Gary North - January 20, 2017
Donald Trump's inaugural address is going to go down
in history as one of the great ones.
I say this as a man with 59 years of public speaking
experience and a Ph.D. in American history.
There have only been three inaugural addresses that
have come down through the ages. The first was Lincoln's second inaugural, with
the phrase: ". . . with malice towards none, with charity for all."
The second was Franklin Roosevelt's first inaugural: "We have nothing to
fear but fear itself." The third was John Kennedy's: "Ask not what
your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." These
are legendary phrases.
But Trump's speech was different from any previous
inaugural address. He spoke directly to his political base. He did not try to
pull the country together in some kind of vague, pie-in-the-sky, common-ground
political rhetoric. He threw down the gauntlet from the very beginning.
Standing in front of the Capitol building, surrounded by former Presidents and
politicians, he said that everything they had done in the past has been a way
to extract power from the American people and to feather their own nests. This,
of course, is exactly what they have done. Nobody had ever said this before in
an inaugural address.
He made it clear that this is a turning point. Again,
always in the past inaugural addresses have called for unity. He did not call
for unity in general. He called for unity on his terms, governed by his agenda.
He called for the transfer of power from the halls of Washington back to the
people. The rhetoric was confrontational to a degree that I would not have
expected.
Today's ceremony, however, has a very special meaning
because today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to
another or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from
Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people.
For too long, a small group in our nation's capital
has reaped the rewards of government while the people have bore the cost.
Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. 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.
That all changes starting right here and right now,
because this moment is your moment.
It belongs to you.
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