Chris Cillizza: My 5 BIG takeaways From Donald Trump's Inauguration Speech

"Donald Trump is president again. I watched his entire speech so you don't have to!" 

Source:Chris Cillizza with a look at President Donald J. Trump's (MAGA, Florida) 2025 inaugural address.

From Chris Cillizza

A portion of President Trump's 2nd inaugural address: 

"The Golden Age of America begins right now.

From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer. During every single day of the Trump administration, I will very simply put America first. Our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced. The vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government will end. And our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud, prosperous and free.

America will soon be greater, stronger, and far more exceptional than ever before. I return to the presidency confident and optimistic that we are at the start of a thrilling new era of national success, a tide of change is sweeping the country, sunlight is pouring over the entire world, and America has the chance to seize this opportunity like never before.

But first, we must be honest about the challenges we face. While they are plentiful, they will be annihilated by this great momentum that the world is now witnessing in the United States of America.

As we gather today, our government confronts a crisis of trust. For many years, a radical and corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our citizens, while the pillars of our society lay broken and seemingly in complete disrepair.

We now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home, while at the same time stumbling into a continuing catalog of catastrophic events abroad. It fails to protect our magnificent, law-abiding American citizens, but provide sanctuary and protection for dangerous criminals, many from prisons and mental institutions that have illegally entered our country from all over the world.

We have a government that has given unlimited funding to the defence of foreign borders, but refuses to defend American borders or more importantly, its own people. Our country can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency, as recently shown by the wonderful people of North Carolina, been treated so badly. And other states who are still suffering from a hurricane that took place many months ago.

Or more recently in Los Angeles, where we are watching fires still tragically burn from weeks ago without even a token of defence. They’re raging through the houses and communities, even affecting some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country, some of whom are sitting here right now. They don’t have a home any longer. That’s interesting, but we can’t let this happen. Everyone is unable to do anything about it. That’s going to change.

We have a public health system that does not deliver in times of disaster, yet more money is spent on it than any country anywhere in the world. And we have an education system that teaches our children to be ashamed of themselves, in many cases to hate our country despite the love that we try so desperately to provide to them. All of this will change starting today, and it will change very quickly... 

Source:Live Mint with a look at President Donald J. Trump's (MAGA, Florida) 2025 inaugural address.

From Live Mint

I'll get to what Chris Cilliza said later. But my first reaction to President Trump's speech is that it was a nomination convention speech designed to get his party and Independents behind him and to blame everything that is wrong with America on the Democrats. President Trump's inaugural address reminds me of Richard Nixon's 1968 Republican National Convention speech. And here is some of what Mr. Nixon told that Miami audience back then: 

"The choice we make in 1968 will determine not only the future of America but the future of peace and freedom in the world for the last third of the Twentieth Century.

And the question that we answer tonight: can America meet this great challenge?

For a few moments, let us look at America, let us listen to America to find the answer to that question.

As we look at America, we see cities enveloped in smoke and flame.

We hear sirens in the night.

We see Americans dying on distant battlefields abroad.

We see Americans hating each other; fighting each other; killing each other at home.

And as we see and hear these things, millions of Americans cry out in anguish.

Did we come all this way for this?

Did American boys die in Normandy, and Korea, and in Valley Forge for this?

Listen to the answer to those questions...

When the strongest nation in the world can be tied down for four years in a war in Vietnam with no end in sight;

When the richest nation in the world can't manage its own economy;

When the nation with the greatest tradition of the rule of law is plagued by unprecedented lawlessness;

When a nation that has been known for a century for equality of opportunity is tom by unprecedented racial violence;

And when the President of the United States cannot travel abroad or to any major city at home without fear of a hostile demonstration—then it's time for new leadership for the United States of America.

My fellow Americans, tonight I accept the challenge and the commitment to provide that new leadership for America...

From the Presidency

I would love to say that I know that Donald J. Trump knows the difference between a convention speech and an inaugural address. If for no other reason he's given 3 convention nomination speeches and 2 inaugural addresses. But the fact is I don't know that and if you look at his convention speeches and his inaugural address (to paraphrase Chris Cillizza) they're basically the same speeches: 

"The Democrats are ruining America. Immigration and multiculturalism is destroying America. Time for the real Americans to fight back and take back America. And starts on day 1 by making me President and I'll make America Great Again." 

Of course what I just said there is a paraphrase. And as Cillizza said there is no Trump 2.0. There's 1 Donald J. Trump. (Thank God. Otherwise God would have to really hate America to create another 1) All this talk about Donald Trump being a great dealmaker.. give him exactly what he wants, or there is no deal. That's his "art of the deal". He's doesn't know how to play well with others, especially people who tend to disagree with him. And that style of government and leadership and governing (tends to not work in Washington) and in our form of government where we have no one leader. 

America has 1 person at the top, but even the President of the United States has real limits on what they can do. As Mr. Trump should've learned the 1st time when he was President. And the more he tries to fight our system of government and Constitution, the more it will push back against him and the less popular he'll be, and the more his party will pay the price for that. 

Look, I would be the first person to be able to say: "Donald Trump's presidency will be successful and America will be successful if he just does this..." And this is something that I would love to be wrong about as someone who really does love America. But the Donald Trump we're seeing in 2025, is the DJT from 2024, and 2016, and 2017. He's just 8 years older now from 2017. He's not as quick, not as sharp, definitely not as strong and healthy. But the character and his style of governing, his style of politician is still the same. So I'm not expecting anything different from him in his 2nd term. And we'll see what the voters think about it in 2025 and 2026. 

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