OPINION:
President Donald J. Trump is putting the American people first.
In his first speech as President of the United States, Mr. Trump uttered the word “I” only three times — and in every instance, it was in a pledge to serve the American populous.
“The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans,” Mr. Trump said.
Later, in his speech he pledged: “I will fight for you with every breath in my body, and I will never ever let you down.”
And that was it.
When former President Barack Obama gave his farewell address this week, he referenced himself 75 times. Over the course of his presidency, Mr. Obama had a long history of interjecting himself into, and forcing the values of his progressive vision onto, the American public.
It’s clear the only ideology Mr. Trump is preaching is that of Americans first, and he won’t be shy in speaking out against the political establishment — whether it’s conservative or liberal.
Mr. Trump is a populist, and his inauguration speech spoke to every blue-collar worker in the Rust Belt who helped forged his path to the White House and has been largely forgotten by both parties.
“The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country,” Mr. Trump said — as the Bush dynasty and Clinton dynasty looked on.
“Their victories have not been your victories,” he said. “Their triumphs have not been your triumphs. And while they celebrated in our nation’s capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.
“That all changes starting right here and right now, because this moment is your moment. It belongs to you,” Mr. Trump concluded.
Mr. Trump’s speech was written for the common man in Middle America — not the elite press in New York or the political class in Washington, D.C. You can bet the pundits and media will largely pan it, but they don’t get it and haven’t gotten it throughout the 2016 presidential campaign.
This was a change election. Professional politicians are out, and outsiders are in. Only outsiders have any real chance at actually draining the swamp.
“For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have bore the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered but the jobs left and the factories closed,” Mr. Trump said.
His pain is your pain. Protecting your job, has become his job. Empty, dilapidated factories are not OK, not something we should accept as normal. Daily shootings in Chicago, the heroin crisis, and gang violence in so many urban centers we shouldn’t become immune to — it’s something we need to fight against.
And Mr. Trump will fight. For you. Against whomever gets in his way.
Beware Washington. Change is coming. We’ve entered a new era and Mr. Trump shows no signs of wavering on the message that got him elected.
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