The Trump Rhetoric: What It Means For The US And The Rest Of The World

The man needs no decoding. Donald Trump, who was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States yesterday (20 January), did not turn statesmanlike, goody-goody or kinder and gentler overnight. The man we saw at the inauguration was the same man we saw on the campaign trail – scrappy, aggressive, politically incorrect. He is probably America’s first WYSIWYG President – what you see is what you get – and that is probably why a majority of Americans hate him. He reflects too much of their true selves hidden under the veneer of sophisticated language and political correctness: racist and arrogant, with a belief that America has a god-given right to judge others and lay down the law for everybody.

In a world where American hegemony is under serious challenge, not just by China but other rising powers as well, including an amorphous group of Islamists, Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama tried hard to lower America’s profile and expectations of itself. Despite authorising assassinations of America’s enemies (Osama bin Laden, other assorted Islamists), he kept his aggression covert and his language soft and accommodating. He restricted America’s involvement in other people’s wars, and generally began recalibrating America’s attitude to the world by infusing a greater sense of realism about the limits to its power.

Trump is actually likely to do what Obama did not openly acknowledge he was doing: focusing America inwards and dealing with its own challenges instead of trying to impose its will on others. His inaugural address, despite its belligerence and rhetoric, talked about America First, making it clear that his priority is his country. Previous Presidents pretended that their policies were about benign American leadership and global peace, when in reality they pursued America First covertly. Trump now makes it plain that America is no do-gooder going out of its way to selflessly fix the world’s problems. It is just another self-interested nation, albeit the world’s biggest and most powerful even now. When Trump campaigned to “Make America Great Again”, it was a tacit acknowledgement that the country had lost its greatness somewhere down the line -- either in terms of its self-image or its ability to project endless power across the globe. Trump has ended American claims to exceptionalism.

Given below is the full text of his inaugural speech, and key statements and phrases have been expanded in the form of comment by this writer. The words need no decoding, but they do need elaboration (the text of the speech is, where needed, followed by my comments in italics).

Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans, and people of the world: Thank you.

We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people. Together, we will determine the course of America, and the world, for many, many years to come.

(As the largest and richest global power, what America does or does not do affects everybody. So this phrase does not mean anything new or significant in terms of American will.)

We will face challenges. We will confront hardships. But we will get the job done.

(This is Trump the realty magnate, the TV reality show star, talking. He has assumed that the President can do a lot on his own. Reality will bite sooner than later. He cannot get his full agenda implemented in a democracy with so many checks and balances. But he can do some things, and prevent other things with his presidential veto.)

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.

(This is Trump’s only concession to grace and goodwill. The rest of his speech is an implicit denouncement of the Obama legacy.)

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, 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 borne 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.

(This is unvarnished campaign trail rhetoric. Even though as President he should consider himself a Washington insider now, he prefers the clothes of the outsider fighting on behalf of the plebeians outside the castle. This is what got him the job, and he cannot afford to shed the garb of the outsider. Unlike other past Presidents, Trump is a rare one who has taken his campaign pledges seriously. He is speaking about it openly even after winning, when others try to backtrack to give themselves room for manoeuvre. But to succeed, he needs to work with the establishment – and his own Republican party is part of the establishment too. Given Trump’s character, making compromises won’t be easy, and it is his lieutenants who will have to help him adjust his stated positions according to the situation. Trump is risking his credibility by making these pledges, but then it was his risk-taking ability that got him victory. Who knows...)

It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America. This is your day. This is your celebration.

And this, the United States of America, is your country. What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people.

January 20th, 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. Everyone is listening to you now.

You came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement the likes of which the world has never seen before. At the centre of this movement is a crucial conviction: that a nation exists to serve its citizens.

(In a broader sense, this sentiment echoes Ronald Reagan’s claim that government was the problem, not the solution. But Trump is saying something else. That his government will be on the side of the people. Rather than downsize government, though that is part of the pledge, Trump is also staking out a populist left-wing position by indicating that the government will do more for the people. This shows that Trump straddles portions of both the Right and the Left in terms of his approach.)

Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighbourhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves.

These are the just and reasonable demands of righteous people and a righteous public. But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; 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.

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.

The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans.

(This is pure rhetoric, and most promises are not deliverable.)

For many decades, we've enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry;

Subsidised the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military;

We've defended other nations' borders while refusing to defend our own; And spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas while America's infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay. We've made other countries rich while the wealth, strength, and confidence of our country has dissipated over the horizon.

One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions and millions of American workers that were left behind.

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

(This is Fortress America and isolationist thinking, something possible for only a continental-sized economy with a moat on both sides, a friendly neighbour to the north, and a fearful, weak neighbour to the south.)

But that is the past. And now we are looking only to the future.

We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it's going to be only America First, America First.

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

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

America will start winning again, winning like never before.

We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.

We will build new roads, and highways, and bridges, and airports, and tunnels, and railways all across our wonderful nation.

We will get our people off of welfare and back to work - rebuilding our country with American hands and American labour.

We will follow two simple rules: Buy American and hire American.

(The last sentence says it all. America will turn a bit protectionist, pull up the drawbridges to immigrants and may well follow mercantilist policies. Not that America did not do that before. Whenever its businesses were failing, it used its market clout to ask trade partners to reduce exports -- as in cars, when Japanese companies were rampant. What Trump has done is to make American interests paramount -- and actionable through tariffs and laws.)

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.

We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example -- we will shine -- for everyone to follow.

We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones -- and unite the civilised world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth.

(This is a very important statement. Saying we do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone means we can’t do so anymore. It is also an acknowledgement of the limits of American power. Building new alliances means recognising China as the new enemy, and reformulating ties with Russia to weaken the Dragon’s embrace. The talk of radical Islamic terrorism is intended to identify Islam as the new global threat apart from China. The far-right parties in Europe may well agree, for Europe is the new theatre of jihadi terrorism.)

At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other.

When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.

The Bible tells us: "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity."

We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity.

When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.

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.

(The repeated references to God, and the preachers called to the podium during his inauguration, are efforts to rally evangelical Christians behind his new Right-Left coalition. He needs their support, for it is clear that the Left-Lib establishment will never let him govern, after being worsted in the presidential contest.)

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.

The time for empty talk is over.

Now arrives the hour of action.

Do not allow anyone to tell you that it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America.

We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again.

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.

A new national pride will stir our souls, lift our sights, and heal our divisions.

It is 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, we all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American Flag.

And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they fill their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty Creator.

So to all Americans, in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, and from ocean to ocean, hear these words:

You will never be ignored again.

Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams, will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way.

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.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you. God bless America.

(Nationalism is now a key element of the Trump rhetoric, much like the BJP using nationalistic rhetoric to blunt the machinations of the Alt-Left in India. The difference though is that Trump is not Narendra Modi, who has been expansive and inclusive in his statements post the 2014 elections. But Modi is still to find any degree of reciprocation from his enemies. Trump is probably clear that enemies don’t change minds just because you say a few nice things to them. His Abrahamic thinking leaves him with no doubt that enemies have to be vanquished, not mollycoddled. He may be more of a realist than Modi.)