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ANALYSIS

Donald Trump inauguration speech dark, dangerous and dystopian

Paul McGeough
  • 26 reading now

Washington: The new President offered anger more than grace, the cudgel more than comfort.

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Trump speech: 'This is your day'

President Donald Trump uses his inaugural address as the 45th President of the United States to declare the people as the rulers of the nation.

Donald Trump started his presidency as he intends to continue – defiant, populist, anti-establishment and talking directly to an America that he sketched as dark, dangerous and dystopian; a nation under siege from foreign competitors and Muslim terrorists, and which had been screwed by a Washington cabal.

The traditional staples of these speeches - salutes to the value of the Constitution and national institutions and maybe a bit of poetry - were consigned to the shadows as all the light on a bleak day shone on the great vertical pronoun.

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Ignoring the fact that his own cabinet's fat-cat billionaires come from the establishment against which he rails, Trump fell back on the ugly, authoritarian riffs of his campaign – no acknowledgement of the Republican Party he hijacked; not even a nod to the people's Congress, with which he must work; and a swift knee to the groin of presidents past – with Carter, Clinton, Bush junior and Obama arrayed behind him.

The bibles on which he swore the oath of office rooted him in the US - one he received as a child, a gift from his mother; the other was Lincoln's. But though he now commands the world's largest economy and military, Trump made it sound as though he had just taken over Venezuela: "This American carnage stops right here and stops right now."

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Those expert warnings about the autocrat's demands for personal loyalty over party came to mind as Trump made it all about himself and the people. Or some of the people, because he offered more salt than balm for a divided, polarised country - he couldn't even bring himself to acknowledge Hillary Clinton, sitting just over his left shoulder.

To Americans, he declared: "I will fight for you with every breath in my body – and I will never, ever let you down. America will start winning again, winning like never before."

And to the world: "We are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land - from this moment on, it's going to be America First."

Echoing his "only I can do it" convention speech in July 2016, Trump disparaged a procession of past presidents, Republican and Democrat alike; and to the world he issued a welcome that sounded like a threat – he doesn't believe that the US got its money's worth for all that it did in the world and "radical Islamic terrorism" will be "eradicated completely from the face of the Earth".

Trump spoke of the US as a hollowed-out basket case.

"Washington flourished – but the people did not share in its wealth," he said as light rain fell. "Politicians prospered – but the jobs left, and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories; their triumphs have not been your triumphs; and while they celebrated in our nation's capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land."

Opting for the tone of his campaign rallies over anything that might be described as inclusive or presidential, he cast this inauguration as more special than all that had gone before it "because we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another, or from one party to another – but we are transferring power from Washington, DC, and giving it back to you, the American people.

"This moment is your moment: it belongs to you. It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America. This is your day. This is your celebration."

Ignoring the economic recovery now under way and much that is good about life for many Americans, Trump parsed safety, schools and jobs as "the just and reasonable demands of a righteous public".

He said: "But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system, flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of knowledge; and the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealised potential."

Offering more an olive twig than a branch, when Trump's tone veered towards what might be considered uplifting, he declared: "What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people.

"January 20, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. Everyone is listening to you now."

Then came his warning to the world, addressed as much to enemies as to the allies who he has discombobulated with his denunciations of NATO, his bromance with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and his attacks on China, the European Union and, in particular, Germany's Angela Merkel.

Lecturing all, he told them that the oath he'd just sworn was of allegiance to Americans – and that the international community needed to get in line.

"For many decades, we've enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry; subsidised the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military; we've defended other nation's borders while refusing to defend our own; and spent trillions of dollars overseas while America's infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay."

He, and Americans, were sick of enriching the world "while the wealth, strength, and confidence of our country has disappeared over the horizon" as factories closed and millions of American workers were abandoned.

"The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed across the entire world. But that is the past. And now we are looking only to the future," Trump said.

He warned that the world needed to get on board with the Trump vision.

"Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength."

Some in the world might think twice about accepting it, but to the extent that Trump offered a hand of friendship, no other nation was mentioned as an ally and the friendship offered was qualified: "We will seek friendship and goodwill … but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first.

"We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to follow. We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones – and unite the civilised world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth."

As the flight attendant said to the passengers: "Please remain in your seats. Fasten your seatbelts – there's turbulence ahead."

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