In a day or so, Donald Trump will move into his new address. I am not referring to President Donald Trump, who also be relocating at least part-time to new digs but to @realDonaldTrump — the former candidate’s Twitter account — which is in the process of being upgraded to @POTUS. (The new account exists but as of this writing was unpopulated.)
A little over an hour ago, the president-elect took the oath of office. He then delivered an inaugural address that was equal parts an attack on the Obama years and a package of promises he will be hard-pressed in many cases to keep. Example: “I will never, ever let you down.”
The loftiest pledge in his speech — in essence, the promise to change the way Washington works — is one many of his predecessors have essayed, most recently his immediate predecessor. Trump’s odds of bringing this off may be slightly better than others who have tried because he comes to his his new job as an outsider with few former colleagues inside the Beltway and little invested in preserving the old boy network.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Most of the speech was in broad strokes and was reminiscent of his campaign. He spoke of restoring jobs, enforcing our borders, and repairing our decaying infrastructure.
One of the most refreshing moments in the speech is when he spoke the unspeakable, telling the American people:
We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones – and unite the civilized world against Radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth.
One noteworthy comment came about halfway through, when he remarked:
We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to follow.
I will take it one faith that he was not referring to American efforts to spread democracy to repressed regions of the world, which I believe remains a goal worth striving for and one which ultimately returns dividends in the form of domestic tranquility.
The big questions about the speech are how it will be received by the Left. Politico has already characterized the address as a “dark message,” while Chris Matthews of MSNBC pulled out all the stops, calling it “Hitlerian.”
Then there is view from the street, which has been growing and festering since the election. Last night, LU contributor Joe Newby writes, a number of Trump supporters were physically assaulted by “liberal hatemongers … outside the Deploraball, a pre-inauguration party held at the National Press Club…. According to reports, Trump supporters were beaten and bloodied and some were pelted with eggs thrown by protesters. One supporter was struck in the head with a flagpole”:
Trump supporters beaten, bloodied by liberal hatemongers at Deploraball
Even more troubling are tweets like this one, which has been erased but remains forever preserved in the internet’s amber:
Now that the ritual of inauguration is over, one can only hope that liberal malcontents will find a less volatile way of letting off steam.
