In his year of being elected the 45th President of the United States on June 14 2016 Donald Trump turned 70 years old. In the consciousness of many he has become the very definition of the American success story setting the standards of excellence in business real estate entertainment and more recently politics.
A week before on Tuesday June 7 2016 he delivered his victory speech from his Westchester golf club at Briarcliff Manor New York.
The last Super Tuesday presidential primaries were just being ended (with elections held in California Montana New Jersey New Mexico North Dakota and South Dakota) and a new page in the election calendar was about to be turned.
Since some prominent GOP-ers were being in denial and still struggling to accept the obvious Trump was not officially confirmed right away. But he collected all the delegates from the states in question breaking the prerequisite 1237-delegate threshold that was separating him from the official party nomination. After June 7 2016 Trump had a total of 1542 delegates which would assure him a glorious march to the Cleveland party convention of July 18 to 21 2016.
Who would have thought it would be him?" murmured his detractors. Who would have thought it would take him so long?" sighed his supporters.
The speech was a short and concise 16-minute address to the nation much shorter than his usual 45-minute rally speeches. It was scripted (it had to be) and this was a notable exception. Except a couple of times before like on March 21 2016 at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and on April 27 2017 at the Foreign Policy speech Trump did not use teleprompters and mocked his opponents for doing so.
The speech is important for several reasons.
Trump declared he would be the American peoples champion." This was a powerful line and it was prefaced by the Queen bands famous song We Are the Champions" that introduced the Republican contender to his audience.
The word champion" (in the sense of defender or supporter not in its athletic meaning) had been used before in political speeches.
On a reversed chronology Hillary Clinton used it referring to herself as a helper of the middle class.
Barack Obama used it rather negatively referring to the American biggest corporation."
George W. Bush used it referring to the American military.
Ronald Reagan used it referring to the American soldiers landing in Normandy during the World War II.
And interestingly enough Richard Nixon used it too in his acceptance speech as a Republican candidate for the Presidency when referring to interventionist America.
But Donald Trumps meaning of the word champion" was more powerful some may say egotistical since he reported himself to America as a whole. And he re-emphasized: I am going to be Americas champion!"
He also repeated the word again" in his quest of making America great" often enough for the audience to understand that we have been living decrepit times.
The message resonated well with the members of an active nation currently in decline if they are forced to live in passivity due to an Obama-type of government interventionism in the past or a Sanders-Clinton-type in a foreseeable future.
The message would not have resonated well in a state-run communist-type of society where its members act already like in a state of trance. Obviously as Trump suggested this was not Americas case.
Then Trump developed and clarified the America First" concept.
On foreign policy this means interventionism only when Americas safety has been put in danger.
On trade it translates in protecting the American workers against the unfair foreign competition" of organizations like NAFTA and Trans-Pacific Partnership.
On energy policy this equates with opening up Americas great potential to bring wealth and prosperity" to workers including miners. It seemed like a return to Sarah Palins 2008 Drill baby drill!" slogan for exploring the countrys natural resources.
On economic policy the concept is construed as lowering taxes for middle class Americans and businesses.
On immigration policy it represents protection for jobs wages and security of American workers whether first or tenth generation."
As a corollary the America First" concept is a safeguard for national unity and it is what brings us all together."
Other ideas of the speech included:
- Americas cult for work and manufacturing its own products (we are going to put America back to work we are going to make our own products");
- revitalizing the minorities poor neighborhoods (we are going to rebuild our inner cities … we are going to take care of our African-American people that have been mistreated for so long");
- regeneration of families (make you and your family safe secure and prosperous again") and communities (make our communities wealthy … make our cities safe again … make our country strong again … make America great again!").
An important part of the speech was dedicated to the idea of unity.
A calm and relaxed Trump thanked his own supporters but also appealed to those who voted for someone else in either party" and welcomed with open arms" the Bernie Sanders voters who have been left out in the cold by a rigged system of super-delegates."
Trump declared that he was a fighter and a principled person proving that with a powerful personal example: Ive fought for my family Ive fought for my business Ive fought for my employees and now I am going to fight for you the American people like nobody has ever fought before. And Im not a politician fighting Im me! … But if Im forced to fight for something I really care about I will never ever back down and our country will never ever back down!"
However in spite of his fighting nature his goal is always again to bring people together" and proved the statement with another personal example: My preference is always peace. … Ive built an extraordinary business on relationships and deals that benefit all parties involved always."
The speech contains also clear indications of the cause of the countrys decline. Trump dedicated good minutes explaining that the rigged system" cannot survive any longer. He said:
Every election year politicians promise change … and every year they fail to deliver. Why would politicians want to change a system thats totally rigged in order to keep them in power? Thats what they are doing folks! Why would politicians want to change a system that has made them and their friends very very wealthy? Id beat the rigged system."
And later:
We cant solve our problems by counting on the politicians who created our problems. The Clintons have turned the politics of personal enrichment into an art form for themselves."
This was a reminder of a memorable scene from the 1992 The Distinguished Gentleman" movie. When Eddie Murphys con-turned-politician character Thomas Jefferson Johnson asks Kevin McCarthys politician-turned-con character Terry Corrigan: With all these money coming in from both sides how can anything possibly ever get done?" Terry replies with candor: It doesnt. Thats the genius of the system!"
This is indeed an issue of serious reflection for the American voters.
As for the septuagenarian Donald Trump he has an illustrious predecessor who was also appointed as a U.S. president when he turned 70 and then turned America around. His name was Ronald Reagan.
An age denoting indeed wisdom and depth.
From Ronald to Donald!
NOTE - A version of the article was published previously in CARIBBEAN NEWS NOW!.
Tiberiu Dianu has published several books and a host of articles in law politics and post-communist societies. He currently lives and works in Washington DC and can be followed on MEDIUM.
*****
In his year of being elected the 45th President of the United States on June 14 2016 Donald Trump turned 70 years old. In the consciousness of many he has become the very definition of the American success story setting the standards of excellence in business real estate entertainment and more recently politics.
A week before on Tuesday June 7 2016 he delivered his victory speech from his Westchester golf club at Briarcliff Manor New York.
The last Super Tuesday presidential primaries were just being ended (with elections held in California Montana New Jersey New Mexico North Dakota and South Dakota) and a new page in the election calendar was about to be turned.
Since some prominent GOP-ers were being in denial and still struggling to accept the obvious Trump was not officially confirmed right away. But he collected all the delegates from the states in question breaking the prerequisite 1237-delegate threshold that was separating him from the official party nomination. After June 7 2016 Trump had a total of 1542 delegates which would assure him a glorious march to the Cleveland party convention of July 18 to 21 2016.
Who would have thought it would be him?" murmured his detractors. Who would have thought it would take him so long?" sighed his supporters.
The speech was a short and concise 16-minute address to the nation much shorter than his usual 45-minute rally speeches. It was scripted (it had to be) and this was a notable exception. Except a couple of times before like on March 21 2016 at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and on April 27 2017 at the Foreign Policy speech Trump did not use teleprompters and mocked his opponents for doing so.
The speech is important for several reasons.
Trump declared he would be the American peoples champion." This was a powerful line and it was prefaced by the Queen bands famous song We Are the Champions" that introduced the Republican contender to his audience.
The word champion" (in the sense of defender or supporter not in its athletic meaning) had been used before in political speeches.
On a reversed chronology Hillary Clinton used it referring to herself as a helper of the middle class.
Barack Obama used it rather negatively referring to the American biggest corporation."
George W. Bush used it referring to the American military.
Ronald Reagan used it referring to the American soldiers landing in Normandy during the World War II.
And interestingly enough Richard Nixon used it too in his acceptance speech as a Republican candidate for the Presidency when referring to interventionist America.
But Donald Trumps meaning of the word champion" was more powerful some may say egotistical since he reported himself to America as a whole. And he re-emphasized: I am going to be Americas champion!"
He also repeated the word again" in his quest of making America great" often enough for the audience to understand that we have been living decrepit times.
The message resonated well with the members of an active nation currently in decline if they are forced to live in passivity due to an Obama-type of government interventionism in the past or a Sanders-Clinton-type in a foreseeable future.
The message would not have resonated well in a state-run communist-type of society where its members act already like in a state of trance. Obviously as Trump suggested this was not Americas case.
Then Trump developed and clarified the America First" concept.
On foreign policy this means interventionism only when Americas safety has been put in danger.
On trade it translates in protecting the American workers against the unfair foreign competition" of organizations like NAFTA and Trans-Pacific Partnership.
On energy policy this equates with opening up Americas great potential to bring wealth and prosperity" to workers including miners. It seemed like a return to Sarah Palins 2008 Drill baby drill!" slogan for exploring the countrys natural resources.
On economic policy the concept is construed as lowering taxes for middle class Americans and businesses.
On immigration policy it represents protection for jobs wages and security of American workers whether first or tenth generation."
As a corollary the America First" concept is a safeguard for national unity and it is what brings us all together."
Other ideas of the speech included:
- Americas cult for work and manufacturing its own products (we are going to put America back to work we are going to make our own products");
- revitalizing the minorities poor neighborhoods (we are going to rebuild our inner cities … we are going to take care of our African-American people that have been mistreated for so long");
- regeneration of families (make you and your family safe secure and prosperous again") and communities (make our communities wealthy … make our cities safe again … make our country strong again … make America great again!").
An important part of the speech was dedicated to the idea of unity.
A calm and relaxed Trump thanked his own supporters but also appealed to those who voted for someone else in either party" and welcomed with open arms" the Bernie Sanders voters who have been left out in the cold by a rigged system of super-delegates."
Trump declared that he was a fighter and a principled person proving that with a powerful personal example: Ive fought for my family Ive fought for my business Ive fought for my employees and now I am going to fight for you the American people like nobody has ever fought before. And Im not a politician fighting Im me! … But if Im forced to fight for something I really care about I will never ever back down and our country will never ever back down!"
However in spite of his fighting nature his goal is always again to bring people together" and proved the statement with another personal example: My preference is always peace. … Ive built an extraordinary business on relationships and deals that benefit all parties involved always."
The speech contains also clear indications of the cause of the countrys decline. Trump dedicated good minutes explaining that the rigged system" cannot survive any longer. He said:
Every election year politicians promise change … and every year they fail to deliver. Why would politicians want to change a system thats totally rigged in order to keep them in power? Thats what they are doing folks! Why would politicians want to change a system that has made them and their friends very very wealthy? Id beat the rigged system."
And later:
We cant solve our problems by counting on the politicians who created our problems. The Clintons have turned the politics of personal enrichment into an art form for themselves."
This was a reminder of a memorable scene from the 1992 The Distinguished Gentleman" movie. When Eddie Murphys con-turned-politician character Thomas Jefferson Johnson asks Kevin McCarthys politician-turned-con character Terry Corrigan: With all these money coming in from both sides how can anything possibly ever get done?" Terry replies with candor: It doesnt. Thats the genius of the system!"
This is indeed an issue of serious reflection for the American voters.
As for the septuagenarian Donald Trump he has an illustrious predecessor who was also appointed as a U.S. president when he turned 70 and then turned America around. His name was Ronald Reagan.
An age denoting indeed wisdom and depth.
From Ronald to Donald!
NOTE - A version of the article was published previously in CARIBBEAN NEWS NOW!.
Tiberiu Dianu has published several books and a host of articles in law politics and post-communist societies. He currently lives and works in Washington DC and can be followed on MEDIUM.
*****
