Donald Trump Will Take Office for His Second Term in January of Next Year

The 2024 presidential election has come to an end, and Donald Trump will serve as the next president of the United States. Following the news that Trump had been elected to a second, non-consecutive term, many wondered when Trump will actually return to office.

Trump's return will be welcomed by his supporters and dreaded by those who worry about the implications for American democracy. Here's what we know about when he'll actually be back in the White House.

Donald Trump will take office on Jan. 20, 2025, the day that is always set aside for the inauguration of the new president. Joe Biden took office on that day in 2021, and Trump took office for the first time on that day in 2017.

Some might remember that the transition from the first Trump administration to Biden's administration was far from smooth, in large part because Trump attempted to prove that the election had been stolen from him.

This time, though, it seems far less likely that Biden will engage in the same kind of chicanery as his predecessor. As a result, the inauguration itself will likely be much more straightforward, although it's unclear whether Trump will get the kind of crowd size that he wants for the gathering. Regardless, he'll be taking office in early 2025 and will be in office through Inauguration Day 2029.

After the news that he had been declared the victor of the election, Trump addressed a crowd in Florida.

“Every single day I will be fighting for you and with every breath in my body, I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America,” he said in his remarks.

Trump also promised to heal the country and claimed that he had won the popular vote.

Trump's victory in 2024 was less surprising than his triumph in 2016, and there are people around Trump who are very willing to implement his agenda during his second term.

Among the signature promises of Trump's campaign was a mass deportation campaign designed to deport tens of millions of migrants who are in the country illegally, and a promise to implement large-scale tariffs on all imports coming into the country.

It's unclear whether Trump will implement these policies in his second term, or what shape they might take if he did.

For now, though, many are adjusting their perspective to recognize that Trump will be back for a second term. The exact shape of that term remains to be seen. What we do know, though, is that his new term will start on Jan. 20, and it seems clear that he plans to hit the ground running almost immediately.