And so the nightmare begins for American democracy.

Within minutes of being sworn in as the 47th president, Donald Trump declared war on the LGBTQ+ community. In a speech riddled with his usual grievances, Trump made it clear that he would trample on trans rights. “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female,” Trump said, promising to end “the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.”

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Trump immediately proved true to his word (for once) by executive orders targeting the trans community. The first order declares that there are only two genders and with that come a series of specific policy changes. Government documents, including passports, visas, and employee records, can only show “male” or “female.” The government will no longer pay for trans-related health care, such as for government employees, military personnel, or federal prisoners.

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While that order was broadly telegraphed in advance, the second order was not, probably as part of the “shock and awe” strategy that Trumpists were employing. The second order effectively completes the erasure of the existence of trans people altogether.

In that order, the federal government will simply not recognize the existence of trans people at all and will bar any federal money being spent on any program that does. Exactly how that will work remains to be seen, but it’s possible that it will mean nonprofits that receive government money will not be allowed to let clients identify as anything other than male or female.

These attacks are directly in line with those recommended by Project 2025, the far-right blueprint for Trump’s second term. Despite disavowing any connection to the effort during the campaign, Trump has given its creators carte blanche from day one of his administration.

Trump’s speech and the executive orders made clear that Trump’s fantasy is to return America to the 1950s, when it was whiter, straighter, and more Christian. Indeed, a Christian nationalist listening to the speech could do nothing but swoon, as Trump not only declared himself snatched by God himself from an assassin’s bullet but declared, “We are one people, one family, and one glorious nation under God.”

As for doing anything to address the economic issues that fed Trump’s victory, Trump said little. His solution for inflation was to say energy prices contributed a lot, which is why he was declaring a national emergency to open up oil drilling everywhere he could.

Indeed, the day was a compendium of the right’s greatest hits. In addition to attacking trans rights, Trump said the U.S. would leave the Paris climate agreement, making the U.S. one of just four nations not a part of it. He declared a halt to support for electric vehicles. He hinted broadly that the U.S. would end aid to Ukraine.

And, of course, he attacked immigrants.

But that doesn’t mean the damage isn’t real. His attacks on immigrants were unrelenting in his inaugural speech, complaining that they were coming from “mental institutions,” a pretty broad hint that Trump has no idea that the word “asylum” has multiple meanings. He shut down the southern border, canceled standing appointments immigrants had there, and even killed the app that his first administration rolled out to allow immigrants at the border to make appointments with Border Patrol. He canceled flights for more than 1,600 Afghan refugees cleared to enter the U.S, some of them relatives of American soldiers.

Trump even tried to overturn the Constitution. He signed an order declaring that babies born in the U.S. to noncitizens aren’t citizens either. The concept of birthright citizenship is clearly spelled out in the Constitution, and Trump can’t change it with some ink on paper.

But the worst assault on democracy was Trump’s pardon of the January 6 insurrectionists. He had promised to do so, but the action was still shocking, especially since it included people who were convicted of violently attacking police officers that day. Worse still, Trump commuted the sentences of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, which fueled the violence that day, and even pardoned Enrique Tarrio, one-time head of the Proud Boys, who was serving 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy in plotting the insurrection.

Indeed, the entire inauguration day was a preview of the turmoil, pettiness, and grifting that will mark the next four years. Trump’s flurry of 100 or so executive orders was a sign that he views himself as Supreme Ruler, the leader who can change policy and law by fiat. Sometimes he can, but in many cases, it’s just wishful thinking on his part.

There’s no getting around the fact that yesterday was a dark day in the nation’s history. Trump made a point of entering office in a show of force, surrounding himself with lackeys who will willingly carry out his worst impulses. He signaled his willingness to go after his opponents, and his allies gloried in their newfound power. (This included Elon Musk giving a salute that neo-Nazis loved as a reminder of the good old days.)

Trump isn’t as strong as he think he is. At least some of his policies will get stopped by courts, although the servile conservative Supreme Court justices literally ruled that he can do no wrong. But he will cause lots of damage, much of it irreparable. He will ruin people’s lives and enflame extremists who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. The saddest part is that voters knew all this and chose to return Trump to office anyway.

Finally, don’t content yourself in believing that at least Trump is lame duck, prevented from running for re-election. A man who would violently overthrow an election and try to rewrite the Constitution with an executive order isn’t about to let go of power just because someone else says so, even the Constitution itself.

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