OPINION: Turning off the TV: A disillusioned view of Trump’s speech
Photo via: Gage Skidmore/Public domain/Wikimedia Commons
I reluctantly turned on my TV to watch Donald Trump become the 47th President of the United States. Though I know the people of the United States have spoken, watching the inauguration meant the reality finally setting in that this is the man who will represent our country for the next 4 years. I turned on the TV to see President Biden hopping into a car with soon-to-be President Trump. I sat there watching them crawl down the road to the Capitol Building. I couldn't help but wonder what their conversation was.
Upon arriving at the Capitol, both men took their seats in a setting far different from the norm. Unlike the traditional outdoor ceremony, this inauguration was moved inside, shielded from the public and the bitter cold. While the decision was undoubtedly practical, given the frigid weather, I couldn’t help but see it as a stark metaphor for what this administration might represent: a divide where the wealthy and powerful remain sheltered while the rest of the public is left out in the cold.
It was not the grandeur of the capitol building that caught my attention, but the fashion of the ladies sitting front and center. I may not be a fashion expert, but the monochrome trend that seemed to dominate was effortlessly flattering to everyone. Dr. Jill Biden wore a Ralph Lauren royal purple outfit from head to toe. Even her shoes matched perfectly. Hillary Clinton was back at it again with her iconic pantsuit. This time she wore a monochrome navy blue outfit with a single brooch. Now the star of the show, Melania Trump, also wore navy blue with a wide-brimmed hat. Though I’d hate to compare the, “Who Gives a F*ck About the Christmas Stuff” lady to the beloved First Lady Jackie Kennedy, her style often emits the same polished look. Last but not least, perhaps the most fashionable was John Fetterman, who rocked a black hoodie and shorts in the front row (despite the temperature being in the teens).
Having observed his previous term as president, I knew Trump’s leadership would be far from conventional. However, it wasn’t until his inauguration speech began that I truly understood what that would entail. For starters, he spoke from the side of the microphone and tilted his head back and forth as if he was talking to someone off to the side, not the American people. The camera angle was dead center on the podium, yet I can’t remember a single time where he looked straight ahead at the camera.
I remember as a kid sitting down and looking at transcripts of inauguration speeches, like Obama’s or Kennedy’s. The iconic, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Theirs were full of hope and aimed to bring together the American people. This speech was anything, but that. The opening line was “From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world,” a jab to previous presidents. Inaugural speeches are not meant to place jabs at your opponents. Save that for the debates and rallies on the campaign trail. This is the real deal now. He goes on and on about how things would become great again—the classic MAGA rhetoric.
I was hoping for a message of unity, but was met with a stark contrast as he touted, “A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America” and “And we will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars.” Really? We are at a crossroads in American history, and the speech that should have been a unifying moment instead drifted into absurdity, focusing on renaming the Gulf of Mexico and colonizing Mars. These topics felt disconnected from the pressing issues facing the country: economic instability, social division, and global uncertainty. In the back of my mind, I knew this was exactly how it would go, yet hearing it play out still left me disappointed. As the address ended, I found myself unable to stomach any more. I got up, turned off the TV, and sat in silence, feeling the weight of a missed opportunity for genuine leadership and unity.