I can say with confidence that I’ve seen or read every inaugural address ever delivered, and there’s never been one quite like Donald Trump’s second presidential inaugural. That’s not, however, intended to be a compliment.
Among the most glaring problems with the remarks were contradictions that dominated the new/old president’s speech. On the one hand, it was needlessly small and petty, referencing wins in “swing states” and the popular vote, hardly the stuff of a traditional inaugural address. On the other hand, the same prepared speech also pitched overly ambitious ideas, such as putting Americans on Mars — a goal that certainly will not happen before 2029.
On the one hand, Trump boasted that he expects his “proudest legacy” to be “that of a peacemaker.” On the other hand, the Republican also declared, in reference to the Panama Canal, “[W]e’re taking it back.”
On the one hand, he presented himself as a “unifier” (a word he used twice). On the other hand, much of the speech echoed his usual campaign rhetoric, and there was little in the address for anyone outside the GOP base.
But just as importantly, Trump relied heavily on the kind of brazen falsehoods and wild exaggerations that are rarely heard in inaugural addressed that are traditionally about the nation’s future.
He condemned “the vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department,” which did not happen in reality.
He said North Carolinians were “treated so badly” by the government, but his post-hurricane lies have been repeatedly and thoroughly discredited.
He claimed the United States has provided “sanctuary and protection” for immigrants “from prisons and mental institutions.” Trump has said this before, but there’s literally no evidence to support the rhetoric.
He said wildfires in the Los Angeles area have burned “without even a token of defense,” which would probably come as a surprise to firefighters in the area.
Trump complained about “record inflation” in the Biden era, apparently indifferent to the fact that inflation rates were nowhere near record highs.
He vowed to “revoke the electric vehicle mandate,” adding that Americans will soon be able to “buy the car of your choice.” In reality, there is no electric vehicle mandate, and consumers can already buy the car of their choice.
Trump promised to “tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens,” despite the fact that it’s impossible to impose tariffs to “enrich” Americans, and there’s also no way for the United States to “tax foreign countries.” He described “a national energy emergency,” necessitating “drill, baby, drill,” which was bizarre given that domestic oil production hasn’t just reached an all-time high in the United States, it’s also outpaced every other country on the planet. Trump decried “devastating crime” rates, despite the fact that crimes went down, not up, during the Biden era. I could keep going, but you probably get the idea. At face value, the fact that Trump couldn’t even get through a relatively brief inaugural address without peddling fictions probably didn’t surprise those who watched his remarks. The president is, after all, one of the most dishonest public figures in the history of American politics. But inaugural addresses are rarely filled with lies, and the fact that the Republican couldn’t stick to reality with the eyes of the world and the eyes of history upon him tells us quite a bit about what to expect from Trump’s second term.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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