Joe Biden is out, Donald Trump is in, and ‘the golden age of America has begun.’
Trump’s second inaugural address on this frigid January afternoon was, as one might expect, laced with grievances, bombast, self-congratulation and big promises. The speech was a preview of the dozens of executive orders primed for the president’s signature hours later, some of which, such as declaring a national emergency along the US–Mexico border, were at the core of his campaign.
While Trump stuck with domestic issues, there were several broad foreign policy themes he chose to highlight. The first few—that the US will be respected again on the world stage and the military will be more lethal than ever before—are standard for most American presidents, all of whom want to be viewed as strong and decisive during the opening days of their presidency. Others, like instituting tariffs on countries running massive trade surpluses and getting America’s own national borders back in order, are core vestiges of Trump’s worldview.
The address, however, had a certain tension in it. On the one hand, he talked about ushering in a long period of peace and tranquillity. Yet on the other, he threatened to take the Panama Canal back. Whether through force or diplomacy, he didn’t say.
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