Even as he pitched himself as the classic outsider hell bent on cleaning up Washington DC, Trump reiterated that "protection will lead to great prosperity and strength" and that strong borders are needed to keep out "Islamic terror". He didn't falter once in his speech and neither did he use the word "bigly", but aside from that his speech
was a rehash of all his campaign rhetoric - but the very rhetoric that endeared him to the masses rather than the classes on the East or the West Coast.
Trump got the loudest applause when he said his administration would "eradicate radical Islamic terrorism from the face of this earth." Almost equal applause greeted his comment that America's economy would be renewed by "buying American and hiring American"+ so that the United States is made "great again." But a surprised silence greeted his nod to brown and black Americans who he said "bleed the same red blood of patriots."
Like he did throughout his campaign, Trump pitched his administration as the "people's administration" and not the "politicians' administration.
"Today's ceremony has very special meaning. It is about transferring power from Washington DC and giving it back to you the people," was one of his opening comments.
That was just the beginning. He had a lot more to say about 'dirty DC'.
"For too long a small group in nation's capital has reaped the rewards of being in power while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished but people did not share in its wealth. Jobs left, factories closed. The establishment protected itself, not the citizens. Their victories and triumph were not yours. While they celebrated in DC there was little to celebrate for struggling families across the land," said the billionaire President.
But, Trump said, he's going to be the one who changes all that.
"That all changes starting right here and right now, because this moment is your moment, it belongs to you. It belongs to everyone gathered here today. This is your day... January 20, 2017 will be remembered as the day people became the rulers of this nation." Trump said, even as a host of career politicians, including former US Presidents, looked on.
If Americans come first, it also follows that America comes first, and that's what Trump segued to in his speech.
"We subsidized the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military. We've defended other nation's borders while refusing to defend our own; and spent trillions of dollars overseas while America's infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay," Trump said.
He referred to rusted and shut factories more than once. He called them "tombstones", again showing exactly what endeared him to the populace that voted him to power.
We've made other countries rich while the wealth, strength, and confidence of our country has disappeared over the horizon. One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions upon millions of American workers left behind," Trump added
Before he launched into a criticism of career politicians and Washington DC in general, he profusely thanked his predecessor Obama and Obama''s wife Michelle for "being gracious" throughout the transition of power. "They have been magnificent," Trump said, in a rare display of hyperbolic praise for an opponent on the political spectrum.
In a rare poetic flourish, toward the end of his speech, Trump talked of being a President for "Americans from mountain to mountain, Americans from ocean to ocean" building that sentiment up to a crescendo to end with, of course, "together we will make America great again".
