Donald Trump, 45th President of the U.S.A.

spoke to the Nation and to the World on the 20th day of January 2017

It was with great care that I listened to his Inauguration Speech.

The next morning I printed the speech in its entirety from Google and read it from the first to the last word.

I came to the following conclusion:

Mr. Donald Trump, 45^th President of the USA is a Demagogue of the first water.

What is a “Demagogue”?

A Demagogue is an actual or would-be political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices, rather than by using rational argument and who has little or no regard for Facts or Truth.

Mr. Trump fits this definition like a glove fits on a hand.

In his second sentence, right after greeting the Chief Justice and the four former Presidents present, he says this:

“We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all our people.”

If you need to “rebuild” and “restore” you must have first something that has broken down, is no longer as good as it once was:

In fact, the Economy of the United States has grown by an average of 3.23% per annum for the period 1947 to 2016. ( including a high of +17% in 1950 and a low of -10% in the first quarter of 1958 )

Then, Donald, the Demagogue carries on:

“Today's ceremony, however, has a very special meaning. Because today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another, from one party to another, – but we are transferring power from Washington DC and giving it back to you, the American people.”

What exactly is he suggesting? Is he saying that new Legislation will no longer be made by the various institutions located in Washington DC? That the American people will vote on each new Law, similar to the Swiss example?

Of course he means no such thing. As it has been since the beginning of American Democracy, laws will be issued by America's Lawmakers, the Congress. The people have a say in who gets to go to the House of Representatives, who gets to serve on the Senate and who will be the President for the next four years.

In this respect, nothing will change. But to hear Trump say it, one would think that from now on it will not be the elected few, the Congress, but the “people” who will have the power. 

Well, dear Donald, they have always had the power!

It was their power which got you the Big Job.

But another piece of Demagoguery makes it appear, as if there were a major change in the offing.

"….......Washington flourished – but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered – but jobs left and the factories closed.....That all changes – starting right here and right now, because this moment is your moment: It belongs to you."

His tirade continued in this vein:

"The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.

...mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities,; rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation....."

How, any reasonable person would ask, is it possible for a country to produce 33% of the Gross National Product of the entire world, when, as Trump claims, its rusted out factories lie scattered like tombstones across the country?

How, any reasonable person would ask, is it possible for a country housing but 2.7% of the worlds population to produce 33% of all goods and services when its Economy, as Mr. Trump claims, lies shattered?

"This American carnage stops right here and stops right now."

What “carnage” is he talking about?

The Gross National Income per person, per year, in the USA amounts to about $54,000.00

(2015 stats)

This places it in 10^th place in the world, behind such Nations as Monaco, Liechtenstein, Norway, Qatar, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Australia, Denmark and Sweden. None of the above are particular industrial powerhouses.

In a renewed flight of irresponsible demagoguery, this newly elected President of the USA makes this claim:

“One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions upon millions of American workers left behind.”

Here he is clearly referring to “Unemployment” in the United States of America, which, he should know if he just glanced at the statistics relating to this issue, lies around 4.7 %.

It is generally considered that the 4% threshold is most difficult to achieve for a variety of reasons.,

In reality there are now more people employed in the USA during the month of January 2017 than at any previous time in American history and inflation adjusted wages are higher than they have ever been.

Yes, there are some “shuttered factories,” but overall the United States has never enjoyed larger manufacturing output than it does today.

What will probably enter the annals of Inauguration Speeches is Trumps repeated battle cry:

“America First, America First”

"Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers.....”

If foreign imports will be taxed at levels which will make them non competitive with American products, it is reasonable to expect that these products will become more and more expensive, thereby fueling inflationary trends, which, in turn, will not contribute to the well being of the average American family.

When Trump promised to “reform the world against radical Islamic terrorism which we will eradicate from the face of the Earth” he could easily have expanded this eradication to the concept of “terrorism” and not limited it to “Islamic Terrorism” thereby erroneously linking Terror to Islam.

To defeat 'al-Qaeda' and 'ISIS' would be a laudable and achievable goal, albeit a most difficult one.

At the very least it would require the enthusiastic assistance of several Islamic Nations, which will be harder to obtain with such firebrand calls.

In his Inaugural Address President Trump has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is an accomplished Demagogue, a brazen Populist, as well as a non-hesitating liar.

Bertstravels

hopes that saner minds

will check this man