This file photo shows US President-elect Donald Trump being sworn in as president at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2017. (GettyImages)
This file photo shows US President-elect Donald Trump being sworn in as president at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2017. (GettyImages)

Donald Trump is set to make a historic comeback to the White House as the United States' 47th president, following a challenging journey to the citadel of power marked by two attempts on his life, a criminal conviction and dogged questions over his foreign policy vision, to name a few.

At noon on Monday, Trump's second four-year term will begin as he will take the oath of office in the Capitol Rotunda. He will be only the second president to serve non-consecutive terms after Grover Cleveland, who was elected president in 1884, defeated by a Republican rival in 1888 and reelected four years later.

After the oath, Trump will deliver his inaugural address, which will likely underscore the importance of unity in a deeply polarized nation and lay out his policy vision on issues that range from border security to geopolitical challenges facing America.

South Korean policymakers are closely watching the transition of power in Washington, as Trump's oft-repeated "America First" mantra could affect the future trajectory of the bilateral relationship, particularly at a moment of political uncertainty caused by now-impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law bid last month.

Trump's path for a return to the Oval Office was fraught with multiple pitfalls and perils, but he deftly turned them into opportunities on the back of staunch supporters firmly behind his "Make America Great Again" slogan while accentuating the weaknesses of his rivals in a plain language that appealed to broader voter segments.

A major hurdle for Trump concerned multiple legal cases against him, including the high-profile hush-money trial, in which he denied any wrongdoings, cast himself as a "witch hunt" victim and accused the Biden administration of "weaponizing" the US Department of Justice.

In May, a New York jury found Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a payment to silence an adult film star about an alleged extramarital affair ahead of the 2016 election. This month, a New York judge sentenced him to an "unconditional discharge" with no penalties, putting to rest the hush-money case.

The Republican Party's presidential nomination contest was smooth sailing for him despite searing attacks from initial rivals, like Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor and his ambassador to the United Nations during his first term.

But a toxic, divisive political climate in the election cycle meant chances of not only verbal onslaughts but also physical attacks against him.

Trump was shot in the ear during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state, on July 13, spawning questions over whether the US Secret Service had been adequately protecting him. The shooting incident was followed by another attempt on his life on Sept. 15.

Undeterred by the first assassination attempt, Trump, wearing a bandage on his wounded right ear, appeared confidently at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, later in July. During his nomination acceptance speech, Trump made an emphatic call for national unity.

"The discord and division in our society must be healed. We must heal it quickly. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny," he said, vowing to launch a new era for "citizens of every race, religion, color and creed."

During the campaign period, Trump's controversial foreign policy remarks provided fodder for his rivals to step up their offensive.

Among them was his statement about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in February that if reelected, he would "encourage" Russia to "do whatever the hell they want" to "delinquent" NATO members that fail to meet their defense spending commitments.

He also came under tough scrutiny after he said in late 2023 that he would be a dictator only on the first day back in office.

When it comes to the presidential debate with his initial Democratic rival, Biden in June, it was a clear win for Trump, as Biden lost his train of thought, misspoke and failed to articulate his views -- a dismal performance that forced him out of the Democratic Party's candidacy and brought Vice President Kamala Harris into the match.

In their first debate in September, Harris emerged as the winner as the Republican flag-bearer was seen being put on the defensive while making debunked claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, had been stealing and eating pets.

But Trump was characteristically unbowed, continuing to tie unpopular aspects of Biden's policy to the vice president, attacking the incumbent government for inflation and a rise in illegal immigrants.

Despite challenges, misfortunes and searing opposition attacks, not to mention pollsters' forecasts of a tight race, the Nov. 5 election turned out to be a decisive win for Trump.

Trump swept all of the seven battleground states -- Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Georgia and Arizona. He secured 312 Electoral College votes, compared with Harris' 226 -- an outcome that a joint session of US Congress formally certified earlier this month.

All eyes are now on how Trump will leverage the robust public mandate to forge ahead with his America First agenda.

During a recent confirmation hearing, Marco Rubio, Trump's pick for his secretary of state, underscored that every policy the US pursues must be justified with the answer to the question: whether it makes America "safer," "stronger" and "more prosperous."

"Under President Trump, the dollars of hardworking American taxpayers will always be spent wisely, and our power will always be yielded prudently, and toward what is best for America and Americans above all else," he said. (Yonhap)