Donald Trump takes the Oath of Office as his wife holds the Bible and his youngest son looks on. (Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Michelle Obama, Melania Trump, Donald Trump, Barack Obama at 58th presidential inauguration, January 20, the Capitol, Washington, D.C. (Jimmy Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
President Donald J. Trump’s Inauguration
I have just watched the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump. His address was ambivalent. After thanking attending former Presidents, he stated that as of 20 January 2017, it would be a new America. It was as though no one came before him.
President Abraham Lincoln and President John F. Kennedy were assassinated, but he did not name them. He did not mention Franklin Delano Roosevelt nor did he mention Mrs. Clinton, whom he defeated. He didn’t say that when President Obama took office, the United States had to pay a huge debt accrued during wars waged in the Middle East. America had been great in an undefined and somewhat mythical past and he would make it great again because power would not be in the hands of politicians in Washington. He was giving it to the people.
He did not address the larger issues: the climate, the oceans, the rainforest, peace in the Middle East. However, he will crush terrorism. Although America renews itself with each administration, it has a past and it must keep up with the times. President Obama has left the United States in much better condition than it was in 1908, and the Affordable Care Act was a landmark.
Mr Trump said that the carnage was over. Yet he was endorsed by the National Rifle Association, who oppose gun-control, and the Ku Klux Klan, who peddle hate.
Seal of the President of the United States
I will always remember President Obama inviting all former living Presidents of the United States to the White House. The United States had moments one wishes to forget and also to remember. Not so long ago, on 9/11, the United States was attacked. Back in 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked, which is when the United States entered World War II. Young men died on the beaches and cliffs of Normandy and troops then travelled north to liberate Europe and take out of various concentration camps the few who had survived Hitler’s demented “final solution.”
Yet, while I bemoan President Trump’s indictment of all the leaders who preceded him and his messianic discourse, I don’t think he meant to trivialize the four former Presidents who attended the inauguration. He escorted the Obamas to their helicopter quite cordially and then took Melania’s hand and walked her back to the stairs. They turned and stood until the helicopter departed.
Love to everyone ♥
© Micheline Walker
20 January 2017
WordPress
Since I did not follow the proceedings yesterday, I appreciate your take. Trump’s self-centered, arrogant idiocy… it just shows you that money doesn’t give you class.
LikeLike
JoAnn,
He simply named the attending presidents and then spoke as if he were the first good president of the United States. The US never had a Lincoln, an FDR, a JFK, a Martin Luther King. America begins with Donald J. Trump. This morning I read that, later in the day, he instructed his administration to find illnesses that would be a revival of the Insurance Companies’ “preexisting conditions.” This is anti-tax extremism. I don’t think Donald Trump is intellectually capable of realizing that he presented himself as a “saviour.” Best, Micheline
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes. People are concerned about Trump’s cognitive/emotional strength. A friend of mine is very struck by his apparent lack of curiosity. Something in Trump’s neurological network definitely short circuits. Perhaps that is why he overcompensates.
LikeLike
It will not be an easy presidency. Mr Trump is not a young man and he has always been a businessman. President Clinton looked a little surprised, but the four presidents seemed basically relaxed. President Obama was magnificent. He knew just what to do and what not to do. I don’t think Mr Trump meant to hurt anyone. We live in strange times.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We sure do.
LikeLike
What I find bizarre is that Mr Trump was nominated by the Republicans. One can tell he suffers from a personality disorder: narcissistic personality disorder. So why was he nominated? He is dangerously impulsive and opposing him could lead to a major disaster. If I read him well, he can listen to President Obama. That happened during the transition period. But the team he has put together will run an adversarial government. I’ll have to read up on adversarial governments, but that will not help the United States. His son-in-law has a moderating influence on him. Every rule will be broken, but his presence in Washington may help Americans. Melania asked her husband not to run for office, but she is not a man. Mr Trump chewed up Mrs Clinton (poor Hillary!). It will have to be a government by the people. The United States is a democracy. As my father used to say when we visited his father in Massachusetts, America is both the worst and the best. The people will have to make it the best. He may be impeached. Have a good day JoAnn. Micheline
LikeLiked by 1 person
Why was Trump nominated? To the best of my understanding…
The Republicans lost control of their party, and the Clinton campaign helped that along.
We know, from the emails that Wikileaks released, that the media colluded with the Clinton campaign.
From an attachment in the Podesta emails, we know of a specific tactic that the Clinton people employed, called the “Pied Piper Strategy.” Click on the following link and open the “Strategy of GOP” PDF to read it for yourself – [https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/1120]
Salon staff writer Ben Norton explains: “In its self-described “pied piper” strategy, the Clinton campaign proposed intentionally cultivating extreme right-wing presidential candidates, hoping to turn them into the new “mainstream of the Republican Party” in order to try to increase Clinton’s chances of winning.” [http://www.salon.com/2016/11/09/the-hillary-clinton-campaign-intentionally-created-donald-trump-with-its-pied-piper-strategy/]
The Podesta email attachment states: “We need to be elevating the Pied Piper candidates [Trump, Cruz, Carson] so that they are leaders of the pack and tell the press to [take] them seriously.”
The strategy worked too well. Not only did Hillary lose to the Republicans, but to one of the Pied Piper candidates of her own creation.
LikeLike
Thank you JoAnn,
It’s as though the Clinton campaign backfired. This weekend, protest around the world was considerable. It’s a tragedy. I tried to write a post criticizing the new administration. WordPress stepped in asking me not to publish the post before they saw it. It was not an unreasonable demand. I had linked the anti-tax extremism and slavery. After slavery was abolished, it was not reinstated. Why would Obamacare be abolished? On the day he was sworn in, Mr Trump directed his administration to find conditions a healthcare plan would not cover. By and large, representatives are not medical professionals and an illness is an illness. I question the wisdom of abolishing the Affordable Care Act. It was a necessary update. As you know, in Canada, healthcare is paid for by taxpayers who do not complain. However, dental care, except through group benefits plan. Some cosmetic surgery is covered: scars from burns, acne, accidents, breast reduction if its a medical issue (mental or physical), etc. It’s not socialism; it’s a safety net.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“WordPress stepped in asking me not to publish the post before they saw it. It was not an unreasonable demand.” (?) I’ve noticed lots of extreme, crazy political BS posts published on WordPress. This request seems unreasonable to me. I hope it doesn’t reflect a movement toward censorship for the sake of a political leader, particularly one that resides in the free world.
LikeLike
JoAnn, My first reaction was: “Freedom of Speech at all costs.” But there is considerable fear since Donald Trump’s election. It’s a world crisis. So, I will post my article a few days from now and see what happens. If they ask to see it again, I will fear censorship. Our main strength is writing against what we deem undemocratic and an infringement of human rights. I did not destroy the post. Really it is very much a tragedy. I research my posts and try to be very respectful, I believe that is all one needs. But I was very surprised. It had never happened before.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s hard not to see this as a cause for concern. Should you share more of your experience, I’ll be interested.
LikeLike
I’ll keep you informed. I’m waiting a few days, but I will publish my post. It is polite, researched, logical. Censorship is out of the question.
LikeLiked by 1 person