The Tribune

By NICOLE BURROWS

THE irony of Donald J Trump is that he is ultimately a Republican puppet.

From the moment he “decided” to run for office. And now that he is believed to have “won fair and square,” in spite of allegations of Russia toying with American psyches pre-election in Trump’s favour, powerful Republicans will keep him on their strings. I think it is something he will come to loathe before long and may even act out against. You will know when his words start shifting.

For now, here’s my speechwriter perspective and analysis of some of the words Trump delivered in his first speech as the 45th US President.

“We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and restore its promise for all of our people.”

“We the citizens” akin to “We the people,” to strike an emotional chord at the very outset of the speech. Instead of “I”, convince listeners, people, the American public, that they have a part in the plan... that they are relevant.

“Now joined” to suggest before not joined and somehow, now, that he’s here, the effort is a national or united one. This also suggests that what came before he did was inadequate and not national or united.

“Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for many, many years to come.”

“Together, we”... again, the united front approach, trying to solidify American buy-in, to him as president, his administration, and all that is about to come including the content of his speech.

“Many, many years to come,” suggesting that America keeps its position as leader of the free world, staying on top, unchallenged.

“Every four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent. Thank you.”

Patronising the Obamas is a formality, of course. “Magnificent” is a favourite but trite word in his/ his speechwriter’s vocabulary.

“Today’s ceremony, however, has 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, DC and giving it back to you, the people.”

“Transferring power” assumes the people lost power, or never had it. In order to get them on his side, Trump needs to convince them this is so, or at least repeat it often enough so they believe it’s so.

“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. That all changes starting right here and right now because this moment is your moment, it belongs to you.”

“The establishment protected itself”... makes it seem like there is a separation between himself and the establishment, when he, as a non-tax-paying, multi-millionaire capitalist, with his own lobbies in Washington, has benefited from “the establishment.”

Repetition of “victories” and “triumphs” is done to reinforce and make the listener feel connected and vested.

“This moment belongs to you.” It makes the listeners believe his presidency is theirs, and him being president is their opportunity to share in the wealth of the establishment. He wants you to know he is the reason for the change.

“January 20, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again.”

Again, he wants to convince you that his presidency is meant to put you in charge.

“You came by the tens of millions to become part of an historic movement, the likes of which the world has never seen before.”

Was it really tens of millions? Doubtful. But it sounds really good. It tells you that if you weren’t a part of all those people, who must have been right, then you were in the minority, the lesser voiced, and you were wrong.

“At the centre of this movement is a crucial conviction, that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighbourhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. These are just and reasonable demands of righteous people and a righteous public.”

You must want these things, too, if you’re at all righteous.

“...An education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge; and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealised potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.”

All knowledge? Either a glaring error, or a gross over-generalisation. I wonder what educators think? Conveniently, there is no reference made or attribution given to guns/gun violence in schools. A blatant omission. To skirt around the issue, like his pick for education secretary who thinks guns should be kept on hand in schools in case of grizzly bear attacks, Trump avoids the public discussion of what is reality. Moreover, to reference that in his inaugural speech would distract you from buying in and perhaps remind you of why you shouldn’t have voted for him.

“We are one nation and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams. And their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny.”

All alliterative flourish, to harness listeners’ emotions.

“For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry . . .

“And spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay.”

Good points about US industry and infrastructure. Probably the only thing I could ever agree with him about. I wholeheartedly welcome quality products made in the USA, in fact I specifically shop for them, and avoid the mass produced cheap and questionable products made in China, as much as I can.

“The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed all across the world.”

Diminishing wealth of the middle class is not exclusive to America. It’s likely an effect of globalisation and we see it also in The Bahamas.

“From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first, America first.”

How should the rest of the world perceive this? America’s allies? Potential business partners? Should everyone assume they will always be given the short end of the stick after now?

“Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families.”

He speaks of an Americanisation of trade, taxes, immigration, foreign affairs on home soil. With that Americanisation comes a degree of anti-foreign sentiment, which is likely to be reacted to with anti-American sentiment.

“We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs.”

Ravages? Stealing? Destroying? Take it easy, mister. Of course, with these words, you’re meant to feel angered. Clearly, the aggression here, as compared to the rest of the speech, indicates this will be a key area of focus in a Trump administration.

“Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for you with every breath in my body and I will never ever let you down.”

Not so. At the least, it’s debatable. Protectionist policies have no place in free trade, per the capitalist version of economics. Free trade is what leads to prosperity. For a country as large and productive as America, this point is more than arguable.

And no human can ever promise they will never, ever let down another human; such is life.

“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.”

Is Putin listening to this? (Of course he is). I also hope Trump remembers this vis a vis The Bahamas and its, albeit wishy-washy, sovereignty.

“The bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.”

“There should be no fear. We are protected and we will always be protected. We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement. And most importantly, we will be protected by God.”

When all else fails, or just in case, invoke God. Makes a clear distinction that Christianity is the preferred religion of America and certainly not Islam. Nothing else is ideal. This is a significant problem for Trump’s message of unity. He can’t unite people of differing faiths with this kind of rhetoric.

“Finally, we must think big and dream even bigger. In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long as it is striving. We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action, constantly complaining, but never doing anything about it.”

Probably the best line of this speech. There’s definitely a lesson - or 12 - in this for The Bahamas.

“We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow.”

He makes a loose reference to alternative energies, which is lackluster, considering his stance on climate change and oil, the latter of which possesses polluting qualities that serve to exacerbate the misery of disease.

“It’s time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget, that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots.”

List “black or brown” first because they’re already mad at Trump. Personally, I think modern humanity perpetuates racism by distinguishing differences in skin colour, such that there always appears to be a need for categorisation on the basis of what colour skin a person has. If we don’t get beyond this little ridiculous thing, nothing will change in the amount of respect we have for each other. Ever.

“Together, we will make America strong again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And yes, together we will make America great again.”

Is there a significance to this order? Is this the formula “to make America great again?”

Military/defence first, industry/economy second, Americanisation third, guns fourth?

“Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America.”

A more eloquent and suitable person would have said “the United States of America”.

But no one elected Trump for his eloquence or suitability for this office... did they?

TIME’s link to full speech:

http://time.com/4640707/donald-trump-inauguration-speech-transcript/

Comments and responses to nburrows@tribunemedia.net