Most people outside of Washington, D.C. recognize the tedious and artificial formality that characterizes so much of our political discourse. Political opponents who attempt to destroy each other in the court of public opinion, and sometimes even actual courts, give each other compliments. Before asking questions during committees senators engage in prolonged thank yous to various figures. While these artificial manners can promote civility, oftentimes they serve to obscure reality and prevent people from speaking the truth. In other words, politicians tend to be inauthentic. Rather than speaking their minds they repeat poll-tested platitudes.
President Trump is certainly not one such politician. He always speaks his mind, sometimes to a fault. It is for this reason that so many people admire him. They prefer candor rather than pseudo-respect, especially when we face crises both foreign and domestic. Indeed, the President’s Second Inaugural Address was a lesson in candor. He eviscerated his predecessor’s terrible use of executive power.
President Trump began his remarks by stating that America is on the precipice of a golden age in which “Our sovereignty will be restored. Our safety will be restored…And our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud and prosperous and free.”
After this hopeful introduction, he pivoted to “the challenges we face.” He then proceeded to catalogue the profound injustices that were done to the United States by the previous administration. Far from engaging in pointless formality, he honestly described the failures caused by his predecessor as the former president listened from behind the podium. President Trump pulled no pouches, stating that, “For many years, the radical and corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our citizens.” In addition, the United States had “a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home while at the same time stumbling into a continuing catalog of catastrophic events abroad.”
After recounting these problems, the President began laying out solutions he would pursue as president. These included the enforcement of immigration law, energy independence, and the restoration of President McKinely’s name to what is now Mount Denali. While the last proposal may seem insignificant, it served as a powerful rebuke to the left’s attempts to rename historical monuments and erase American history. Indeed, President Trump signalled a shift away from shame about America’s past to pride in the accomplishments of our forefathers.
It was at the end of the speech, however, that the president reached the height of his rhetorical powers. In this final section, he called on Americans to reclaim their heritage as “history’s greatest civilization.” In perhaps the greatest line of the speech he encouraged the United States to “pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.” What followed until the end of the speech was a tribute to American exceptionalism.
After recounting the great achievements of the nation, President Trump ended his address by assuring the audience that “our golden age has just begun.”
The address succeeded because it was honest; honest about challenges we face, honest about our ability to overcome them, and honest about our great heritage. Indeed, President Trump delivered a truly inspiring Inaugural Address. If his administration succeeds, it could be a historic one.
