President Donald Trump, our 45th President of the United States of America, began his presidency with quite an interesting speech. Time and time again, past Presidents have used their inaugural speech as an opportunity to unite the country as one with their hopeful pledges and promises, with their words of encouragement and patriotic tone. Trump’s first true presidential address fell short of connecting the country. Instead, it actually divided the nation further.

Unlike previous leaders, Trump’s speech focused on what the country has done wrong in the past, as opposed to what he will do for the good of the United States. He viciously attacked the previous administration, all while boosting his own agenda. He attacked Obama’s presidency while Obama sat right behind him!  Not so surprising since disrespect seems to be a common theme in Trump’s America.  

Trump discusses the “very sad depletion of our military”, but this fact is simply not true: the U.S. pays $815 billion every year for the military, while China, the United States’ closest competitor, pays only $146 billion. Additionally, there is no a shortage of patriotic Americans ready to fight. The only “sad” thing about our military is the fact that Trump is now its Commander in Chief.

There is irony in Trump’s mentality; in his speech, he spoke of a “select few” reaping the benefits of Washington while the majority of the nation suffers, but his cabinet picks are limited to the “select few” he speaks of. Trump wants to “drain the swamp”, yet he’s inviting the crocodiles in for a swim.

Speaking of the wealthy few, Trump’s speech felt entirely too financially involved. Sure, he could include his opinion on the United States’ debt here and there, but instead he went on and on about the loss of jobs and money in the United States. Trump had a platform, on Inauguration Day, to finally talk about something other than jobs, yet jobs remained the central topic of discussion. The word “jobs” was heard in his speech more frequently than “love”,”hope”, or “peace” combined.  How are the American people not yet sick of his job-centric rhetoric?

“[It was all very] underwhelming, and kind of scary… just a very negative atmosphere,” said senior Anna Carl.

The United States already feels like some horrific dystopia at this point. Ironically enough, Trump described the U.S.A as “carnage”.  Seriously?  Violent crime increased about 4 percent in 2015, but that is a small blip in a decades-long decline in crime. The truth is that the United States remains far safer than it has been in generations.

On foreign relations, Trump is treading a fine, fine line. To be honest, Trump’s tone was more aggressive than patriotic, and his promise to put “America first” felt like a complete and utter threat to just about the entirety of the rest of mankind. America has had strong allies for generations; what would happen if Trump drove them away?

At the very least, allies exist as a theoretical refuge for the millions of terrified people. Within his first few weeks as President, Trump has already upset several trade partners with his “America first” promise, including China, one of our most needed trade allies. Trump bashes China an awful lot, which is humorous considering his clothing line is made by Chinese hands.

In all seriousness, Trump has set some records. For example, he’s the first elected president in Gallup poll history to receive an approval rating below the majority level.  The primary message in his speech was clearly designed to appeal to the Americans who voted for him and included very little in the way of reaching out to those who did not.  For a President who failed to win the popular vote, you would think he would want to offer hope to all Americans.