It was a speech that local political scientists said was one of the most nationalistic ever in modern times.
“In the modern presidency it was fiercely nationalistic,” said Mark Caleb Smith, director of Cedarville University’s Center for Political Studies. “Trump made it clear that when he views America it is America first.”
Butler County Democratic Party Chairwoman Jocelyn Bucaro said she and the party hope that Trump “will become a different leader, capable of humility who recognizes that most Americans did not vote for him and who works to build bridges rather than walls.”
In his address, Trump said every decision he makes will be to benefit American workers and families and he will “follow two simple rules: buy American and hire American.”
“We the citizens of the America are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and restore its promise for all of our people,” Trump said after taking the oath of office. “Jan. 20, 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again.”
Trump’s speech resonated with Diane Noonan, the director of the Butler County Board of Elections.
“It’s time to come together,” she said. “It makes me feel that maybe after this it can bring everyone together, because we sure don’t want to live like we’re living now.”
As Trump spoke, drawing himself as an outsider who would bring change to Washington, D.C., he promised to bring back jobs, and America’s wealth and dreams.
“For too long a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have bore the cost,” Trump said. “Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered but the jobs left and the factories closed.”
Those statements resonated with West Chester Twp. Trustee George Lang, who was in Washington, D.C., for the inauguration.
“We can’t ‘cut’ our way out of (debt) or tax our way out of it. Our only chance is to grow out of it,” he said, adding that Trump is just the person to help the country grow.
“Hope and change didn’t work out so well for us,” Lang said.
U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Troy, who last year took the seat vacated by John Boehner, said the speech also hit home for him.
“We have to change the status quo. Too many words and not enough deeds,” Davidson said.
Smith, who watched the speech with his students at Cedarville, said Trump took his issue with Washington beyond the typical establishment critique.
“Trump is saying the people in Washington are the problem because they have bad motivations, they want to get rich and they don’t care about the American people,” said Smith.
That may seem to make it unlikely that Trump will be able to work with those very people except that “people who meet with him say he’s a different person in private than he is in public,” said Christopher DeVine, assistant professor of political science at the University of Dayton.
“He has to keep saying these things to keep the brand he’s created as an anti-establishment outsider,” he said.
Butler County Coroner Lisa Mannix, who watched the inauguration at the Grandstand in Liberty Twp., said she was humbled by the importance of the moment and is optimistic about Trump’s presidency.
“Obviously it’s a huge honor to be elected at the local level or the national level,” Mannix said. “I appreciate the fact that Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence are taking on the challenge and the leadership of this country.”
She expects Trump to make good on a lot of the change he campaigned on, “but change is slow, whether it’s 100 days or a year.”
“It’s going to take a while but I think the idea of making changes on what this country can be is important.”
This article contains additional reporting from Washington, D.C., by Miami University student Bonnie Meibers.
