The speech, deconstructed

In his inaugural speech, Donald Trump stuck to one vocal register, a determined tone unsoftened by his occasional flowery language, though his hand gestures — the “a-ok,” the “number one,” the “pistol” — were all on frequent display. The National Post’s J

SELECTED EXCERPTS FROM INAUGURAL SPEECH

This salutation is “rhetorically inept,” Jamieson said. “What is he thanking the world for? The rest of the speech is essentially going to say we’re in a zero-sum game with the rest of the world.”

“You,” as a pronoun, “is never clear,” said Robert Danisch, a professor at the University of Waterloo who studies political rhetoric in democracies. But in this case it clearly meant Trump voters, disaffected working class whites. This contrasts strongly with Barack Obama’s frequent use of “we.”

“That was really angry. He’s basically insulting the people who are sitting there,” Danisch said.

“He’s emphasizing immediacy, as if we wake up tomorrow morning to a completely changed America. He’s channelling the impatience he knows got him to this position,” said Doug Brent, professor emeritus of communication and rhetoric at the University of Calgary.

“Donald Trump isn’t actually a Republican. He’s actually a thirdparty candidate who hijacked a party,” Jamieson said. “So what you’re hearing in the indictment of Washington is an indictment of his own party.”

The reference to Trump’s “movement” is “an implicit repudiation of the party system,” said Fred Fletcher, professor emeritus of communication and politics at York University. “He’s reinforcing his brand image as an outsider.”

“This is not a speech that is reaching for eloquence,” Jamieson said. “And those passages in which it is stand out as a result, because they ring somewhat false.”

“That suggests a terrible comment about the immediate past,” said Karlyn Campbell, author of Deeds Done in Words: Presidential Rhetoric and the Genres of Governance. “There’s no American history in this at all. That’s kind of telling. It’s hard to see anything in this speech except negative things about America’s past.”

Technically known as anaphora, the repetition of the word “one” emphasizes the point without complicating it, Brent said. Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans, and people of the world: thank you. We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people ... Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning. Because 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 American People. For too long, a small group in our nation’s Capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost ... 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. That all changes — starting right here, and right now, because this moment is your moment: it belongs to you. What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people. 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. At the centre of this movement is a crucial conviction: that a nation exists to serve its citizens ... But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rustedout factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system, flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge; and the crime and gangs and 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. We are one nation — and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams; and their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny. For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry ... 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 moment on, it’s going to be 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 products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for you with every breath in my body — and I will never, ever let you down. America will start winning again, winning like never before ... We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world — but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first. We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to follow ... At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice ... The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action. Do not let anyone tell you 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. We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the Earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow. A new national pride will stir our souls, lift our sights, and heal our divisions. It is time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget: that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots, we all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American Flag. And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they fill their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty Creator. So to all Americans, in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, and from ocean to ocean, hear these words: You will never be ignored again. Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams, will define our American destiny. 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. Thank you, God Bless You, And God Bless America.

“It’s a little bit comical,” Danisch said, and completely out of touch with Republican history, let alone American. “These were radical words ... America as just a self-interested nation is a very dangerous idea.”

“Most realistic foreign-policy experts would say America has always been very good about putting America first,” Fletcher said.

“That is easily read as ‘protectionism’ in the context of trade,” Jamieson said.

“That’s a fairly ritual nod to unity of all kinds of people,” Brent said. “He did have the ‘black or brown or white’ line, a nod to unity among diversity. But I didn’t get the feeling his heart was in it. I got the feeling his heart was more in the America First part.”

“He’s very self-consciously channelling that populism that got him where he is,” Brent said.

“Ordinarily what you do in an inaugural is try to unify,” Campbell said. “And boy, this speech wasn’t that.”