Will Trump’s Inauguration Speech Capture Global Attention? Will He Be as Combative as Before? | US News

January 18, 2025 TruthUSA

Presidential inaugurations are akin to the UK’s coronation and State Opening of Parliament rolled into one for Americans. They occur every four years, approximately 10 to 11 weeks after a presidential election.

The sole constitutional importance is that the president-elect takes the oath of office, pledging to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies.”

So far, all 45 presidents have been male, and once the oath is administered, he heads directly to the White House to begin governing.

Inaugurations typically signify a new beginning for the United States, unless the incumbent president has been re-elected. This time, however, it’s different.

Donald Trump stands out as the second president in history to win a second term after losing an election, thus serving as both the 45th and 47th President of the United States (POTUS).

The past two inaugurations—one for Trump in January 2017 and the other for Joe Biden in 2021—held more significance than mere constitutional formality. They each strayed from conventional ceremonial formalities but also highlighted the unsettling turbulence that has swept through the US over the last decade. I covered both events from Washington DC for Sky News.

Trump’s initial inauguration is notably remembered for two key elements: the combative tone of his speech and the unwillingness of the new president and his aides to accept reality.

During their inaugural address, presidents traditionally aim to inspire while humbly recognizing the challenges of steering the world’s leading nation.

However, Trump’s approach was different. Campaigning with the slogan “Make America Great Again,” he described the state of the nation he was about to inherit as “American carnage.”

He lamented: “We’ve enriched foreign industries at the expense of American industries… subsidized the armies of other nations… America’s infrastructure has deteriorated… millions of workers have been abandoned.”

In contrast, he asserted, “from this moment on it’s going to be ‘America First’… America will begin winning, winning like never before.”

Bush: ‘That was some weird s***!’

The speech took the assembled VIP guests by surprise; as Trump departed the dais outside the US Capitol, his predecessor, George W. Bush, was overheard saying: “That was some weird s***.”

The day continued to become even stranger. The District of Columbia is predominantly Democratic and had voted for Hillary Clinton. Aerial footage, enhanced by white ground protection in the Mall, indicated that public attendance for the event was below average.

The Washington Metro reported a decrease in passengers compared to a typical Friday. Official estimates later revealed that both live and television audiences for Trump’s inauguration were significantly smaller than those for Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan’s inaugurations.

Nevertheless, that day, Sean Spicer, Trump’s first official spokesman, asserted to the White House press corps that there were “the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration. Period.” Trump’s aide Kellyanne Conway supported this claim on network television and coined one of the memorable phrases of the first Trump administration by stating that Spicer had delivered “alternative facts“.

Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration did not focus on crowd size as Washington DC was under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the January 6 assault on the US Congress.

Barricades, barbed wire, and troops surrounded the areas where spectators would typically stand. Instead of a crowd, there was a “field of flags” representing the 50 states. The main swearing-in occurred outside the Capitol, adhering to health protocols, including face masks and social distancing, with a significantly reduced guest list.

Trump shuns Biden inauguration

Trump faced his second impeachment trial shortly before and maintained the false narrative that he had won the 2020 election. He made history as the first living president since 1869 to forgo the inauguration of his successor.

He organized a competing departure ceremony from the White House, addressing those bidding him farewell at Andrews Air Force Base: “Goodbye. We love you. We will return in some form.”

The significance of Trump’s absence from the inauguration was underscored, especially alongside Michelle Obama’s no-show at his second inauguration. Other former presidents will be present.

Sir Keir Starmer’s absence is hardly newsworthy. No British prime minister has ever attended an inauguration; foreign leaders are typically represented by their ambassadors. There’s speculation this year about whether Netanyahu from Israel and Milei from Argentina will attend in person this time.

In contrast to Trump’s 2017 event, Biden’s inaugural address was a traditional homage to “the triumph not of a candidate but of a cause, the cause of democracy.”

He expressed hope for a return to normalcy and unity following the upheaval of the Trump era: “So now, on this sacred ground where just days ago violence sought to undermine the Capitol’s very foundations, we unite as one nation, under God, indivisible, to execute a peaceful transition of power as we have for over two centuries.”

“Politics need not be a raging inferno consuming everything in its wake,” Biden assured Americans, “every disagreement doesn’t have to result in total warfare. We must reject a culture where facts are manipulated and even produced.”

However, the subsequent four years deviated from his expectations.

Biden ‘abuse of power’ warning

While Trump has been re-elected, Biden has completed a single term. In his final address to the public this week, President Biden admitted “Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation that enables abuse of power.”

Criticizing what he dubbed the “tech-industrial complex,” he cautioned against “an oligarchy emerging in America, composed of extreme wealth, power, and influence that threatens our democracy, basic rights and freedoms, and a fair chance for everyone to advance.”

The tech billionaires are aligning with the president-elect. The substantial contributions to the Inauguration Committee from Meta’s Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Bezos, Palantir’s Thiel, OpenAI’s Altman, as well as Ford and General Motors, represent a typical trend among the US’s largest corporations.

Unlike Biden’s inauguration in 2021, this year, he will partake in traditional celebrations: a Capitol lunch, a parade along Pennsylvania Avenue, and five official inauguration balls in the evening.

👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈

Historically, Democratic presidents have often been celebrated with star-studded concerts open to the public. This year, the Village People will perform, Trump’s favorite dance group. However, no significant events are scheduled.

Beyond a few country and western artists and select independent actors, most celebrities harbor negative sentiments toward Trump. The devastation caused by the wildfires in Los Angeles, the entertainment hub of the U.S., has dampened spirits further.

The backdrop includes tangible destruction in California, warfare in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Sudan, alongside deep-seated disunity at home.

The global audience will closely listen on Monday to Donald Trump’s remarks as he takes the oath as president of the United States for the second time.

Source link