In his first address as 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump broke from a traditional message of optimism and unity and occasionally veered into a dark depiction of current-day America, several analysts say.
“You don’t use words like ‘carnage’ and ‘tombstones’ and ‘rusting’ and all these words that he used for the first time in American history in an inaugural address … that is considered not good form in speechwriting,” Mary Kate Cary, a former speechwriter for George H.W. Bush, told CTV News Channel on Friday.
Trump delivered his 16-minute speech from the balcony of the U.S. Capitol building, and in some small ways it conformed to history. Trump started the speech by thanking former presidents in attendance -- Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter -- and ended it with “And God bless America.”
But in many ways, the speech was unprecedented. Former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton Paul Orzulak said the closest historical comparison for Trump’s speech was Richard Nixon in 1969, who entered the White House after a long and bitter campaign against Democrat Hubert Humphrey and independent candidate George Wallace.
“(Nixon) had a choice between either making a very divisive speech or a very unifying speech. He chose the unifying speech,” Orzulak said. “I feel like the president chose the divisive speech today.”
‘This American carnage’
Some of the most stand-out phrases came mid-way through the speech. In paragraph eight, Trump said: “Rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation … The crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.”
In paragraph 12, Trump said: “From this day forward, it's going to be only America first, America first.”
Presidential biographer Conrad Black said he thought “this American carnage” was “actually quite a good phrase.”
“American carnage was a reference to closed factories, not dead people,” Black told CTV’s Power Play.
He added that “America first” is not an unreasonable concept.
“‘It’s the duty of the U.S. government to advance the interests of the United States,” Black said.
Maryscott Greenwood, a principal with Dentons Public Policy & Regulation and former political appointee under Bill Clinton, said Trump’s speech left her “disappointed” and gave her the impression that the president was using the address for political posturing rather than inspiration.
“I think he viewed this speech unlike any other inaugural address, as the opening gambit in a negotiation. And that’s consistent with who he is as a person and he’s just throwing out the first volley,” she said.
“I didn’t love the speech at all. But I understand, I think, what he’s trying to do.”
Campaign-style rhetoric
Cary said Trump’s negative tone was a “missed opportunity” to inspire Americans.
“I think he could’ve been a little more presidential,” she said. “I thought it was very campaign-y. A lot of it was cut and pasted right out of some of his greatest hits on the campaign trail.”
Orzulak agreed, calling the address “a more eloquent version of his campaign speech.”
The president also failed to unite Americans, particularly those who still have doubts about him, Cary said.
“This was a chance for him to try to reassure people and change people’s minds who didn’t vote for him and bring them together. And I’m not sure he accomplished that. I’ll be very curious to see the poll numbers a week from now and see if anything has changed,” she said.
However, she admitted that not everyone heard what she did.
“I will say my cab driver on the way over here loved it. (He) thought it was the most brilliant speech he had ever heard. I generally think that the people who support him heard everything they wanted to hear. The people who didn’t support him heard what they wanted to hear too,” she said.
Asked what the best part of Trump’s speech was, Orzulak said: “The end.”
‘Re-’ words
As expected, Trump’s address veered into religious territory. Near the end of the speech, he referenced Psalm 133, saying: “The Bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity.”
Former Republican organizer Katie Robinette said she thought the speech was “very good” and that the religious tone “paid homage” to the Evangelical Christians within the Republican party.
“There was also quite a bit of talk about God and fate, and that’s not normal for Trump,” she said. “He’s not really a man of God. I wouldn’t call Trump a very faith-based person.”
Renan Levine, a University of Toronto political science professor, pointed out Trump’s deliberate use of words with the prefix “re,” which may be a subtle nod to his “make American great again” campaign slogan.
“Even at the very beginning, he was using a lot of “re” words: reclaim, restore, you will not be forgotten,” he said.
