The men who held the nation’s highest office before President Trump have all remained mum on his taking the presidency on Monday. 

All four living former presidents – Bill Clinton, George Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden – attended the inauguration ceremony, and sat behind Trump as he gave a politically charged speech about his vision for the future of the country. 

None had any public well-wishes for the incoming president after the swearing-in ceremony. Asked whether they planned to put out a statement on it, none of their offices responded at press time. 

Biden only addressed his supporters and staffers in remarks before boarding a government helicopter to be whisked away from Washington, D.C. 

‘We’re leaving office, we’re not leaving the fight,’ he told them. 

Former first ladies Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Jill Biden all attended the ceremony alongside their husbands. Michelle Obama did not attend.

Sources reportedly close to Michelle Obama told People magazine that the former first lady intended to skip Trump’s inauguration because she cannot contain her disdain for the Republican president-elect.

Hillary Clinton chuckled when Trump suggested renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. Bill Clinton told CNN of his reaction to the speech: ‘I think you can figure it out for yourself.’ The Clintons did not stay for the inaugural luncheon. 

Trump and former first lady Melania Trump did not attend President Biden’s inauguration in 2021. At the late President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, Obama and Trump were seen chatting and laughing like old friends despite the history of political animosity between the former Democratic president and the returning Republican.

Trump, in his address, took shots at Biden without addressing him by name. 

‘My recent election is 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,’ Trump said.

In a follow-up speech to supporters, Trump called out Biden’s last-minute moves as president. 

‘You’re going to see a lot of action on the J6 hostages,’ he said. 

‘And I was going to talk about the things Joe did today with the pardons of people that were very, very guilty of very bad crimes, like the UnSelect Committee of political thugs,’ he went on.

In an 11th hour move, Biden preemptively pardoned the members of the January 6th House Select Committee that investigated the role of Trump and his acolytes in the 2021 Capitol riot, along with Dr. Anthony Fauci and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley.

And just moments before leaving the White House, Biden preemptively shielded his siblings and their spouses from any prosecution.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump said a ‘tide of change is sweeping the country,’striking an optimistic note as he told Americans during his inaugural address Monday that the U.S. is beginning a ‘new era of national success,’ while declaring that the country’s ‘decline is over.’

Trump addressed the nation on Monday after taking the oath of office for the second time and being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. 

‘In recent years, our nation has suffered greatly. But we are going to bring it back and make it great again, greater than ever before. We will be a nation like no other, full of compassion, courage and exceptionalism. Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent, and totally unpredictable. America will be respected again and admired again, including by people of religion, faith, and goodwill,’ he said.

‘We will be prosperous, we will be proud, we will be strong, and we will win like never before. We will not be conquered. We will not be intimidated. We will not be broken, and we will not fail,’ he said. ‘From this day on, the United States of America will be a free, sovereign and independent nation. We will stand bravely. We will live proudly. We will dream boldly, and nothing will stand in our way. Because we are Americans. Their future is ours, and our golden age has just begun.’

‘During every single day of the Trump administration, I will very simply put America first,’ Trump said. 

Trump vowed that U.S. ‘sovereignty will be reclaimed, our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced. The vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government will end. And our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud, prosperous and free.’ 

Trump promised that he would not use the government to go after political opponents, saying it was something he knew something about, a reference to his claims of persecution by the Biden administration.

‘My recent election is 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,’ Trump said. 

The president delivered his remarks from the Capitol Rotunda Monday due to an arctic blast that hit the nation’s capital, with frigid temperatures forcing the inaugural ceremonies to be moved indoors for the first time in four decades. He hammered the Biden administration, despite former President Joe Biden and former President Kamala Harris sitting just behind him.

‘As we gather today, our government confronts a crisis of trust. For many years, a radical and corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our citizens. While the pillars of our society lay broken and seemingly in complete disrepair, we now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home. While at the same time stumbling into a continuing catalog of catastrophic events abroad. It fails to protect our magnificent, law-abiding criminals, many from prisons and mental institutions that have illegally entered our country from all over the world,’ he said.

He drew some of the loudest applause by saying that it will now be the official policy of the U.S. to only recognize two genders: male and female.

Trump, who won the Electoral College and popular vote, defeated Harris in a landslide. Trump was running against then-President Joe Biden, who was seeking re-election, until July 2024. But after the two debated for the first time, and after a disastrous performance by Biden, the incumbent was pressured by Democrat insiders to suspend his presidential bid. 

Biden made the announcement in a social media post and endorsed Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee in his place, moving his vice president to the top of the ticket. 

The decision for Biden to drop out of the race came just days after the Republican National Convention (RNC) finished, and after Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, formally accepted the GOP nomination. 

But Trump, just days before accepting the Republican nomination, survived an assassination attempt at a rally on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania. During the event, Trump was showing off a chart highlighting how illegal immigration skyrocketed under the Biden-Harris administration. As he turned toward the chart, he was hit by a bullet that pierced the upper part of his right ear by the now-deceased would-be-assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks. 

Weeks later, in September, another would-be-assassin hid himself in the bushes at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. The gunman, Ryan Wesley Routh, had an AK-47-style rifle pointing through the fence toward Trump as he was golfing. Trump was rushed off the golf course by U.S. Secret Service agents, unharmed.

Trump reflected on his near-death experience, and his unprecedented trials and legal battles throughout the 2024 campaign cycle. 

‘Over the past eight years, I have been tested and challenged more than any president in our 250-year history, and I’ve learned a lot along the way. The journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one, and that I can tell you. Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed to take my life,’ Trump said. ‘Just a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear.’ 

He added: ‘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.’ 

Trump, on his first day in office, is expected to take more than 200 executive actions – a massive, first wave of policy priorities focused on border security, energy, reducing the cost of living for American families, ending DEI programs across the federal government, and more, Fox News Digital exclusively reported. 

Trump said he will also deliver on his campaign promise to roll back the policies of his predecessor on his first day in office. Trump will end ‘catch and release’; pause all offshore wind leases; terminate the electric vehicle mandate; abolish the Green New Deal; withdraw from the Paris climate accord; and take several major steps to assert presidential control over the federal bureaucracy. 

‘Today, I will sign a series of historic executive orders. With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense. It’s all about common sense,’ Trump said on Monday.

High-profile Democrats and former President Biden, himself, warned about blanket, preemptive pardons before Biden ultimately granted passes to Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of his family in the 11th hour of his administration.

‘The precedent of giving blanket pardons, preemptive blanket pardons on the way out of an administration, I think, is a precedent we don’t want to set,’ now-Sen. Adam Schiff warned on ABC’s ‘This Week’ in December. 

Biden ended his term in the Oval Office on Monday, when President Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. But hours before the inauguration, the White House announced pardons for both Fauci and Milley and those involved in the January 6 select committee investigation – though those individuals were not identified by name. 

And just 22 minutes before leaving office, Biden also pardoned his family, including his brother James B. Biden, sister Valerie Biden Owens, brother-in-law John T. Owens, and brother Francis W. Biden. The former president had previously issued a blanket pardon to his adult son, Hunter Biden, after he was convicted in two separate federal cases last year.  

‘My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me – the worst kind of partisan politics. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end,’ Biden said in a statement pardoning his family. 

Speculation had mounted that Biden would issue blanket pardons and preemptive pardons to those viewed as Trump’s political foes, such as former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, as well as Milley and Fauci and members of the Biden family. 

Democrats stretching from former President Bill Clinton to Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., warned Biden against issuing such pardons in the waning days of his administration. 

‘If President Biden wanted to talk to me about that, I would talk to him about it. But I don’t think I should be giving public advice on the pardon power. I think it’s too – it’s a very personal thing, but it is – I hope he won’t do that,’ Clinton said of preemptive pardons on ‘The View.’

Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin also warned against such pardons in an interview on CNN last month, remarking, ‘when we talk about a preemptive pardon, where does it start and where does it stop?’

Klobuchar echoed that sentiment in the same month. 

‘I am not a fan of these [preemptive pardons],’ she said. ‘I didn’t like the pardon of the president’s son. I didn’t think that that was prudent. But I also am very concerned about this idea of preemptive pardons.’

Biden, too, had warned against preemptive pardons before he took office in 2020, at a time when speculation swirled that Trump would pardon his children and personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. 

‘It concerns me in terms of what kind of precedent it sets and how the rest of the world looks (at) us as a nation of laws and justice,’ Biden said in an interview with CNN in December 2020. 

Trump ultimately did not pardon his adult children or the former mayor of New York City. 

Following the 11th hour pardons for Milley, Fauci and staff of the Jan. 6 Select Committee and family, political leaders and lawmakers slammed the decision, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

‘One of Biden’s greatest abuses of power was the forcing of mRNA shots by executive fiat (which Florida successfully blocked). Now, on his way out the door, Biden pardons the chief henchman of that and so many other abuses. The swamp protects its own,’ said DeSantis, a Republican, on Monday. 

Fauci was the national spokesman for the nation’s pandemic response, including advising then-President Trump in 2020 on how to handle COVID-19 as it swept across communities.

But his favor with the president waned over time, with Trump slamming him and fellow pandemic task force adviser Dr. Deborah Birx as ‘two self-promoters trying to reinvent history to cover for their bad instincts and faulty recommendations.’

Fauci said Monday he appreciates his pardon, though he stressed he has ‘committed no crime.’ 

‘I really truly appreciate the action President Biden has taken today on my behalf,’ Fauci told ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl.

‘Let me be perfectly clear, Jon, I have committed no crime, you know that, and there are no possible grounds for any allegation or threat of criminal investigation or prosecution of me,’ he continued.

Milley, the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also has a contentious relationship with Trump and his supporters. He had called Trump a ‘fascist’ and ‘the most dangerous person to this country’ just ahead of the November election. 

Trump has repeatedly slammed Milley since leaving office, including after the United States’ botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, when he called Milley a ‘loser who shamed us in Afghanistan and elsewhere!’

After the election, Milley appeared to walk back his characterization of Trump as a ‘fascist,’ saying ​​America will ‘be OK’ under Trump’s second administration.

Liz Cheney, the Republican former congresswoman from Wyoming, and Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Jan. 6 House Select Committee chair, were also targets of Trump’s ire. Biden did not mention Cheney or Thompson by name in his statement, instead pardoning ‘staff who served on the Select Committee.’

‘The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense,’ Biden said in a White House statement. ‘Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country.’ 

Congressional Democrats are balancing efforts to stand tough against President Trump while also pledging to work with him where possible after the Republican commander in chief took office.

It comes as moderate Democrats and Democrats in vulnerable seats have made overtures toward Republicans in areas like border security and transgender youth after the GOP’s commanding victories in the 2024 elections – which the right has widely interpreted as a mandate for a more conservative America.

‘My job is to fight to make life better for Texas families, and I will work with anyone, Democrat or Republican, who is interested in lowering costs, securing our border, and keeping our communities safe,’ freshman Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas, who attended the inauguration, said in a statement. 

‘But make no mistake, I will always stand up to President Trump, his administration, division, and far-right extremism when any of those individuals or entities threaten our way of life.’

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., who ran tight races in 2016 and 2022 and is expected to do so again in 2028, said in a statement, ‘I look forward to working with the incoming administration to lower prices, create jobs, and keep our communities safe. But make no mistake, if President Trump uses his position to hurt hardworking Nevadans, I will always stand strong to protect them.’

Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., took a similar conciliatory tone.

‘There is progress to be made on housing, environmental stewardship, public safety, immigration reform, national security, and more. I will work with anybody and any administration to pursue areas of agreement and aggressively deliver for the people I serve,’ he said.

‘I also firmly believe that our diversity is our strength and our unity is the power to endure and succeed no matter the many challenges that we face. Law-abiding immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, women, and families recovering from devastating natural disasters are understandably worried by the rhetoric from the campaign trail and potential policies from the Trump Administration.’

Other Democrats were more guarded in their statements, like Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., who said on X, ‘Today, and always, I root hard for this country of ours, and I wish [President Trump] well as he takes on the responsibility of leading America.’

Progressive Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., however, made clear that she would take a more hard-line approach against Trump.

‘Day 1 under Trump. We must face these challenges and attacks with courage and clarity. I’m ready for the work ahead to defend our Constitution and will be working tirelessly to address the urgent needs of Vermonters and working people across America,’ she wrote on X.

Trump was sworn into office for his second term in an inauguration ceremony inside the U.S. Capitol.

Former President Biden issued a preemptive pardon to Gen. Mark Milley on Monday, capping off a presidency marred by the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021.

Milley accepted the pardon, saying in a statement he does not want to spend the remainder of his life fighting ‘retribution.’ 

But critics of the withdrawal in Congress say they aren’t done with him. 

‘Mark Milley might be pardoned, but we will continue to explore ways to hold him accountable,’ said Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., an Afghanistan veteran.

Post-withdrawal assessments largely question why the military pulled out of the region before civilian evacuations were complete. 

Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has admitted the withdrawal where 13 U.S. troops lost their lives was a ‘strategic failure.’ 

During a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in 2024, Milley blamed the State Department for delaying a Noncombatant Evacuation Operations (NEO), or an order to withdraw U.S. civilians working in the country, but praised the military’s actions.

That order did not come until mid-August 2021, just two weeks before the deadline Biden had set to leave the country. 

‘I think that was too slow and too late. And that then caused a series of events that resulted in the very last couple of days. There’s a lot of other mistakes that [were] made along the way… [but] I think that was the key.’ 

‘The U.S. military is responsible for supporting the State Department in a non-combatant evacuation operation, however, the withdrawal of U.S. forces from a combat theater as it relates to an act of war is the responsibility of the Department of Defense, and at the end of the day, we did not leave a residual force behind,’ Alex Pritsas, a former counterterrorism official at the Defense Department, told Fox News Digital. 

Milley said in congressional testimony in June 2021 that the U.S. would not see scenes reminiscent of the fall of Saigon in Vietnam, where U.S. personnel were being airlifted from rooftops.

‘I don’t see Saigon 1975 in Afghanistan. The Taliban just aren’t the North Vietnamese Army.’

Milley’s pardon was part of a group of preemptive pardons that included Anthony Fauci and members of the January 6th Committee. 

‘My family and I are deeply grateful for the President’s action today,’  Milley said in reaction to the pardon. 

He went on: ‘After 43 years of faithful service in uniform to our nation, protecting and defending the Constitution, I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights. I do not want to put my family, my friends, and those with whom I served through the resulting distraction, expense, and anxiety.’

Jerry Dunleavy, former top investigator on the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Afghanistan probe, told Fox News Digital of the pardon: ‘Milley wrongly dismissed the obviously correct comparison between the fall of Saigon and the impending fall of Kabul, massively inflated size of the Afghan forces, woefully underestimated the speed and scope of Taliban district control, then pushed fiction that Afghanistan fell in only 11 days.

‘After a disaster where 13 troops were murdered at Abbey Gate and the Taliban regained power, Milley then wrongly predicted Ukraine would fall to the Russians in just three days,’ he added, referring to remarks Milley made in a closed-door briefing with lawmakers. 

Israeli President Isaac Herzog is praising Donald Trump on Inauguration Day, calling him a ‘true friend’ of the country and thanking him for his efforts to secure the release of hostages from Hamas. 

‘On behalf of the people of Israel, I send my heartfelt congratulations to you, President Donald Trump on your inauguration as the 47th POTUS,’ Herzog wrote on X. 

‘You are a true friend of Israel. Thank you for your unwavering commitment to Israel’s security and to building a better future for our region. A special thank you for your commitment to bringing all our hostages home,’ he continued. 

‘We wish you and your administration great success in your service to the American people. Good luck!’ Herzog added. 

The comments come a day after Hamas released to Israel three hostages it has been holding in captivity for nearly 500 days, as part of a cease-fire and hostage release agreement. 

In exchange, Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners in the West Bank. 

‘Let’s face it, the fact that President Trump had a clear message, ‘By my inauguration, I want to see hostages coming out, or else there will be hell to pay,’ made a huge impact in the Middle East, and we are hopeful that with his leadership, we’re going to see all 98 hostages coming out starting today with the three female hostages,’ Ronen Neutra, whose son Omer was killed by Hamas terrorists, told Fox News on Sunday. 

Trump said last week, ‘This EPIC cease-fire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies.  

‘I am thrilled American and Israeli hostages will be returning home to be reunited with their families and loved ones,’ he had written on Truth Social. 

Fox News’ Taylor Penley contributed to this report. 

President Biden pardoned his siblings just minutes before leaving office on Monday.

The pardon applies to James Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John Owens, and Francis Biden, the White House announced. The president argues that his family could be subject to ‘politically motivated investigations’ after he leaves office.

‘I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics. But baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families,’ Biden said in a statement.

‘Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputations and finances,’ Biden added.

The pardons come after House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer requested that Trump’s Justice Department investigate and prosecute James Biden for allegedly making false statements to Congress.

House Republicans in June sent criminal referrals for James Biden and Hunter Biden to the Justice Department recommending they be charged with making false statements to Congress about ‘key aspects’ of the impeachment inquiry of President Biden.

Biden issued another wave of pre-emptive pardons earlier Monday morning, those going to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley and people associated with the House select committee investigation into January 6.

Biden had teased the possibility of issuing pre-emptive pardons weeks ago in an interview with USA Today. Biden’s pardons at the end of his term have proven to be some of his most controversial actions as president, particularly the pardon for his son, Hunter Biden.

Biden had repeatedly vowed that he would not intervene on his son’s behalf, but he issued a blanket pardon regardless. The president later claimed that he had broken the promise after finding out Hunter had paid his back taxes.

Biden’s pardon of Hunter was defended in some corners as a natural move from someone protecting his own family, but many prominent figures derided it as a craven flip-flop that would damage the White House and the president’s legacy.

‘Everyone looks stupid,’ Pod Save America co-host and ex-Obama aide Tommy Vietor said at the time. ‘Everyone looks like they are full of s—. And Republicans are going to use this to argue it was politics as usual when Democrats warned of Trump’s corruption or threat to the rule or the threat to democracy.’

This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.

President Biden delivered a two-word message to President-elect Trump at the White House on Monday. 

‘Welcome home,’ Biden shouted to Trump, as the soon-to-be 47th president arrived outside the White House with his wife, Melania Trump. 

Trump walked up the steps and greeted Biden and first lady Jill Biden. The couples posed for photos, but did not answer questions shouted by the press. The Bidens and the Trumps turned around and entered the White House together to have tea. 

After the private tea concluded, Biden and Trump got into their motorcade and traveled together to the Capitol for the inauguration ceremony. Trump will be sworn in as president around noon ET. 

The two-word message mirrored the ‘welcome back’ Biden told Trump when the two met in the Oval Office on Nov. 13 following the Republican’s decisive victory over Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. 

The welcoming tone is a stark contrast to the combative nature of the June debate between Biden and Trump, as the Democratic president’s rocky performance ultimately led to him suspending his re-election campaign and Harris topping the ticket.

Just weeks later, Trump survived a July 13 assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, that sent shock waves through the 2024 election cycle. 

Over concern about Biden’s age and mental fitness, Democratic donors and insiders pushed for his ouster from the race, and Harris became the nominee without any primary. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was her vice presidential running mate. 

A new poll released on Inauguration Day reveals some of the most popular, as well as the least liked aspects, of President-elect Trump’s agenda. 

The survey conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research provides insight into the stances among U.S. adults on mass deportations, tariffs, potential pardons for Jan. 6 rioters and increased drilling of U.S. oil and gas, among other proposals brought by the soon-to-be 47th president on the 2024 campaign trail. The poll found that a sizable share of Americans hold a neutral view on parts of Trump’s agenda, signaling that public opinion could easily shift in coming weeks. 

The poll of 1,147 adults was conducted Jan. 9 through 13, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

Mass deportations

Among his campaign promises, Trump has vowed to launch the largest deportation program in U.S. history. According to the AP-NORC poll, targeted deportations of immigrants who have been convicted of a crime would be popular among U.S. adults, even if they involved immigrants who are in the country legally. 

The poll found that about eight in 10 U.S. adults favor deporting all immigrants living in the U.S. illegally who have been convicted of a violent crime – including about two-thirds who are strongly in favor – and about seven in 10 support deporting all immigrants living in the U.S. legally who have been convicted of a violent crime. Yet, only four in 10 of U.S. adults are in support of deporting immigrants who are in the country illegally and have not been convicted of a crime, according to the survey.

Tariffs

Trump has also proposed sweeping tariffs on foreign goods imported into the United States, and the transition team reportedly has been working on a gradual roll-out plan aimed at off-setting the potential of inflation rising as a result. 

Almost half of U.S. adults ‘somewhat’ or ‘strongly’ oppose imposing a tariff, also referred to as an import tax, on all goods brought into the U.S. from other countries, according to the AP-NORC poll. 

The poll found that about three in 10 are in favor, and about one-quarter are neutral, saying they neither favor nor oppose this policy. The AP assesses that opinion could move in either direction if the tariffs are implemented.

Republicans are much likelier than Democrats and independents to support broad tariffs, but about four in 10 are either opposed or unsure. Just over half of Republicans favor imposing a tariff on all goods brought into the U.S.

Jan. 6 pardons

Trump indicated on the campaign trail that he would likely issue pardons for many of the more than 1,500 people charged in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. 

The AP-NORC poll found that about two in 10 U.S. adults ‘somewhat’ or ‘strongly’ favor pardoning most people who participated in the Capitol riot. 

Meanwhile, about six in 10 ‘somewhat’ or ‘strongly’ oppose the proposal, including half who are strongly opposed, and about two in 10 are neutral.

As for members of Trump’s party, the poll found that about four in 10 Republicans favor pardoning many of the Jan. 6 participants, while about three in 10 are neutral, and about three in 10 are opposed.

‘Drill Baby Drill’

Trump has vowed to establish American ‘energy dominance,’ often repeating the chant, ‘Drill, baby, dill’ at rallies while touting his plan to bring down energy costs by increasing U.S. oil and gas drilling, including on federal lands. 

But the AP-NORC poll found the majority of U.S. adults are split on the issue. About one-third of Americans ‘somewhat’ or ‘strongly’ favor increasing oil drilling on federal lands, while about 4 in 10 are opposed. 

The rest – about one-quarter – are neutral, saying they neither favor nor oppose increasing oil drilling on federal lands. 

Republicans broadly favor increasing oil drilling, but the proposal is not popular among Democrats or independents, according to the poll. 

Paris Climate Accords

Trump has indicated that he would pull out of the Paris climate agreement a second time once he takes office.

According to the AP-NORC poll, about half of Americans ‘somewhat’ or ‘strongly’ oppose withdrawing from the agreement. 

Only about two in 10 U.S. adults are ‘somewhat’ or ‘strongly’ in favor of pulling out of the deal aimed at reducing carbon emissions, while about one-quarter are neutral.

The AP assesses that most of the opposition comes from Democrats, but Republicans show some uncertainty as well. Slightly less than half of Republicans are in favor, while about three in 10 are opposed.

Title IX

A federal judge in Kentucky recently rejected the Biden administration’s attempt to redefine sex in Title IX as ‘gender identity,’ blocking the change nationwide.

The AP-NORC poll categorized Biden’s Title IX rewrite as promoting discrimination ‘protections’ for transgender or LGBTQ+ students, but the Trump campaign has highlighted stories from women and girl athletes who have spoken out about losing scholarship opportunities and feeling uncomfortable and unsafe when forced to compete against, or change in locker rooms with, biological males identifying as female. 

The survey found opposition is higher than support ‘for eliminating protections for transgender students’ under Title IX, the federal law that prohibits any high school or college that receives federal funds from discriminating on the basis of gender.

Almost half of U.S. adults ‘somewhat’ or ‘strongly’ oppose getting rid of these protections, while about three in 10 are in favor, and the rest are neutral, according to the survey. 

Eliminating the debt ceiling

Trump pressured lawmakers to raise or eliminate the national debt ceiling at the end of last year as Congress scrambled to reach a spending deal that averted a government shutdown. 

The poll found that about half of U.S. adults oppose eliminating the debt ceiling, while about one-quarter are in favor, and about three in 10 are neutral, signaling there could be room for public opinion to shift. 

Democrats are only slightly more likely than Republicans to oppose getting rid of the debt ceiling, according to the survey. 

Trump has also pushed for tax cuts for Americans, and notably coined the campaign slogan ‘No tax on tips.’ The poll found that just over half of U.S. adults favor eliminating taxes on earnings from tips. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.