US President Donald Trump and his wife First Lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball on Inauguration Day of his second presidential term in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS)
Jan 21, 2025 15:17 IST First published on: Jan 21, 2025 at 15:17 IST
Donald Trump delivered the historic inaugural speech filled with hubris, pretensions, ambitious policy objectives, and a pledge to usher in a “golden age” for America. His promises included deporting illegal immigrants, raising tariffs on imports, curbing inflation, re-establishing the US as a manufacturing hub, dumping green-energy initiatives, restoring the conventional gender binary of man and woman, and ensuring peace through avoiding foreign wars.
He made several sweeping statements in his quintessential style, including “arresting the decline of America”, “bringing American pride” and “Making America Great Again”. The speech was awash with promises and wishful thinking but silent or unclear on roadmaps to carry them out. Such dreams find many takers in a society desperate for salvation. Given the multiplicity of crises, Americans seek a Nietzschean “superhero” who is also creatively destructive and destructively creative.
A subtextual analysis of his speech reveals the implicit meaning, deeper emotions and graver intentions of his policy pursuits. Of about the 2,885 words he spoke, the most frequent terms were “America, American, nation, state, and country” — used more than 100 times. On the emotional front, his speech consisted of elusive promises, vengeance, intimidation, nostalgia and dreams — all couched in the brand of American unity, exceptionalism and patriotism. His words were intimidating and depreciating towards outgoing President Joe Biden but struck a conciliatory tone towards Black and Hispanic people. He invoked God and presented himself as his representative with a mission. That mission is to Make America Great Again (MAGA).
His harshest words were reserved for illegal immigrants: He vowed to bring in regulations, send soldiers to the southern border, deport illegal “aliens” to their native countries, deny birthright citizenship to their children, and impose the death penalty on the convicted ones. He would declare a national emergency at the southern border through his executive order. The cartels involved in such immigration would be declared “terrorist organisations” and punished accordingly.
The number of illegal immigrants in the US is estimated to be about 11 million people, who are often referred to as “aliens”. According to the Pew Research Centre, the highest number of unauthorised immigrants in 2022 was from Mexico, comprising 4 million people, followed by about 7,50,000 from El Salvador and about 7,25,000 from India. Their highest concentrations are in California, Texas, New York and Florida. According to reports, Indians are the third largest in the category of illegal immigrants, and therefore, this issue is likely to figure prominently in discussions between the two countries.
On gender issues, Trump would bring laws to restore the conventional classification of people into men and women. He criticised the “woke” mindset, which views gender identities more fluidly. In his opinion, the “woke mindset” has corrupted American culture and society. He promised to ban transgender persons from participating in girls’ sports and remove “woke generals” from the military. Reflecting further irrationality, rooted in his scepticism towards science, he promised to take action against some vaccines, end incentives on electric vehicles and stop the government support for green-energy initiatives.
Trump’s inauguration is critical as it appears to signal the onset of a new era in American politics. Some expect Trump to make America great again, while others view it as a capitulation of values America stood for in the last seven decades. It is a moment of triumph for Trump supporters and capitulation and despondency for the opponents. The division in American society never looked so stark.
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Trump’s speech primarily reflected America’s new fondness for social conservatism, economic protectionism and exceptionalism. Looking beyond his rhetoric, Trump did not appear to focus on real issues which have gripped that society and created a crisis of an unprecedented magnitude. Consider, for instance, the growing inequality where the rich 1 per cent controls 30 per cent of the country’s total wealth, and the bottom 50 per cent toil with merely 2.4 per cent of it. With Trump slashing taxes for the rich and new tariffs on imported products, the gap between the rich and poor will widen. Trump’s speech will have an anodyne effect on society, which requires real surgery.
Another dangerous trend in American politics is the growing role of capital. Hardly a new thing there, it has assumed a shameless and dangerous proportion. It is bordering on the rise of an oligarchy. During the inauguration, Trump was surrounded by the billionaire club, which consisted of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerburg, Mukesh Ambani, and other CEOs of tech giants. The presence of billionaires, which should have been a cause of concern for a democratically elected leader, appeared legitimate and normal. American democracy is clearly on a slippery slope, and Trump’s regime is likely to accelerate that process.
The writer teaches at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
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