Washington, Jan 21: President Donald Trump will use the US oil reserves as a weapon to assert its power and prevent friends and foes from “pushing it around”.

“We're not going to let all of our nations, our friendly and unfriendly nations, push us around from any standpoint, including the economy because we have something that they don't have,” he said on Monday.

“We have a power that they don't have -- liquid gold under our feet, the likes of which no other nation has,” he said about his strength through energy policy.

He made exploiting the huge petroleum and gas reserves that the US has as an import plank of his election platform, both to bring down prices and to assert US power abroad.

Trump was speaking to members of the military at the Commander in Chief’s Ball where they celebrated his inauguration as president.

He told them that he would build the military stronger and its success would be winning without fighting wars through a show of the country’s strength.

“Through our power and might, we will lead the world to peace. Our friends will respect us, our enemies will fear us, and the whole world will admire the unrivalled greatness of the United States military,” he added.

“We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into,” he said.

“It's called Peace through strength”, he said.

"We don't have to fight the worst if we can do it without fighting, as long as we have total victory, we do it without fighting,” he said.

Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance danced with their wives and then with two women soldiers, while their ladies partnered with two men soldiers, as the troops, including a contingent from South Korea participating through a video link, cheered.

That ball and two others capped the daylong inauguration festivities for the president.

At the Liberty Ball, Vance said that they won because the election was too big to rig – an allusion to the loss in 2020, which Trump has claimed he won, but was stolen from him.

Trump said that the people were “longing for common sense” and his election would bring a return to it.

Men will no longer play in women’s sports and there will be no more gender change operations for all, he said.

Country singer Jason Aldean, rapper Nelly, and the Village People performed at the ball.

Trump’s day that began with a church service was to be capped by the Starlight Ball before he returns to the White House.

--IANS

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