Inauguration: What Trump Said
President Donald J. Trump began and ended his inaugural address with the same phrase that he has used throughout his amazingly unlikely quest for and capture of The White House, “Make America Great Again.”
A derivation, “America First,” was the one and only theme of the address, and, we must infer that it will be the imprimatur of his Presidency.
The President declared that as of the moment he swore the oath, at 9:02 am Pacific Standard Time the “people” were back in charge; that a strong military aided by civilian first responders (police and fire) will once again be asked to defend the country’s borders and be venerated for doing so; that financial and diplomatic business will be conducted with the American people as the sole beneficiaries; and that heretofore idle hands will soon be asked to help rebuild the musculature of America such as ports and parks and bridges and roads. “(Middle class,)” he said, “you will never be ignored again.”
William F. Buckley once recalled Dwight David Eisenhower as, “… a genius of personal charm, a public servant manifestly infected with a lifetime case of patriotism.” Patriotism will figure large in the Presidency of Donald Trump, personal charm, perhaps not so much. Yet, when he said, “Those who open their hearts to patriotism have no room for prejudice,” he uttered the pull quote that might define his presidency. He urged Americans of all hues and hearts to unite by “buying American and hiring American,” In a pointed departure from the previous administration, the new President urged, “the civilized world to unite against radical Islamic terrorism.”
Every 76 years since George Washington’s first inaugural address on April 30, 1790, U.S. Presidents have risen above the mean and delivered truly revolutionary addresses. Trump’s stands in stark contrast to what we have had for eight, no sixteen, years. America First, indeed!
“We are not to expect to be transported from despotism to liberty in a featherbed,” said Thomas Jefferson. No, but Donald Trump showed the right attitude on Friday at noon. Perhaps he is just the man for the job.