Trump squanders chance to unite a divided nation
Donald Trump missed the chance to heal the wounds of a damaging presidential race during a bullish inaugural address. who earlier had put his hands on my shoulder and prayed for me.
A little too much for a reserved(ish) Brit, it was well intentioned and genuine.
I’ve also no doubt he believes it when he says he hopes the country can come together in the new era.
But – caught up in the moment and spurred on by his peers – even he joined in the fray.
After a scramble, Kieran fleeti n g l y reclaimed his sign only for it to be snatched away again and hurled into the Reflecting Pool.
There it floated for the rest of the afternoon, a depressing illustration of the deep divisions within American society.
An anti-Trump protester.
Two- and- a- half months on from the election, it seems scant progress has been made.
In his victory speech, Mr Trump pledged to be a president for all Americans, urging them to “come together as one united people”.
And parts of the inaugural address did indeed hint at a seemingly more conciliatory tone.
“We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and restore its promise for all of our people,” he declared.
“This moment belongs to everyone gathered here and everyone watching all across America.
“The oath of office I take is an oath of allegiance to all Americans.” But the main body of his remarks – which again focused on the wrongs of the so-called “r o t t e n” Washington establishment – sounded much like his campaigntrail spiel.
A chance to draw a line under the damaging campaign, an opportunity to st a r t the healing process, was squandered. Of course, for many of his supporters – who take their cue from him – it was the ultimate rally and predictably, magnanimous victors were in short supply.
“Would it be bad to boo the outgoing president?” one man behind me asked his wife. “What about Hillary?
“No wonder Michelle Obama isn’t smiling. She’s going to be in a photo with Melania Trump – that’s not going to turn out well for her.” And so on. Many expected the former reality star turned commander- in- chief to settle into a more conventional guise once he secured his prize.
It was only a tactic, an act, people said – one he needed to pull off to win.
They may be proved right and it’s probably too early to judge, but Friday’s performance would suggest otherwise.
This will surely be a presidency conducted on Trump the businessman’s terms. How could anyone tell the showman how to run the show?
But if the 45th president is truly serious about governing for all America, he will have to find a way – at the very least – to develop a thicker skin and work with his critics.
He’s currently straddling a gorge which could widen or narrow. The former would not end well for anyone. SCOTLAND’S first budget since a huge swathe of powers were devolved to Holyrood will come under scrutiny this week.
Scottish Labour will highlight claims that £327m has been cut from local services.
The party’s leader, Kezia Dugdale, said: “This is the most important budget the Parliament has ever had to scrutinise.
“Scotland has the powers to do things differently now.
“It’s not good enough for the SNP to pass on Tory cuts to our communities when there are powers to do something about it.” THE Lib Dems have called for a “culture shift in prisons” after it was revealed the number of qualifications gained by inmates has dropped by a fifth since 2014.
New figures show the number of Scottish Qualifications Authority awards achieved by offenders has dropped from 4789 in 2013/14 to 3806 last year.
Lib Dem justice spokesman Liam McArthur MSP said: “All the evidence shows that gaining qualifications while in prison can transform people’s life chances.”