On Friday, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America, ushering in a new and unpredictable era of American politics.
The President promised to ‘end this American carnage right now’.
In an inaugural speech that painted America as a deeply divided country, plagued by years of neglect, where Americans across the country had been forgotten by the establishment, Trump accused his predecessors of ‘only helping each other’.
In a direct rallying cry to his core blue-collared voters, Donald Trump promised to ‘transfer power from Washington D.C. to you, the people’.
He went on to depict a dark picture of America. Describing a country filled with: ‘mothers and daughters trapped in poverty in our inner cities, rusted tractors scattered around the landscape like tombstones, and an education system that leaves young students deprived of all knowledge’.
Eight years ago Obama offered hope and an inspiring image of America to voters. Today, Donald Trump offered not hope, but himself.
After painting the country’s problems. He announced that he could fix America.
The contrast between Obama and Trump could not be more obvious.
Donald Trump did not reach out to the losing side, in an attempt to heal the bitter wounds and divisions of the campaign; instead, he spoke only to his core voters.
For Trump’s supporters, the speech was a mixture of patriotism and much-needed anti-establishment rhetoric. They saw a president that was their voice and ears.
In almost a prologue of the four years ahead, Donald Trump said that ‘From this day, only America first. In a protectionist tone, he added ‘we will buy American and Hire American. Trump will turn America from a beacon of liberalism and free trade, that Obama advocated, into a country focusing on the economic fortunes of its own people, whilst scrapping international trade deals.
Trump will lead an aggressive and bullish America on the world stage — one that is at odds with the timid and reluctant America that Obama had created.
Whether at odds or in unity with Putin, President Donald Trump has promised to build-up America’s military again and to show its strength by parading the artillery and soldiers across the country. This, I judge, is just a small part of the ‘Donald Trump Show’. His campaign painted a bleak picture of America. And now he wants to be the fixer, the man who flaunts and shows off the country’s regained strength.
Donald Trump, in what was the only obvious policy announcement, promised to destroy ISIS and its evil ideology on day one of his presidency. How he intends to do this, will hopefully become clearer over the next few weeks.
At odds with his protectionist domestic policies, Donald Trump is set to establish a new presence for America on the world stage, where the country will once again become a policeman of the world.
From his speech we can learn that President Trump, will not be too different from Candidate Donald Trump. He promised to lead an America where his voters and their needs will be put first, saying: ‘you will never be ignored again’.
Without doubt, coupled with his promise to rebuild America’s strong infrastructure, his desire to put the working class first can only be applauded. But as ever, with politicians; they are not judged by what they say, but what they do. Donald Trump will be no different.
Pursuing only his supporters’ aims though, does have its problems. As the smooth transition of power went underway on Capitol Hill, elsewhere on the streets of Washington a small group of protesters threw objects and bricks at the lines of policemen protecting the inaugural parade. They, in turn, responded by firing pepper spray and throwing flash bangs, in an attempt to control the crowd. There were 90 reported arrests, and some policemen were injured.
These protests only help feed into the narrative Trump’s voters love. Us; existing in poor conditions, vs Them; affluent anarchists who cannot accept the result. The hope of rebellion that Trump’s voters shared has now turned into a feeling of accomplishment — they now have a president on their side.
As president, Donald Trump has power of the Senate and Congress. Washington is solid red. That means it’s all up to Trump. He promised action quickly, and I expect policy announcements to come soon.
Now I’d like to make a prediction. If Donald Trump can rebuild America’s infrastructure; avoid becoming tangled in conflicts of interest with his businesses; make his voters feel that America is theirs again and that the era of globalisation is turning into an era of nationalism, where Americans are first; then he will win the election again in 2020.
Barack Obama is now back to being an ordinary citizen of America, and Donald Trump has become president.
In a speech mixed with religious references and anti-establishment rhetoric, Trump’s words signalled the first day of the history of his presidency.
We learned that Trump will lead for his people, and his Americans, not for the world.
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