The new president is using shock and fear to claim a mandate over demoralized Democrats.
On the eve of Donald Trump’s second inauguration speech, his staff made an incredible promise: that in this speech we will see a kinder and gentler Donald Trump. This mild-mannered Trump would mark a change from the notorious “American slaughterhouse” tirade he delivered in 2017 when he was first sworn in as president. The “American carnage” of Trump’s inauguration painted a dystopian image of America as a nation going to hell in a basket because of a corrupt elite that only he can stop. After listening to George W. Bush’s speech reported“That was some weird shit.” For Trump 2.0, aides promised a a message of unity it will heal a nation divided after a bitter election as well as years of political infighting.
Anyone foolish enough to wait for the new Trump should probably hand over their power of attorney over their finances to their family now. Trump is incapable of change or civility, so it should come as no surprise that he is second inaugural address was not the promised magnanimous gesture of reconciliation, but simply a new iteration of “American carnage.” Rudeness and repetition are Trump’s stock in trade — and they’ve served him well as a bully and demagogue. In the second address, we heard the same basic message as in the first: America was turning into a hellscape under the leadership of the corrupt elite represented by his opponents, but with Trump at the helm, we will now enjoy a new “golden age” of peace and prosperity. . as a result of America First’s crackdown on immigration crackdowns, protectionism, and unilateral foreign policy.
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The main differences between the two performances were in tone and emphasis, as well as the overall level of confidence. Trump’s 2017 speech was memorably angry. In today’s speech, Trump, possibly suffering from a cold, was much more restrained. In the new inauguration, Trump foregrounded the promise of a new “golden age of America” and focused more generally on what he could do — while venting his grievances about the alleged persecution.
In 2017, Trump was under siege even in victory as he lost the popular vote. In 2025, Trump has become a lot more arrogant, thanks not only to winning the election, but also to the fact that the Democrats do not offer significant resistance to his policies, but meekly wave the white flag of surrender (this can be seen in the rush of many Democrats to Congress to support Republican Laken Riley’s anti-immigrant law).
The New York Times reports that at a meeting last Friday with lawmakers Trump
said Democrats were damaged, demoralized and disorganized, according to two people in the room. And while he admitted that “sometimes a wounded animal is the most dangerous”, he revealed that he wanted to exploit their weakness. It’s time to go big.
Trump’s speech had the supreme confidence of a leader who knows his opponents are defeated and licking their wounds. Thus, Trump did not hesitate to claim a mandate — not only from the voters, but also from God. Of the election results, Trump said: “As our victory showed, the entire nation is rapidly rallying around our agenda, with a dramatic increase in support from virtually every element of our society: young and old, male and female, African-American, Hispanic-American. , Asian-Americans, urban, suburban, rural, and, very importantly, we had a strong victory in all seven swing states, and we won the popular vote of millions of people.”
As always, Trump exaggerated his historically narrow victory (as my colleague John Nichols said documented). While he made impressive gains among many traditionally Democratic groups, such as African-Americans and Hispanics, that was only in comparison to the very low numbers he and other Republicans got from those demographics. But Trump is never in the mood for fact-checking — let alone when he wins.
Trump insisted that it was not only the voters who wanted him back in power, but also the creator of the universe. trump said
Just a few months ago, in that beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet pierced my ear. But I felt then, and believe even more now, that my life was saved for good reason. God saved me to make America great again.
Believing that both the American voters and the Almighty were on his side, Trump pushed forward with his “America First” agenda, including a particularly strong emphasis on nativism. He promised the militarization of the southern border and a broad deportation policy.
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More broadly, Trump is calling for nothing less than a return to the 19th-century notion of Manifest Destiny (a term he clearly used) in the manner of William McKinley (whom he called “a great president”).
Trump’s version of Manifest Destiny includes not only old-fashioned imperialism (he even promised to bring back the Panama Canal), but also a new expansion into the far reaches of space. According to Trump,
The United States will again find itself a growing nation, increasing our wealth, expanding our territory, building our cities, raising our expectations, and carrying our flag to new beautiful horizons. And we will seek our manifest destiny to the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars.
Trump’s claim to want to unite America is challenged by his deeply reactionary policies, which are clearly aimed at rolling back decades of social progress made by people of color (he called for an end to workplace diversity programs) and sexual minorities (ordering that, under his the government’s federal policy will be that “there are only two sexes”).
Trump’s narrow electoral victory does not come close to giving him the mandate for the radical right-wing policies he promises. Unfortunately, Trump got the timing right: while Democrats are demoralized, he has a chance to ride on them to advance his agenda.
The most important political question raised by Trump’s speech is whether it will finally shock liberals enough to snap out of their funk and start organizing a proper resistance.
