Nobody ever accused Donald Trump of consistency. Shortly after being sworn in, he promised to bring peace to the world, reoccupy the Panama Canal and expand America’s territory. The latter sounded very much like a declaration of war — a first in the history of US inaugural addresses. The trick, as ever with Trump, is to figure out what he means from the merely rhetorical.
His imagery of a new golden age was very different to 2017 when he spoke of “American carnage”. But his speech this time round carried far more specific actions, including territorial aggression on America’s neighbours, US troops on the Mexican border, the start of mass deportations of illegal immigrants, an end to electric vehicle subsidies and a new age of “drill baby, drill”. These should be taken seriously.
The vibes in the Capitol Rotunda also spoke volumes. It would be an understatement to say Trump’s second inauguration was unprecedented. Surrounded by the world’s richest men, with north of a trillion dollars of wealth in the room, topped by Elon Musk ($434bn), Jeff Bezos ($240bn) and Mark Zuckerberg ($212bn), Trump’s return was blessed by what outgoing president Joe Biden called the new oligarchy.
Never before has such wealth rubbed inaugural shoulders with a president who is also a billionaire.
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