Donald Trump’s speech Tuesday night announcing his candidacy for president in 2024 was dark, depressing and delivered in such a low-energy style that it left one wondering whether even he has grown tired of his shtick.
Trump at once glorified and embellished his accomplishments while also painting a dystopian view of America. He said we are “a nation in decline” and that “our country is being destroyed before your very eyes.”
At times, the speech was gory, as he talked about crime-ridden cities turning into “cesspools of blood.” He painted a picture of a nation of “pain, hardship, anxiety, and despair.”
His delivery when reading from prepared remarks on the teleprompter was mechanical, and when he went off script it was often a descent into a jumble of disconnected grievances.
In 2015, Trump’s approach was new and motivating for many who felt, rightly or wrongly, that their country was disappearing. Even some who opposed him had to concede that his in-your-face style and needling of opponents made politics more interesting.
Seven years later, the act is stale, hackneyed and wide of the target. Was it smart for a “stable genius” to make fun of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis after he killed it last Tuesday, winning re-election by 20 points?
Trump’s speech got me thinking about Ronald Reagan, the leader of the resurgence of the Republican Party and the conservative movement in America. He announced his candidacy for President November 13, 1979, by sharing his vision of the country.
Here are a few passages from the speech.
—“To me our country is a living breathing presence, unimpressed by what others say is impossible, proud of its own success, generous, yes and naïve, sometimes wrong, never mean and always impatient to provide a better life for its people in a framework of basic fairness and freedom.”
—“Someone once said that the difference between an American and any other kind of person is that an American lives in anticipation of the future because he knows it will be a great place. Other people fear the future as just a repetition of past failures. There is a lot of truth in that. If there is one thing we are sure of it is that history need not be relived; that nothing is impossible, and that man is capable of improving his circumstances beyond what we are told is fact.”
—“If I am elected, I shall regard my election as proof that the people of the United States have decided to set a new agenda and have recognized that the human spirit thrives best when goals are set, and progress can be measured in their achievement.”
Regardless of what you think of the Reagan presidency, those words speak to the very heart of what it means to be an American. They are comforting and inspiring, but also challenging. They are an admission that we make mistakes, but that collectively we can and will correct course and strive for a more perfect union.
We know now that these aspirations are beyond the reach of Donald Trump.