No one has ever accused Donald Trump of consistency. Shortly after being sworn in, he promised to bring peace to the world, recapture the Panama Canal, and expand American territory. The latter sounded very much like a declaration of war – a first in the history of US inaugural addresses. The trick, as always with Trump, is to understand what he means from mere rhetoric.
His picture of a new golden age was very different from 2017 when he spoke of “American carnage”. But his speech this time carried far more concrete actions, including territorial aggression against America’s neighbors, US troops on the Mexican border, the beginning of mass deportations of illegal immigrants, the end of subsidies for electric vehicles and the new age of “drill baby”. This should be taken seriously.
The vibes in the Capitol Rotunda also spoke volumes. It would be an understatement to say that Trump’s second inauguration was unprecedented. Surrounded by the richest people in the world, with a trillion dollars of wealth in the room, led by Elon Musk ($434 billion), Jeff Bezos ($240 billion) and Mark Zuckerberg ($212 billion), Trump’s return was blessed by outgoing President Joe Biden called new oligarchy.
Never before has such wealth been found with a president who is also a billionaire.
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