President Donald Trump’s inauguration speech was bleak and dominated by descriptions of “American carnage” and many of the stands remained empty. But the protests that followed the day after were animated by the spirit of resistance.
“WASHINGTON FLOURISHED,” PRESIDENT Donald Trump said in his inaugural address, “but the people did not share the wealth. Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed.” His was a bleak speech, with descriptions of “American carnage” at the forefront. “Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities,” Trump said, “rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation.”
Trump was crafty. He laid the blame for this carnage on politicians—not his breed, the financial barons. It was politicians who were to blame. The rich can be satisfied that they will not be held to account. Trump shielded the wealthy from criticism. His enemy is the political class. He puts himself forward as the people’s champion against politics. “Believe me,” is his favourite expression. He is the only one who speaks the truth, he claims, and the only person who can fix it. Blame the poor for their poverty. It is an old axiom.
Despair filled his inauguration. The crowds did not come to anoint him President. The stands sat empty, the streets lined with a smattering of people. This was also a kind of carnage. The mood was sombre. Trump supporters did come onto the streets, but they were less enthused than they had been during his campaign rallies. Something is wrong in the Trump coalition. Perhaps his supporters have begun to digest that he will do little for them. Trump’s turn to the world of private equity and the military speaks softly to the populism he evoked. His bankers and his generals have a tin ear for the people’s anger.
This story is from the February 17, 2017 edition of FRONTLINE.
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This story is from the February 17, 2017 edition of FRONTLINE.
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