Trump to Call for ‘Revolution of Common Sense’ in Inaugural Address

While a combative Trump in his 2017 address lamented “American carnage,” his speech has been designed to be more optimistic, people familiar with the drafting say, though Trump is known to veer off script. At the same time, the 47th president is expected to dispense with some of the lofty rhetoric of his predecessors and describe in blunt terms what he views as the most pressing national problems and his solutions for them.

Trump is expected to sign several executive orders at the U.S. Capitol following his swearing-in, part of a flurry of day-one action.

Freezing temperatures forced the inauguration inside the Capitol, the first time since Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985. Washington is heavily barricaded, but officials weren’t expecting widespread protests, a sign of the diminished public opposition to Trump, whose comfortable victory in November has left Democrats demoralized and without a clear leader.

Trump for now enjoys mostly unified Republican support and the party narrowly controls the House and Senate, giving him a chance to pursue his ideas, which include building on the massive tax-cut package enacted in his first term and boosting American fossil fuels. Since the election he has outlined provocative plans, including a bid to acquire Greenland, pointing to its strategically important location. He also is pledging to upend the Justice Department, which he has accused of pursuing politically motivated investigations against him and other Republicans.

During a rally Sunday, Trump promised to “act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing our country” and he exulted in his victory in what was one of the most tumultuous elections in modern times, including a near assassination in July. 

Thousands of his supporters have arrived in Washington. Hotels, bars and restaurants over the weekend were packed, reflecting a more festive atmosphere than his first inauguration, when some Americans were reluctant to embrace him. Pedicab drivers downtown were ferrying customers around while blaring Trump’s unofficial theme song, “Y.M.C.A.” by the Village People.

Trump plans to issue dozens of executive orders in his first few days, with immigration, border security and energy production at the forefront, and plans to travel to states to highlight those actions, according to people involved in the planning. He will also move to gut federal diversity programs.

Trump intends to issue an executive order on Monday to reinstate TikTok, buying more time to work out a deal for the platform to shed its Chinese ownership or close in the U.S. On Friday, he is scheduled to tour fire-ravaged Los Angeles.

At 78, Trump will be the oldest president to take the office, supplanting the mark set by his predecessor, Joe Biden, whose age became a focal point in the campaign, forcing the stunning turn of events that led to him being replaced on the ticket by Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Former Ohio Sen. JD Vance will be sworn in as vice president, and at age 40, will be the third youngest in history to hold the job.

A new Wall Street Journal poll found that voters want a less assertive set of policies than Trump promised during the campaign, including on immigration and his plans to replace thousands of career civil-service workers with people chosen by the president.

Still, Trump enters the White House with more support than when he first took office. He further broadened the GOP coalition during his campaign, attracting more working-class voters and Black and Hispanic people, largely over his economic message. Inflation has cooled significantly from the pandemic and Trump inherits an overall strong economy.

He has moderated vows of quickly bringing down food prices and has backed away from his boast of swiftly ending the war in Ukraine. Elon Musk, who will oversee a Department of Government Efficiency outside advisory panel, has dialed back talk about the size of cuts that can be achieved.

Musk, the world’s richest man, will attend the inauguration, cementing his outsize role in the new administration. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg also plan to attend, former adversaries of Trump who have worked on a rapprochement. Scores of other leading executives are attending—eager to further curry favor with the incoming president—including TikTok Chief Executive Shou Chew.

Biden will attend, as will former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Former first lady Michelle Obama isn’t attending, underscoring tensions with Trump, who has for years attacked her and her husband. Trump skipped Biden’s inauguration four years ago, angry over his loss and fresh off the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, where his supporters tried to stop the certification of the vote. More than 1,500 people have been charged in connection with the attack, and Trump has suggested he is planning to pardon many of them.

Trump’s attempts to overturn the election led to indictments in Washington and Georgia but he outlasted those prosecutions and others. Earlier this month he was sentenced in New York in a hush-money payment case, making him a felon, but he faced no punishment.

His ability to withstand the legal cases was just part of his comeback. The GOP establishment in Washington was ready to move on from him after his 2020 loss to Biden, but Trump banked on his supporters across the country sticking with him. He beat back more than a dozen rivals and easily captured the GOP nomination. Along the way, Trump faced two assassination attempts, one that left him bloodied yet defiant on a rally stage in Butler, Pa.

The last defeated president to mount a successful comeback was Grover Cleveland, who was denied re-election in 1888 before rebounding in 1892.

Write to Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com