Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. Any hope that Trump as president would "pivot" to some new persona — more gracious, less divisive, less combative — was quashed in his inauguration speech. Instead, Trump issued a call to arms to his followers and a warning to all that he and they believe stand in their way. He promised an unflinching and unalloyed pursuit of the national interest, to always and unapologetically put America first. Trump's vision and message was challenged the very next day, when millions of Americans, the majority of them women, took to the streets around the country to protest his presidency and demand a more inclusive approach to governance. That division will define the next four years of U.S. politics.
Historically, inaugural addresses are moments of reflection and humility, when presidents acknowledge that their victories, no matter how sweet, are part of a larger democratic pageant and process of which they are the immediate inheritors. They seek to rally the nation, to heal the wounds of the campaign and unite the public and its officials in a shared task and mission. Given that goal, they are optimistic to give even the defeated in the electoral contest a reason to join that fight.
Trump's speech defied those traditions. Rather than bridge the gaps between his followers and his opponents, he dug them deeper. He mentioned unity once and made no call to come together. Instead, he warned "the establishment" that its time was over and that "the people" would now benefit from the decisions made in Washington. Rather than embrace the bright imagery that typifies inaugural addresses, Trump reiterated the dark vision of the U.S. that dominated his campaign. The country that he now governs is wracked by poverty, crime, gangs and drugs, with "rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones," and an education system that deprives students of knowledge. It is, said Trump in the speech's most notable phrase, "American carnage."