I wrote about Trump’s inauguration address here. But I am no George Will. Here is the conservative commentator on Trump’s second inaugural address:
Although few presidential inaugural addresses are remembered, six etched in the nation’s memory felicitous phrases, perfect for the moments: “Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle” (Jefferson, 1801); “the mystic chords of memory … the better angels of our nature” (Lincoln, 1861); all Lincoln’s 701 words in 1865, carved in his memorial’s marble; “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” (Roosevelt, 1933); “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans” (Kennedy, 1961); “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is our problem” (Reagan, 1981, often quoted without the first four words).
Donald Trump does not deal in felicities. His second inaugural will be remembered for being worse than 59 others, including his first (about “stealing,” “ravages” and “carnage”). It was memorable for its staggering inappropriateness.
Inaugurations should be solemn yet celebratory components of America’s civic liturgy. Instead, we heard on Monday that because of “corrupt” and “horrible” “betrayals” by others, “the pillars of our society” are “in complete disrepair.” The challenges will be “annihilated,” not because God blesses America, but because God chose him.
The (mercifully) final clergyman at the inauguration defined divinity down by declaring Trump’s election a “miracle.” The 2024 election was, Trump allowed, the “most consequential” in U.S. history. Eclipsing 1800 (the world’s first peaceful transfer of power by voters from one party to another), and 1860 (the elevation of a nation-saver).
Previewing things to come, 30 minutes into his term he announced two more presidency-aggrandizing “emergencies” (the 44th and 45th existing concurrently). The 45th, his energy “emergency,” arrived when Monday’s average price of a gallon of gasoline ($3.12) was less than it was 70 years ago ($3.41, which is 29 cents in 1955, adjusted for inflation).
The speech replicated what have become the tawdriest events on our governmental calendar: State of the Union addresses. Wherein presidents leaven self-praise with wondrous promises, as their partisans repeatedly leap onto their hind legs to bray approval. There was much such leaping in the Capitol Rotunda on Monday.
Read the rest here.
Sigh, firewall on the rest of the article