have this assessment. Donald Trump certainly has ambitious plans for his second term and he appears confident, even buoyant, as he returns to office.
--:-- Sarah Smith: He has Congress on his side, a pliant Supreme Court and a significant electoral mandate.
--:-- Sarah Smith: There appears to be little that could stand in the way of him enacting his bold and radical agenda.
--:-- Sarah Smith: He's been making very big promises, saying he'll reshape America to make it more prosperous and successful while bringing peace and stability on the world stage.
--:-- Sarah Smith: It was these ambitious pledges that won him the election. Now he is in office, he has to start to deliver.
--:-- Sarah Smith: His supporters want him to lower prices pretty quickly, as well as tackling illegal immigration and expanding oil production in the United States.
--:-- Sarah Smith: Joe Biden warned that Donald Trump posed a threat to American democracy, but he failed to prevent him from being re-elected.
--:-- Sarah Smith: His legacy is tainted by that attempt to run a second time when voters believed he was far too old to serve another four years in office.
--:-- Sarah Smith: Now President Trump has performed the greatest comeback in American politics, surviving criminal indictments and assassination attempts to win in November.
--:-- Sarah Smith: His time in the White House will doubtless be both dramatic and eventful, with consequences felt around the world.
--:-- Sarah Smith: He wants to change America in fundamental and lasting ways.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: And before the end of the podcast, we'll hear from our international editor, Jeremy Bowen, on the likely global implications of a second Trump term.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: Donald Trump starts his second term in the White House at a time of global uncertainty and upheaval.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: US presidents always face the challenges of war and economic fluctuation. Rightly, he knows he also needs a strategy to harness artificial intelligence.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: Wrongly, he is sceptical about climate change.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: In the next four years and beyond, the US will need to strain every sinew to face up to China's rise to global power.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: Insisting that America's NATO allies spend more on defense to enjoy US protection could strengthen the alliance.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: He'll only weaken it if he pulls back from America's obligations on mutual defense if the alliance is challenged.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: How will he end the war in Ukraine without imposing a defeat on Kiev?
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: Would he want to risk war if Russia tried to take a slice of one of the Baltic states?
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: How would he respond if China pushed harder against Taiwan?
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: In the Middle East, Trump's America will remain deeply committed to Israel.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: He wants to transform the region by pushing Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalize their relations.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: Will he try to force the Israelis to pay the Saudi price for cooperation, which is to allow Palestinian independence in their own state.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: As president, he will revel in his reputation as a disruptor.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: But the range of challenges the US faces means his foreign policy needs to be measured and coherent.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: Or he will weaken America rather than making it great again.
--:-- Asma Khalid: Monday was the first full day of the ceasefire in Gaza. Three hostages are out, 90 Palestinian prisoners are free and aid trucks are moving more rapidly into the territory.
--:-- Asma Khalid: More than 90% of Gaza's population, most of whom are displaced, lack adequate shelter and are struggling to feed themselves.
--:-- Lise Doucette: This Palestinian mother of nine children has been living with her family for months in a makeshift tent in the city of Deir al-Bala in Gaza.
--:-- Lise Doucette: It was the first night we spent reassured, at ease, without the sound of drones or artillery or even ambulances.
--:-- Lise Doucette: Even our children slept without any fear. Our children used to sleep and wake up in the middle of the night, frightened by the sound of bombardment.
--:-- Lise Doucette: Well, the ceasefire doesn't address who runs Gaza in the future. Israel had made it clear it doesn't want Hamas doing that.
--:-- Lise Doucette: President Biden had pressed for a reformed version of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank to take over.
--:-- Lise Doucette: But the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, is widely seen as corrupt among many Palestinians.
--:-- Lise Doucette: There's an Egyptian proposal for a technocratic government made up of Palestinians who are not affiliated to any party.
--:-- Lise Doucette: Since March, many of the Palestinian Authority's ministers have been technocrats, among them the Justice Minister Sharabil al-Zaim.
--:-- Lise Doucette: He's optimistic that the Palestinian Authority can take over running the Gaza Strip.
--:-- Lise Doucette: We hope and expect that the Palestinian government here will be allowed to take over Gaza and to function as normal.
--:-- Lise Doucette: The plan is ready. Yesterday evening, the Palestinian government here had a very long meeting in regard to going back to the Gaza Strip.
--:-- Lise Doucette: That includes all ministries such as education, transportation, housing, health, social affairs. Everybody has his own plan ready to go back to Gaza.
--:-- Sarah Montague: Israel still really hasn't come to grips with what kind of day after.
--:-- Sarah Montague: The kind of statements that we hear from Prime Minister Netanyahu, even as this ceasefire deal and hostage and prisoner release was starting, was that he had basically gotten the green light from the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration to resume the war if Hamas did not bargain in good faith.
--:-- Sarah Montague: And he has repeatedly said, along with members of his cabinet, that there will be absolutely no role for Hamas and also no role for the Palestinian Authority, who he also accused of being in cahoots with Hamas.
--:-- Sarah Montague: But what will make the difference is that if this will be in discussion with the major Arab nations who are involved in this process, the Qataris and the Egyptian, other neighbors of Israel, and also the United States.
--:-- Sarah Montague: Anthony Blinken, the last Secretary of State, said that they believe the Palestinian Authority should have a role.
--:-- Sarah Montague: It was unprecedented that there were two American administrations at the table in the last very very difficult rounds which pushed the deal over the line
--:-- Sarah Montague: President Trump is known as a man of big gestures. We saw that in his very high stakes summit tree with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.
--:-- Sarah Montague: He loves the symbolism. He loves the glitz of it and the kind of accolades he gets.
--:-- Sarah Montague: The man he's appointed as the Middle East envoy is a real estate mogul. He doesn't know much about the Middle East.
--:-- Sarah Montague: Will he be prepared to sit at the table and keep this going? Because it is possible. In fact, it's likely that the Americans can make a difference, but they will have to really, really pay attention to it.
--:-- Sarah Montague: Well, there you are sitting in Riyadh, and they want a wider deal with Saudi Arabia. So perhaps it will be pressure from Saudi Arabia that could lead back to the two-state solution and what the Palestinians want.
--:-- Sarah Montague: The Saudis could absolutely make the difference. You'll remember that Riyadh was the destination for President Trump's first trip in his first term in office.
--:-- Sarah Montague: The message from Arab leaders who attended is they wanted the American president to join them in confronting Iran.
--:-- Sarah Montague: This time round, President Trump faces a new Middle East. There has been a kind of a rapprochement between Iran and Arab states.
--:-- Sarah Montague: And the message to President Trump will be to avoid a confrontation with Iran.
--:-- Sarah Montague: President Trump has made it clear he wants to expand what are known as the Abraham Accords, normalisation with, in the past, several Arab countries.
--:-- Sarah Montague: The prize is for Saudi Arabia to normalise relations with Israel and do a deal as well, a strategic partnership with the United States.
--:-- Sarah Montague: Saudis, including the de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman, have made it absolutely clear they're interested, but there has to be a pathway to a Palestinian state.
--:-- Will Ross: Reports from eastern Congo say tens of thousands of civilians are fleeing fighting between the army and M23 rebels.
--:-- Will Ross: The army, with its allied militias, has been trying to retake the town of Masisi, which was recently captured by the Rwandabak rebels.
--:-- Will Ross: The fighting between the Congolese army with its allied militias and the M23 rebels has been relentless.
--:-- Will Ross: As they battle over the towns and villages, civilians are trying to stay safe, usually by packing up whatever they can carry and fleeing.
--:-- Will Ross: The medical charity Doctors Without Borders says gunshots have just hit the hospital in Masisi town.
--:-- Will Ross: The Rwandan-backed rebels appear determined to expand the area they control in this mineral-rich part of eastern Congo.
--:-- Will Ross: Nearly a quarter of a million people have been displaced since the beginning of the year, and as the fighting moves fast, civilians are in constant danger.
--:-- James Gallagher: American researchers say the first study into how weight-loss drugs affect the body has found both positive and negative impacts.
--:-- James Gallagher: The analysis of 2 million people discovered improvements including better heart health, but downsides including severe joint pain.
--:-- James Gallagher: The study used data on US veterans who'd been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
--:-- James Gallagher: Some were treated with a Zempic or Wegovi and the researchers tracked what difference they made to 175 other illnesses.
--:-- James Gallagher: The drugs appeared to be a boon to heart health, reducing heart attacks, stroke and high blood pressure.
--:-- James Gallagher: In the brain, they reduced substance abuse as well as schizophrenia, suicidal thoughts and seizures.
--:-- James Gallagher: There were also lower levels of Alzheimer's disease.
--:-- James Gallagher: On the flip side, people were more likely to have problems in their digestive system as well as fainting from low blood pressure, headaches, disturbed sleep and a range of bone and joint problems including arthritis.
--:-- James Gallagher: There are two explanations for why the drugs have such significant effects.
--:-- James Gallagher: Losing excess weight would transform people's health. The drugs seem to directly affect some cells and tissues in the body.
--:-- James Gallagher: Lower levels of substance abuse seem to be down to the drugs changing the reward circuitry in the brain.
--:-- James Gallagher: There are drawbacks to the study which limit its findings, so rigorous clinical trials are now needed.
--:-- Asma Khalid: Let's return now to our main story, the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States.
--:-- Asma Khalid: Mr Trump has pledged to put America first and said he wouldn't let the country be taken advantage of ever again.
--:-- Asma Khalid: What this means for future relations with the rest of the world remains unclear.
--:-- Asma Khalid: From the conflict in Ukraine to the potential impact of tariffs on Europe, his presidency could have far-reaching implications for international security and global trade.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: Our international editor Jeremy Bowen has been considering the potential impact of Mr Trump's second term in office, both for the United States and the rest of the world.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: Donald Trump starts his second term in the White House at a time of global uncertainty and upheaval.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: US presidents always face the challenges of war and economic fluctuation. Rightly, he knows he also needs a strategy to harness artificial intelligence.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: Wrongly, he is sceptical about climate change.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: In the next four years and beyond, the US will need to strain every sinew to face up to China's rise to global power.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: Insisting that America's NATO allies spend more on defense to enjoy US protection could strengthen the alliance.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: He'll only weaken it if he pulls back from America's obligations on mutual defense if the alliance is challenged.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: How will he end the war in Ukraine without imposing a defeat on Kiev?
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: Would he want to risk war if Russia tried to take a slice of one of the Baltic states?
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: How would he respond if China pushed harder against Taiwan?
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: In the Middle East, Trump's America will remain deeply committed to Israel.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: He wants to transform the region by pushing Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalize their relations.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: Will he try to force the Israelis to pay the Saudi price for cooperation, which is to allow Palestinian independence in their own state.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: As president, he will revel in his reputation as a disruptor.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: But the range of challenges the US faces means his foreign policy needs to be measured and coherent.
--:-- Jeremy Bowen: Or he will weaken America rather than making it great again.
--:-- Asma Khalid: And that is all from us for now, but there will be a new edition of the Global News podcast later.
--:-- Asma Khalid: If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, you can send us an email.
--:-- Asma Khalid: The address is globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk.
--:-- Asma Khalid: This edition was mixed by Caroline Driscoll.
--:-- Asma Khalid: The producer was Nikki Verrico.
--:-- Asma Khalid: The editor is Karen Martin.
--:-- Asma Khalid: I'm Nick Miles.
--:-- Asma Khalid: And until next time, goodbye.
--:-- Asma Khalid: America is changing. And so is the world. But what's happening in America isn't just a cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.
--:-- Asma Khalid: I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. I'm Tristan Redman in London, and this is The Global Story.
--:-- Asma Khalid: Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection, where the world and America meet. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
