Photo Courtesy of The New York Times
On Jan. 20, Donald Trump officially became the President of the United States. On the day of his inauguration, Trump provided an inaugural address as per tradition for newly sworn-in presidents. The speech provided the audience with some additional insight into the president’s ambitions for the next years, and it stressed the campaign promises that Trump proudly produced during his campaign. Here are the top takeaways from Donald Trump’s first speech as the president of the United States.
- Anti-politician– During his campaign, Trump constantly touted the idea that he was an outsider and a game-changer compared to the current leadership in Washington. This was certainly reaffirmed in his inaugural address. Trump stated in the speech, “For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed.” Many of the everyday men and women who supported the Trump campaign claimed that his lack of conventional experience was a major positive. Some of Trump’s earliest campaign ads carried this notion and the message is still apparent: Donald Trump will work for the people because he is not a politician.
- Power to the people– Alongside Trump’s anti-politician rhetoric, the newly sworn-in president has promised to take the power from the politicians to the people of America. Trump attempted to share his big moment with the Americans who were watching and in attendance, stating, “This moment is your moment, it belongs to you. This is your day. This is your celebration. And this, the United States of America, is your country.” Providing the American people with power over the government is certainly not an unusual idea for a republican candidate, but it does feed into Trump’s campaign promise to “drain the swamp” and push for congressional term limits. Trump cemented this ideal and the date, saying in the inaugural address, “January 20th, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again.”
- Taking back American jobs– Another tried and true element from Trump’s campaign was the pledge to restore thousands of American jobs and to create a complete infrastructure shift from foreign countries. “For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry,” Trump said. He continued, saying, “One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions and millions of American workers that were left behind.”During the address, Trump urged that America should be put first in all foreign relations, including matters of infrastructure. According to his campaign website, Donald Trump wishes to implement an “America’s infrastructure first” policy that focuses investments in “transportation, clean water, a modern and reliable electricity grid, telecommunications, security infrastructure, and other pressing domestic infrastructure needs.”He continued to reinforce this American-centric notion by stating, “We will follow two simple rules; buy American and hire American. We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world, but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first.”
- Recognize and destroy “radical Islamic terrorism”– Trump’s crusade towards recognizing the issue of “radical Islamic terrorism” is hardly a new concept. He directly criticized Barack Obama for not actively stating the phrase in the second 2016 presidential debate. “These are radical Islamic terrorists and she won’t even mention the word and nor will President Obama. He won’t use the term radical Islamic terrorist, no. To solve a problem you have to be able to state what the problem is,” he stated. In Friday’s inaugural address, Trump reaffirmed this by clearly framing “radical Islamic terrorism” as a national issue. He said in the address, “We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate from the face of the Earth.” Trump’s campaign website states that a larger military is imperative to the destruction of ISIS. This wish was not forgotten in the inaugural address. He said, “For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry; subsidized the armies of other countries, while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military. We’ve defended other nations’ borders while refusing to defend our own.”
To read the full speech transcript, visit here.
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To contact News Editor Brinley Hineman, email [email protected]
