PD Editorial: In grim, unorthodox inaugural address, Trump is Trump

Before political luminaries bundled on the west steps of the U.S. Capitol and throngs of people lining the National Mall, Donald J. Trump greeted past presidents, congressional leaders and administrative icons, raised his arm to take the oath of office and then proceeded to give them all them the back of his hand.

History and protocol, be damned. As he was as a presidential candidate, so he will be as 45th president of the United States. Trump will be Trump.

“For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost,” he said. “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. … That all changes starting right here and right now.”

It was a dark, 16-minute address that was, like the man who gave it, unconventional. There was little attempt at binding up the nation’s wounds and divisions or offering encouragement for the nearly 66 million Americans, including nearly 80 percent of the voters here in Sonoma County, who did not vote for him on Nov. 8. This was an inaugural address as political and populist as anything heard from the campaign trail. His grim depiction of the American economic landscape, in fact, was reminiscent of the acceptance speech he gave at the Republican National Convention six months ago. As he did then, he drew a stark contrast between the world inside the Beltway and the “American carnage” that exists outside.

“(For) too many of our citizens, a different reality exists,” he said. “Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out 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 the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential.”

For some Americans, particularly those in coal-mining towns of Rust Belt states, these words likely rang true. Likewise, there’s little doubt that many parts of the nation found comfort and encouragement in his pledge to “bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.”

But many others will find it hard to recognize the America they know and love. Nor will they agree with the description of the economy left behind by the departing President Barack Obama. U.S. jobless claims are at levels not seen in 40 years. Oil prices are at a 15-year low. The stock market is at record levels. Housing prices are soaring again. Problems exist, but things aren’t quite as bleak as Trump portrays. Of more importance, many Americans will not recognize their hopes in Trump’s words and vague promises to make the nation strong, wealthy, proud, safe and great - again.

But what was clear, this speech was not for them. This moment was not for them. And it remains to be seen whether this president is for them.