In short: yes he can, says Scott Lucas, professor
of US and international politics at the Clinton Institute at University College
Dublin.
Among the raft of executive actions that Trump signed yesterday was an order to begin the process of withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization, and leaving the Paris climate agreement.
“He can withdraw the US from participation in our international
programmes,” Lucas says.
“As long as there is not a treaty that locks the US into it, you do not need congressional approval for this", he explains. That means that the US is now on its way to formally exiting the WHO and the Paris climate agreement.
Trump's second inauguration leads world front pagespublished at 09:13 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January
09:13 GMT 21 January
News agencies are watching closely as US President Donald Trump takes office for a second time, and the returning president is leading coverage on front pages around the world.
We've rounded up some that were published this morning.
Trump will tell Putin to end war in Ukraine - defence transition leaderpublished at 08:56 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January
08:56 GMT 21 January
A little more now from Robert Wilkie, the head Trump's transition team in the Pentagon, who appeared a little earlier on the Today programme.
He's been talking about
Trump's approach to the war in Ukraine.
Wilkie says Trump will phone Russian President Vladimir Putin and tell him to stop the war
He adds that Trump will tell Ukraine's president Zelensky that he
hasn’t done enough "by not calling to the colours the largest segment of your
population", continuing that Zelenskyy has left out "males in the population who provide the muscle
and the strength".
If Putin resists Trump's calls to end the war, Wilkie says, one of Trump's executive orders "will
unleash American energy power".
"The flow of American liquified natural gas to Europe will begin," Wilkie says, "and the
US presence on the world oil market will drive
price of oil down – that will bankrupt the Russian economy. That is going to put
an incredible stain on Putin’s wartime economy."
Control of Chagos Islands could test UK's relationship with Trump - former officialpublished at 08:43 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January
08:43 GMT 21 January
Speaking a little earlier on BBC's Today programme, Robert Wilkie, the Veterans Secretary in Donald Trump's
first istration, says that Trump will want the UK to spend more on defence.
“The world is stronger when the British military is more capable," he says.
Asked if the Chagos Islands is an "early test" for the defence relationship between Trump and UK government, Wilkie replies "absolutely. Diego Garcia has been a vital strategic node for the US and UK for decades".
The UK government had been committed to returning the islands to Mauritius. But Trump does not want the UK to do so, and London's decision to cede control of the islands "could infringe on that special relationship" between the UK and the US, Wilkie says.
For background: The UK took control of the Chagos Islands from Mauritius in 1965, and announced in October it would cede sovereignty but maintain control of the base on the largest island Diego Garcia under a 99-year lease.
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
Diego Garcia island where the US has a military base
Trump's comments on North Korea could have broader regional implications, expert sayspublished at 08:15 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January
08:15 GMT 21 January
On the first day of his second term, Trump referred to North Korea as a "nuclear power" and asked US troops stationed in South Korea how the North's leader, Kim Jong Un, was doing.
His "simple" way of referring to the Korean peninsula could have repercussions for Washington's ally, Seoul, says Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University.
"For Trump, it is a simple fact that North Korea has nuclear weapons, and it is straightforward that states with nuclear weapons must get along to avoid war," Easley says.
"The danger for South Korea is that longstanding alliance efforts for military deterrence could take a back seat to Trump’s personalistic diplomacy. Any uncoordinated policy change regarding North Korean denuclearization could leave Seoul vulnerable to Pyongyang’s coercion," he adds.
Trump's TikTok order grants the app 75 more days to comply with lawpublished at 07:58 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January
07:58 GMT 21 January
Lily Jamali North America Technology Correspondent
President Donald Trump has
signed an executive order granting TikTok a 75-day extension to comply with a
law that requires a sale or ban of the platform.
In comments made to
reporters as he signed the directive in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said, "I tell you what. Every rich person has called me about
TikTok."
The executive order
directs the US attorney general not to take any action to enforce the act on
behalf of the United States during that time.
The reprieve would
"permit my istration an opportunity to determine the appropriate
course of action with respect to TikTok," it states.
Former President Joe
Biden signed the divest-or-ban law last year. It was ed on a bipartisan
basis by Congress on national security grounds stemming from TikTok’s Chinese ownership.
Trump said the timing of
the ban - which had been due to kick in on the day before he took office - was
"unfortunate" and interfered with his ability to "assess its
national security and foreign policy implications."
The order places Trump
at odds with the Supreme Court which unanimously upheld the law on Friday and
many of Congress - including several Republicans.
TikTok went dark on
Saturday evening before returning online mid-Sunday.
American s accessing
the app were then greeted with a notification stating: “We are fortunate that
President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to
reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
When asked by a reporter
why he's had a change of heart since trying to ban TikTok in 2020, Trump
responded: "Because I got to use it."
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew (centre) attended the inauguration Monday
Trump moves to dismantle birthright citizenshippublished at 07:41 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January
07:41 GMT 21 January
More now on one of the orders signed by President Donald Trump in the Oval Office earlier.
Trump has moved to dismantle a longstanding interpretation of the 14th Amendment, ordering federal agencies to deny birthright citizenship to children of parents who are unauthorised immigrants or temporary visa holders.
Agencies have been given 30 days to implement the order - although it is likely to face swift legal challenges.
Trump does not intend to waste a moment of his presidencypublished at 07:29 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January
07:29 GMT 21 January
Sarah Smith North America editor, reporting from Washington DC
This barrage of
presidential orders amounts to a brute force attack on the established order. President Trump is rewriting the rules – across the board.
Demonstrating
that he intends to use all the power of the Oval Office to try to deliver the
radical change he promised to bring to America
President Trump
cannot do everything he wants simply by g his name. The order to end the
right of anyone born in the US to become an American citizen, for instance,
will be challenged in court. Many of his other aims will require legislation to
be ed by congress.
But with a
stroke of his pen he has taken the US out of the Paris climate accords,
withdrawn from the World Health Organization and declared a national emergency
along the Mexico border
And he has
demonstrated beyond doubt that he does not intend to waste a moment of his
presidential term. He means to be a transformational president, and he has
started already
Trump says 'not confident' Gaza ceasefire will holdpublished at 07:01 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January
07:01 GMT 21 January
US President Donald Trump says he is "not confident" that the Gaza ceasefire deal will be upheld.
Responding to questions from a reporter a littler earlier, Trump said: "That's not our war, it's their war. But I'm not confident."
However, he adds that Hamas had been "weakened" adding that Gaza looked like a "massive demolition site".
The former real estate mogul says that "beautiful things could be done" with Gaza if the plan moves ahead, telling the reporter: "It's a phenomenal location on the sea ... You know, everything's good."
Elon Musk's gesture at event draws backlashpublished at 06:49 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January
06:49 GMT 21 January
Multi-billionaire Elon Musk has drawn controversy at a post-inauguration event in Washington, where he made two gestures to the crowd, sweeping his hand from his chest upwards.
Onlookers have described the gesture as a Nazi salute. We have a video of the moment below.
On his social media platform X, Musk has called the criticism a "tired" attack.
"Frankly, they need better dirty tricks.
The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired", he writes.
Media caption,
Elon Musk draws scrutiny over arm gesture at post-inauguration rally
You can re-watch the key moments of the day, including Trump's air kiss with the hat-wearing first lady, here. Here is a collection of the day's best images as Trump took his oath. And here is our analysis of Trump's inaugural address, where he promised a new "Golden Age" for America.
First late-night post of Trump's second presidency is uppublished at 06:20 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January
06:20 GMT 21 January
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
Trump gestures with a sword at one of his three Inauguration Day balls in Washington DC
For the first time as the 47th US president, Trump has fired off a late-night social media post punctuated with his catch phrase from reality television show The Apprentice.
On his own social media platform Truth Social, Trump said he was "actively in the process of identifying and removing" over a thousand Biden appointees who are "not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again".
He named four officials: Jose Andres from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, Mark Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, Brian Hook from the Wilson Center for Scholars, and Keisha Lance Bottoms from the President’s Export Council.
Watch: BBC outside jail housing Capitol riot defendantspublished at 06:11 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January
06:11 GMT 21 January
As we've been reporting, President Trump has pardoned nearly everyone charged with participating in the Jan 6 attacks on the US Capitol.
Our correspondent Emma Vardy is outside the jail housing the defendants, where many people have gathered to await their release, though it's unclear when this might happen.
Media caption,
Watch: BBC outside jail housing Capitol riot defendants
Despite a rocky relationship, Pence showed up for Trump's inaugurationpublished at 05:44 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January
05:44 GMT 21 January
Image source, Getty Images
Among US elite circles, old and new, in the Capitol Rotunda on Monday was former vice-president Mike Pence.
He was one of the first to be introduced during today's inauguration - eight years after his own inauguration as vice-president.
And it was four years ago since there were calls by Trump ers for Pence to be hung during 6 January riots.
In March 2023, Pence said Trump's words "endangered [his] family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know history will hold [him] able.”
He unsuccessfully ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
Earlier today, he wrote on X: "This is a day when every American does well to celebrate our democracy and the peaceful transfer of power under the Constitution of the United States".
January 6 rioters 'should not have been pardoned' - Chuck Schumerpublished at 05:02 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January
05:02 GMT 21 January
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has said in a statement that individuals who were convicted in the 6 January Capitol attack should not have been pardoned, "whether they committed violence or not".
"They unlawfully broke into the Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of power. What they did is a serious crime," Schumer said. "Donald Trump is ushering in a Golden Age for people that break the law and attempt to overthrow the government."
In case you missed it, about 1,500 January 6 rioters - whom Trump and his ers have described as "hostages" - were pardoned in an executive order signed by Trump today, shortly after he was sworn in.
Trump bops along to YMCA while exitingpublished at 04:47 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January
04:47 GMT 21 January
As Trump moves to exit the stage, he pumps his fists as the Village People perform YMCA - the disco hit that has become something of an anthem for Trump and his ers.
Walking behind Trump, Vance waves and gives the thumbs-up sign to the side.
of Trump's family are following behind, some of them also dancing to the song.
Trump repeats earlier comments in brief remarkspublished at 04:38 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January
04:38 GMT 21 January
Trump repeats several talking points from his events earlier this evening.
He says the US will rapidly ramp up extraction of "the liquid gold" under the audience's feet, referring to oil. He talks about the definition of gender, and pledges to increase the strength of the military.
"We just want a great country," he says.
He also teases that there will be more announcements to come, before ending the brief address.