Yeah, so I watched it and was surprised at how sharp it actually turned out to be. As I listened, I made a few notes to myself as he went along for 16 minutes at a measured pace and tone. One thing to note, this is not the entire speech, I quoted the portions that I found comment worthy.
For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have bore 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.
A reference to the 16 year oligarchy that has been secretly in power making themselves wealthy off the war and conflict they have caused. Coming from someone who himself is wealthy, I’m skeptical and reserve judgement until actions in the coming months match up to the words spoken.
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.
Well, considering that more people voted for the other “guy” and won the popular vote but you won only because of the Electoral College, I think these statements are a tad grandiose.
At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families and good jobs for themselves.
The nation existing to serve its citizens hasn’t existed for decades. For your sake, and possibility of re-election, I hope you’re right and can make this happen.
For many decades we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry, subsidized 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 we’ve 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.
With so many politicians on the stage with you, former Presidents even, this is a bold and divisive statement to make inside an inaugural address. Nothing like taking Twitter rhetoric and throwing it in the address to the nation, stomping on the government supporters that helped get you there. This may come back to bite him in the ass.
The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed all across the world. 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 product, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs.
This is something I can get behind if he truly can do things to make this happen. When I hear America First, I don’t think isolationist, that literally is impossible in a modern global society. If he truly takes Americans into consideration before signing his name to whatever Congress tosses across his desk, then I might just actually vote for him in 2020 (unless Bernie Sanders runs, then I’m voting for him).
We will follow two simple rules: Buy American and hire American.
Haven’t we been trying to do this for years? Just saying.
We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example.
Then get us out of all the conflicts we’re involved in, immediately. I can only believe this if that is what happens.
When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.
Damn straight!
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.
Ok, in agreement with this as well. It will take a herculean effort on your part and also on the part of the Republican controlled Congress to make the changes necessary in order to see this happen. The biggest issue I see is that all the empty talk is coming from your own government that you now lead. It’s hard to break 40 years of empty talk and turn it into action, so good luck.
We all enjoy the same glorious freedoms and we all salute the same great American flag.
We may all salute the great American flag, but we surely don’t all enjoy the same glorious freedoms. Social media in the last 18 months is proof that we’re all not living in the same America. You need to work harder, and with a lot of groups that opposed you, to make this statement truthful.
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.
I see empty talk. Now, where’s the action?
Judgement is withheld until after the first 100 days. To be continued…..
youre right to be skeptical. youre even wiser to not be hysterical.
i dont buy all this 4th reich stuff. its not that i think its impossible for trump to be the worst president ever; these days, i think any president could be the worst ever. (imo, obama was. and bush was before him, and so was clinton, but no one ever really noticed how or why. everything clinton did, no one paid attention to.)
trumps already done one thing i dont like– there will be more. every second i have to listen to hillary clinton i want to leap off the planet, so this is progress, barely. first 100 days, like you said.
too bad we cant have more real choices, but we dont have a real media or a real government, so even if we had a real president we wouldnt know what to do with one. im sure we dont entirely agree, but thats one of the great things about being american– youre not supposed to have to agree on everything.
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“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,”
— Trump, the Inauguration speech
“We take Gotham from the corrupt! The rich! The oppressors of generations who have kept you down with myths of opportunity, and we give it back to you, the people.”
— Bane, The Dark Knight Rises
We’ve inaugurated a Batman villain!
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ROFL! That’s awesome! Need to watch that movie again.
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Hopefully he has a really good Bat Mobile and can respond to some of the Jokers in Washington.
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Unless…He IS the Joker!!!
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The Joker cannot drive the Bat Mobile. The link you provided leads nowhere.
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Thanx for the updates….I watched “1984” and thought..gee could be looking at our future….chuq
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Yes — it began with Reagan, was moved forward by Bush and almost perfected under “The One” who just left town in a helicopter.
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I think there are many of us holding our breath for this admin….
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@John Liming —
There’s nothing wrong with the link, as the video is displaying fine here on the w1nt31 blog. It’s either your ISP, your flash plug-in is outdated, or your own browser settings are working against you (like having a cache with too many cookies). However, here’s a whole article with separate links to Mark Hamill’s performances of various Trump tweets (read in character as the Joker).
http://ew.com/news/2017/01/16/mark-hamill-joker-donald-trump-john-lewis-twitter-rant/
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Now this new link is properly formed and my multi-thousand-dollar system has no problem with it at all… so the original blank linik is on your end.
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As I said, John, it was not blank on this end. The blog displays the video, and always did once approved from moderation. I chose the second link to route out to another site, to bypass your problem (whatever it is). You can have a million-dollar setup and still have glitches if you don’t set the preferences properly, or use a buggy browser, or have viruses on your multi-thousand-dollar system, or any of a dozen other common problems. In any case, I’m happy you finally got to experience Mark Hamill performing Trump’s ravings as the Joker.
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I do nothing with the electronics. My IT guy does it all and is only a phone call away and he does everything by remote.
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Thanks for your review of his speech. I couldn’t bring myself to watch it. I think your analysis is spot on. Not a fan of this man, but I’d be more than happy to be proved wrong about The Donald [or whatever we’re calling him now.] HOWEVER until I see positive action that is in alignment with words, and justice for all, I reserve judgement about this guy. Did very much like you description, “a tad grandiose.” Well said.
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Thanks. I’ve been calling him the orange sensation, lol. I will revisit this in a few months to see how he’s making on.
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Oh that’s a good nickname. Pity I didn’t know that one to add to my poll today. Although I’ve got a few other orange possibilities!
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Relax! You will get through the Trump years just the same as you have always gotten through and everything will be fine. The sun will rise in the morning. You are not going to be sent to a FEMA camp at the Arctic Circle and the “Death Squads” are not going to choose your medicines for you and the doors of your church will remain open and well attended. No one is going to knock on your door and take your guns. It will all be no worse than it has ever been and maybe even a little better.
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John, I like your positive take on this situation… but cannot respect a man who embodies everything I’ve worked my whole life to change. However, in my experience the hubris of people like The Donald eventually trips them up– and they go away for one reason or another. So I am relaxed, waiting to see how he fails.
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Or he just might turn out to be a great president who gets a lot of positive things done for The American People. If that happens what will you say then? By the way, please tell me what the things are that the man embodies that you have worked your whole life to change? How do you know this about the man? Are you that close to him that you know these things or are you reacting to what somebody else has said? I would be interested to know.
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Oh darling, you make me smile. IF this man does well as the President I’ll give him credit for it, of course. I’m not partisan, I’m truthful. Time will tell.
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Even though … there is still the possibility he could disappoint … People are only human after all regardless of whether they are billionaires or whether they don’t have the proverbial pot — and I am pleased I was able to give you a smile… It does me good to feel appreciated and to know that I can still be entertaining.
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Like Ally, I couldn’t bring myself to watch it, so thanks for this. Big words about making your country great again are easy… I suspect, however, that his idea of ‘great’ may not coincide with other people’s. Since the man has no respect for science and the environment I cannot respect him – but what do I know, I’m just a woman with a PhD?
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You “Suspect” that his idea of ‘great’ may not coincide with other people’s.” — I am tempted to remind you that suspicions usually have basis only in feelings and not necessarily in demonstrable fact. I say wait and see before passing judgment. That would be the scientific approach and the scientific approach is what I would expect from as PhD … what do you say? Is that fair?
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Now come on, the PhD comment was a little below belt. We’re not all going to agree here, and that’s okay. We all also will have different opinions, Snails happens to be one of someone not in the U.S. and is seeing it all from the outside.
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Being an incorrigible shock jock, most of anything I ever say is going to risk going below the belt because it is below the belt where the entertainment resides. And that is what I do … I entertain … I challenge people with locked in thinking to go outside the box and discover things they might never have thought of …. and yes we all have different opinions … the difference is that I am usually always right about everything … I am possessed with an inerrant accuracy in analyzing things — call it a gift from God …call it “Divine Inspiration” — call it anything you want … call me anything you want … but do not call me late for dinner or for a drink. — BTW: Foreign opinions are numerous and sometimes helpful …. I love it when people from other countries share their thoughts with me regardless of how colorful or off base they might be … It only goes to confirm my claims to excellence in commentating my commentarianisms. LOL
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You’re certainly never boring 🙂
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Well bless your heart and thank you for that. 🙂
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Which is exactly why I said “I suspect” – it’s my hypothesis, and I await evidence.
However, it’s a fact that he is a climate change denier. I and the majority of scientists do not agree – and here there is abundant peer-reviewed evidence that human-driven climate change is happening.
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I believe that History repeats itself and that the processes that drive the earth are far bigger than mans’ ability to change it and that whatever puny Mankind can do to try to upset the balance Nature has the power to renew and refresh and I further believe that if anything we are heading for another cyclic Ice Age rather than a global meltdown caused by “Global Warming.” The “Evidence” you speak of is subject to human interpretation and there is never “Interpretation” without bias of one kind or another and Mankind is totally incapable (Because of the pattern of ‘Survival Of The Fittest’ that has governed human evolution from day one and so “Evidence” is subjective rather than “Hard” in any scenario — and Mankind is always disproving theories that were once set-in-stone and replacing them with new theories …. so nobody really knows anything about Climate Change beyond what has been observed and recorded in Historical Records and those records are very limited to a relatively few centuries of Human existence … so … in my view anybody’s guess is as good as anybody else’s. But thanks for your input this morning. I have enjoyed receiving and reading your views on this important matter.
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I always love reading your perspective on these rather divisive topics. A calm voice amongst mania from both sides of the fence! My 3 year old was clapping and cheering during the inauguration speech, I can’t say his enthusiasm was shared by the rest of us lol
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The Bible that Christian America holds in such high regard says that wisdom comes out of the mouth of babes. Maybe the child has something to say that we should all be listening to.
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Religion is not my cup of tea and has no business being in politics honestly.
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But it’s supposed to be a “Christian Nation” isn’t it?
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No, it’s a nation where you are free to practice religion without interference of government.
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Yikes!! If we are subscribing to that theory, my 3 year old would just as happily see spongebob elected as president and eating cupcakes for breakfast would be law! He was simply entertained ?
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Sponge Bob could probably do as good a job at being President than anybody else and I would love to have cupcakes for breakfast every morning … but I am a fat guy and I do not dare. And if I were forced by law to eat cupcakes for breakfast every morning I think I would be starting a political movement to protest cupcakes. That is the American way.
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Haha – brilliant reply!!
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Thank you my friend … I do appreciate all the compliments I can get and I appreciate yours.
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RE: ” … Well, considering that more people voted for the other “guy” and won the popular vote but you won only because of the Electoral College, I think these statements are a tad grandiose….”) [ The thing is that everybody who wins always wins because of the electoral college. I do not remember when anybody ever won because of winning the popular vote.]
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The point I was making was that he’s not popular either with voters or in favorability. Making a claim that contradicts that is grandiose.
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Winning is what counts and he won in a country known for making the correct decisions to have allowed us to survive as a nation for almost three centuries. It is his time and I trust the American Tradition. In this case popularity and favorability is in the eye of the beholder, in the mouth of the propaganda artists and on the lips of the poll manipulators.
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Be that as it may, he is still not a popular guy.
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I guess he is popular with some and not so much with others.
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Great post and I loved reading your thoughts.
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