WASHINGTON—Republican President Donald Trump’s January 20 inaugural address in the U.S. Capitol rotunda—a sacred space his Trumpites rampaged through four years before in the failed insurrection he ordered—was shot through with racist and imperialist language, even more than his speeches on the campaign trail. Add exploiting natural resources and you have a potent brew.
Needless to say, Trump often got applause, plus some standing ovations from the right-wing Republican crowd and the oligarchs lined up behind him. The few Democrats, including outgoing President Joe Biden, clapped tepidly, if at all. And learned later that Trump had pardoned the 1,500 violent insurrectionists, convicted or not. Besides that, here are some of Trump’s incendiary priorities, sure to raise tensions, not unite the U.S.:
Abolish birthright citizenship, Trump declared, despite the U.S. Constitution’s mandate that anyone born here is a citizen here. That Trump threat targets people of color and appeals to his white nationalist base.
Send more troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, close it, finish his racist Mexican Wall, ban migrants and deport those—kids, too—who seek to enter, including asylum seekers. Split families here at home, deporting parents who lack papers, leaving the kids behind unless their citizenship is ended, too. No Spanish-speakers allowed.
Rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. When Trump first floated that, a week before, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum noted an 1814 Mexican state document called North America “América Mexicana,” or Mexican America. “That sounds nice, no?” Sheinbaum deadpanned.
“Retake the Panama Canal,” by force, Trump said. The late President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian President Gen. Omar Torrijos signed a treaty handing it over by 2000. To Latin Americans, the Canal Zone was a century-long reminder of U.S. imperialism. And evict the Chinese from controlling the Canal, Trump said. They don’t, the Canal Zone Authority reports.
Restore the old name, Mount McKinley, to Mount Denali in Alaska. Alaskans, including its large Native American population, prefer Denali. Many live near Denali, now a National Park. Ohioan President William McKinley, a Gilded Age white imperialist Trump lauded, is his state’s favorite..
“Drill, baby, drill,” while ending Biden’s plans to combat global warming and climate change by ending promotion of electric vehicles and canceling “The Green New Deal.” Trump claimed autoworkers and consumers would be able to make and buy “the cars they want.” Trump declared a so-called “national emergency” to carry out his energy goals.
Green groups denounced the idea while the United Autoworkers, whose new contracts with Ford, GM and Stellantis mandate manufacturing EVs in wall-to-wall union plants, had no immediate comment.
Make the U.S. the world’s top oil and natural gas producer. It already is, statistics show.
And Trump signed a pro-drilling executive order after the speech. It gratifies the fossil fuel barons of the corporate class. Trump hosted them at his Mar-a-Lago estate during last year’s campaign. Give my campaign a billion bucks, he told them behind closed doors, and that’s what I’ll do for you.
Trash the federal civil service and cut the budget. Trump’s named multibillionaire Elon Musk, who schemed to be president without the title, and millionaire Vivek Ramaswamy to head a so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” to recommend those cuts. Both sat in the front row of corporate chieftains attending the inaugural ceremony. So did Amazon majority stockholder Jeff Bezos, a notorious union-hater and labor law-breaker.
The agenda shows, of course, the bankruptcy of the capitalist system itself which drains the nation and the world of resources that could provide everyone with a decent living and puts them under the control of corrupt oligarchs who exercise influence over dictators like Trump. If ever there was an argument for socialism it was on display yesterday during the inaugural speech.
Workers and allies respond
The response from workers and their allies? Critical union comments, and a lawsuit from the Government Employees, the Teachers/AFT and two good-government groups.
The suit, in federal court in D.C., against DOGE’s legality, says it violates the open meetings and balanced appointments law covering U.S. advisory councils, which is what DOGE now is.
“We’re part of this new lawsuit because DOGE must come out of the shadows & comply with the law before the sweeping, self-serving plans of billionaires upend the federal government and cause irreparable damage in the lives of working people,” AFT President Randi Weingarten tweeted.
Trump signed an executive order after the speech, reinstating his controversial “Schedule F” to politicize top civil service posts, then turn them over to Trump toadies, just like in the spoils system of the Gilded Age.
“Trump’s order is a blatant attempt to corrupt the government by eliminating employees’ due process rights so they can be fired for political reasons. It will remove hundreds of thousands of federal jobs from the nonpartisan, professional civil service and make them answerable to the will of one man,” said Government Employees President Everett Kelley.
“This unprecedented assertion of executive power will create an army of sycophants beholden only to Donald Trump, not the Constitution or the American people. The integrity of the entire federal government could be irreparably harmed if this is not stopped.”
In his speech, Trump blasted diversity, equity and inclusion and gave a nod to Dr. Martin Luther King without supporting the economic and civil rights King fought for. He criticized what he called a failed economy—despite data showing otherwise—and even said God sent him to make America great again. That’s his campaign’s catch phrase.
And from now on, Trump declared, gender in the U.S. “will be two sexes, male and female.” That’s a slam at LGBT people, specifically transsexuals, a favorite Trump campaign punching bag.
Trump also told the crowd he plans to impose high tariffs on imports, including those from the U.S.’s immediate neighbors, Mexico and Canada. He claimed tariffs would bring in billions of dollars. Trump tried the higher tariffs in his prior term, and the Auto Workers, the car companies and the Steelworkers shot them down, pointing out the immense tri-country interdependence in that sector.
On the campaign trail, Trump said tariff money would replace funds lost by extension of the eight-year-old Trump-GOP tax cut for corporations and the rich. This time, Trump was silent—at least in the Rotunda–on the tax cut. Provisions benefiting individuals end at the end of this year. Those affecting corporations don’t. Tariffs appeal to the nativism of Trump’s base, but produce price spikes for major goods, from cars to cell phones. They contain parts, such as steel, iron, and microchips, from abroad.
“The people or the plutocrats? Will Trump do the bidding of Big Tech and the billionaires who bankrolled his campaign? Working families need the relief that puts more money in their pockets and gives them a chance to get ahead,” the Teachers/AFT tweeted.
Trump, a convicted felon who railed against what he called politicization of the Justice Department, added to his list of goals in a second speech to even more supporters downstairs in the Capitol Visitors Center, the Associated Press reported, and in a slew of approximately 200 executive orders.
Upstairs, speaking of DOJ, Trump surprisingly said he would not pursue “political enemies.” Biden, not believing him, signed pardons in advance just before he left office for members of the House Committee that investigated the invasion and insurrection, plus Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic foe nine years ago. On the campaign trail, Trump yelled “Lock her up!” every chance he got.
Another key response
Another response, from communities of color, came from United We Dream. Speaking for “Dreamers” brought to the U.S. as youngsters, it convinced the Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3354, the United Teachers of Los Angeles and 78 other organizations to protect the young people against Trump’s threat. They want state and local elected officials to sign on to such protection, too.
About the only campaign promise Trump left out of his inaugural was to abolish the federal Department of Education.
With few exceptions, unions were silent on January 20 in reacting to Trump’s speech. The AFL-CIO and all but two of its member unions withheld comments, as did the Teamsters, the Service Employees and the National Education Association. All instead chose to hail Dr. King and his strong support for unions and for economic and political justice for workers.
Two union exceptions were the Government Employees (AFGE) and the Teachers, plus UFCW Local 3000 President Faye Guenther, a fighting local with 50,000 members. It recently helped beat corporate greed—a grocery mega-merger—and it battles the establishment, including entrenched local brass.
“IF we want things to be different in four years, IF we all want to be able to say NO to the greedy whims of the corporate billionaire class, we MUST REBUILD THE labor movement. A union, a union contract, organizing a union, striking when needed, is the answer to the crisis we FACE,” Guenther said in an open letter. The capitalization is hers.
“Unions, even when they are not perfect, move us TOWARD economic equality AND protect democracy.”
Jason Walsh, executive director of the BlueGreen Alliance, which the Steelworkers co-founded, also hit the executive orders for the reasons other green groups and unions cited. And Walsh pointed out exploited and poor communities would especially suffer.
Trump “ended the Biden administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which set a policy that 40% of the benefits of all federal investments must go to disadvantaged communities and he repealed an executive order setting a national goal for electric vehicles to make up half of new cars and trucks sales by 2030.
“It is telling, but not surprising, that President Trump would target workers and underserved communities and snuff out efforts to clean up our air and water as one of his first acts in office. BGA stands in solidarity with the civil servants and all the workers whose livelihoods are threatened.
“Our country, and the world, cannot afford setbacks in the fight against climate change…Trump pulled us from a path that not only secured clean air and water for future generations but also millions of good jobs into the U.S. economy in clean manufacturing and construction of clean energy projects.”
Most unions ignored Trump’s address and posted tweets, which AFLCIO reposted, honoring Dr. King and citing his voice for workers and unions. The Laborers were typical:
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood shoulder-to-shoulder with labor unions in the fight for dignity, fair wages, and workers’ rights. His dream of economic justice and social equality lives on through the strength and solidarity of [Laborers] members today. On this MLKDay, we honor his enduring legacy and continue his work of building a just country for all Americans,” the union said.
PWW correspondent Taryn Fivek contributed the Local 3000 material for this story.
We hope you appreciated this article. At People’s World, we believe news and information should be free and accessible to all, but we need your help. Our journalism is free of corporate influence and paywalls because we are totally reader-supported. Only you, our readers and supporters, make this possible. If you enjoy reading People’s World and the stories we bring you, please support our work by donating or becoming a monthly sustainer today. Thank you!
CONTRIBUTOR
MOST POPULAR TODAY
After calling Palestine solidarity protesters antisemitic, ADL defends Musk’s Nazi salute
As Trump returns to power, resistance kicks off at nearby rally
After months of denial, U.S. admits to running Ukraine biolabs
Trump inaugural speech shot through with racism, imperialism, exploitation
The CEO might be gone, but UAW still holding Stellantis accountable
Comments