An inaugural speech is an important part of the presidency. It allows tracking the major directions that a newly-elected president is likely to follow. This work aims to compare inaugural addresses of different Republican presidents, namely Theodore Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump, with the main accent on the latter’s speech.
Overview
Like other Republicans, in his inauguration speech, Trump spoke a great deal about the internal problems of the US and Americans. Unlike Roosevelt, Nixon, and Reagan, Trump criticized the previous government (Trump, Donald. Inaugural Address). Besides, he promised that he would restore the economy and create new working places (Trump, Donald. Inaugural Address). The same promises are observed in other Republican presidents’ speeches. However, contrary to his counterparts, Trump’s theses on the foreign policy provoked much guesswork. By his inauguration speech, the US is likely to reconsider their programs of help to other states, as well as to reduce its expenditures on the activity of NATO in Europe (Trump, Donald. Inaugural Address). This might touch Ukraine, among others. Despite this, it is not necessary to search for any hidden messages about the direction of the foreign policy in Trump’s speech.
On the whole, Trump’s inauguration speech was short, which is characteristic of the Republicans. As mentioned above, the speech was devoted mainly to internal issues. Besides, the newly-elected president dwelled upon the major topics which he had speculated on in his pre-election campaign concerning the foreign policy, including the importance of American interests. Like other Republican candidates, Trump tends to put them in the first place (Roosevelt, Theodore. Inaugural Address, Nixon, Richard. Inaugural Address, Reagan, Ronald. Inaugural Address, Bush, George. Inaugural Address, Bush, George W. Inaugural Address, Trump, Donald. Inaugural Address). Besides, he outlined the lack of interest in other countries’ internal affairs and processes from Washington’s side (Trump, Donald. Inaugural Address). The same ideas were included in Nixon’s inaugural speech (Nixon, Richard. Inaugural Address).
Trump’s Theses
In all, there are five major theses in Trump’s speech. The first one states that in the previous five years, the US managed to defend other countries’ borders but failed to defend their borderline. The US is claimed to have spent billions of dollars abroad, whereas the US infrastructure has been suffering from a crisis and falling to pieces. The US helped other countries to get wealthy. However, the strength and the confidence of the US has broken apart and disappeared behind the horizon (Trump, Donald. Inaugural Address). There was a similar message in Bush Senior’s speech when he speculated on the crisis which the US had been undergoing in the course of his presidency (Bush, George. Inaugural Address).
The second thesis states that each decision about trade, taxes, immigration, foreign affairs is supposed to be made in favor of American employers and American families. Trump is eager to defend the US borders from other countries which have been stealing the US enterprises and destroying the US working places (Trump, Donald. Inaugural Address). Other Republican presidents had the same issues in their speeches (Roosevelt, Theodore. Inaugural Address, Nixon, Richard. Inaugural Address, Reagan, Ronald. Inaugural Address, Bush, George. Inaugural Address, Bush, George W. Inaugural Address).
Third, Trump has promised to reinforce old alliances and create new ones. He aims to unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorists. He believes that it is possible to destroy them completely (Trump, Donald. Inaugural Address). The same thought was conveyed by Bush Junior (Bush, George W. Inaugural Address)
Fourth, Trump is willing to construct new roads, highways, bridges, airports, tunnels, and railways throughout the US. The major rule which Trump is going to introduce and enforce everyone to follow is to buy everything which is made in the US and employ American citizens (Trump, Donald. Inaugural Address). Reagan, Nixon, Bush Senior, and Bush Junior had the same inclinations (Nixon, Richard. Inaugural Address, Reagan, Ronald. Inaugural Address, Bush, George. Inaugural Address, Bush, George W. Inaugural Address).
Fifth, the authority is supposed to be transferred from Washington, DC, and returned to the people. A small number of people in the capital enjoyed the bonuses, while the people paid the price. Washington flourished but did not share its wealth (Trump, Donald. Inaugural Address). This message is not included in other Republicans’ addresses.
Foreign Policy
In Trump’s inauguration speech, several key moments are conceptually Republican. The first issue is a readable articulated focus on the American national interests in foreign policy. Trump has noted that the US is not going to finance foreign armies and fight at external borders. Trump does not imply the US isolation though. Neither did other presidents (Roosevelt, Theodore. Inaugural Address, Nixon, Richard. Inaugural Address, Reagan, Ronald. Inaugural Address, Bush, George. Inaugural Address, Bush, George W. Inaugural Address, Trump, Donald. Inaugural Address). Trump presupposes a more pragmatic approach in the framework of the foreign policy which is likely to rely on a more businesslike and practical viewpoint (Trump, Donald. Inaugural Address). Trump does not strive for the geostrategic progress of the American position, ideals, freedom, and democracy in the world. It is possible to speak about potential serious alterations in the relations between the US and NATO, as well as between the US and the EU. However, it is necessary to observe how the world policy will affect and determine the direction of the US foreign policy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is necessary to point out, that Trump’s messages are conceptually Republican. He is going to concentrate on the internal policy. Besides, he is likely to pursue national interests in foreign policy. Both tendencies can be seen in other Republican presidents’ addresses.
Works Cited
“Bush, George. Inaugural Address.” The American Presidency Project, Web.
“Bush, George W. Inaugural Address.” The American Presidency Project, Web.
“Nixon, Richard. Inaugural Address.” The American Presidency Project, Web.
“Reagan, Ronald. Inaugural Address.” The American Presidency Project, Web.
“Roosevelt, Theodore. Inaugural Address.” Great Books Online, Web.
“Trump, Donald. Inaugural Address.” CNN, 2017. Web.