In a remarkable comeback to power, Donald J Trump Monday took oath as the 47th president of the US and immediately promised a blitz of executive orders as he announced the beginning of a "golden age" of America.

In a fiery inaugural address, 78-year-old Trump laid out his vision for the next four years, described January 20 as the "liberation day" for the US and declared that "America's decline is over" as he will bring changes "very quickly".

"The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world," Trump said at the oath ceremony held indoors in the US Capitol because of frigid temperatures.

"We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer during every single day," he said.

"America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on earth, inspiring the awe and admiration from the entire world," he said.

Trump storms back to the White House for the second term with a strongman persona and a vision of an all-powerful presidency with a promise to aggressively reset US policies in a range of domains, including immigration, tariffs and energy.

The new US president listed a series of actions he would immediately roll out that included declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border, renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, and that the US would take back the Panama Canal.

Among those attending the ceremony were four of his predecessors: Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W Bush.

At the ceremony, JD Vance was sworn in as the vice president ahead of Trump.

Trump registered a spectacular victory over his Democratic rival Kamala Harris in the November 5 presidential election, defying two assassination attempts, two presidential impeachments and his criminal conviction.

Four years back, Trump had left Washington as a pariah in the face of his unsuccessful attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election to stay in office.

His victory in the bitterly fought election was widely acknowledged as the most momentous comeback in American political history.

In his inaugural address, the Republican leader vowed to put America "first" and that the country would be respected under his leadership as a "peacemaker and a unifier".

"It is my hope that our recent presidential election will be remembered as the greatest and most consequential election in the history of our country," Trump said.

The newly sworn-in president also came down hard on the Biden administration, accusing it of failing to "manage a simple crisis" at home.

"We now have a government that cannot manage a simple crisis at home while at the same time stumble into a continuing catalog of catastrophic events abroad," Trump said.

We had a government that failed to "protect our magnificent law-abiding citizens but provided sanctuary and protection for dangerous criminals," he said.

"We have a government that has given unlimited funding to the defence of foreign borders but refuses to defend American borders or, more importantly, its own people," he said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attended the inauguration ceremony as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's special envoy.

The American dream will soon be back and thriving like never before, Trump said.

"After years and years of illegal and unconstitutional restriction of expression, I will also sign an executive order to stop all censorship and bring back free speech to America," he said.

"The scales of justice will be rebalanced. The vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and government will end," Trump said.

In his remarks, Trump said America will not be "conquered or intimidated." "We will not fail. From this day on, the United States of America will be a free, sovereign and independent nation," he said.

In his address, Trump also pledged to increase domestic oil production, establish a government entity to collect promised tariffs and revoke the programme promoting electric vehicles.

"The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices," Trump said, adding "That's why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill." The ceremony was attended by Trump's wife Melania, his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner and billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook.

"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," Trump said in his oath.

The inauguration ceremony was held indoors under the Capitol Rotunda as against the initially planned outdoor venue in view of cold wave conditions in the US capital city.

In his remarks, Trump called his electoral victory "a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal, and all of these many betrayals that have taken place, and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and, indeed, their freedom." "From this moment on, America’s decline is over." He further added: "The journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one, that I can tell you." "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, 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," he claimed.

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