WASHINGTON — “Today, here I am. The American people have spoken,” President Donald Trump said Monday in his inaugural address.
Trump described his return to the White House in messianic terms, as part of a divine plan that first showed itself in July, when a sniper’s bullet aimed at Trump only grazed his ear, killing a bystander instead.
“But I felt then and even more so now, my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again,” said Trump.
That’s the essence of Trump’s scripted inaugural address delivered in the Capitol Rotunda, marking his stunning comeback.
Trump won. Voters knew about Trump. And they wanted him. We have to respect that.
But Trump’s decisive victory does not erase the divisive politics that he lugs with him back to the White House.
While Trump’s inaugural remarks did not use the harsh language of his 2017 downbeat “American Carnage” address, it was not in my analysis, particularly sunny and upbeat.
Speaking softly and in a decorous manner did not mask that Trump echoed his 2017 themes about America on the decline.
Trump proclaimed that “our Golden Age has just begun.”
I’d like to see a down payment on this new era being ushered in — maybe starting with bringing down the price of eggs. Perhaps the billionaires in Trump’s VIP seats, the American oligarchs who are worshiping in the Temple of Trump, can help.
There were no direct shots at Chicago. Just a small mention. “From New York to Los Angeles, from Philadelphia to Phoenix, from Chicago to Miami, from Houston to right here in Washington, DC, our country was forged and built by the generations of patriots who gave everything they had for our rights and for our freedom,” Trump said.
As Trump attacked them, not by name, former President Joe Biden and ex-Vice President Kamala Harris sat stoically with a pleasant look. Perhaps they were aware of the split screen that would show their reactions as Trump — and he did not have to do this — tore into their tenure.
“My recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal, and all these many betrayals, that have taken place and give people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and indeed their freedom. From this moment on, America’s decline is over.”
Just think. Trump was in a room with two people he beat in 2016 and 2024 — Hillary Clinton and Harris, and he did not have the grace to give it up.
Clinton broke out laughing when Trump said he would be renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
Anyway, Trump’s message came in two parts. To try to understand what is ahead, they should be considered together.
Trump’s second speech Monday
A short time after the 45th president was sworn in as the 47th, Trump delivered another speech in the Capitol Visitor’s Center Emancipation Hall with his usual gusto. This one was unscripted, longer than his official address, more rambling, and much more candid — meaning more grievance-fueled, more rewriting history and more false claims.
In that second speech — the one Trump said his advisers did not want him to deliver in the Rotunda — the 2020 election was rigged, which I hope by now you know is not true, and the 2024 presidential election results in California were rigged, even though Harris beat him by more than three million votes. Trump also turned to the long debunked claim that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in charge of Capitol security when Trump’s supporters the attacked the building on Jan. 6, 2021.
That second Trump speech seems a more accurate forecast of what is to come as Trump tries to bend the arc of history to his will. He just might, fact checks be dammed.
Be of good will, relentlessly look ahead and give Trump his due when he deserves it. At the same time we — voters and non-voters, the press, podcasters, influencers, civics teachers — people who care about our democracy, should be vigilant and hold dear the value of truth and facts.