The inaugural address of the President of the United States is a critical moment in their presidency. It sets the tone for what there is to come in their next four years as president; what issues they will chose to focus on and what tone they will take on while accomplishing those issues. This essay will examine the inaugural addresses of Barack Obama, his first address, and Donald Trump and the differences and similarities of their speech in their first ten minutes as President of the United States. Initially, the differences in the two inaugural speeches are extremely apparent. First and foremost, the way the two men speak and deliver their addresses are quite different. Obama’s way of speaking is much more methodical with larger stanzas
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For instance, they both use a lot of presupposition to appeal to the beliefs of their audience. Both Trump and Obama use presupposition to refer to how they believe America has been in the past to allude to ways in which they want to change it. For example, Obama states, “The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history” (Phillips, 2009). Obama’s statement here presupposes that our history is one that he is not proud of, and that we must make changes now in order to rewrite a better history for future generations. This is not an uncommon belief because Trump uses presupposition in a similar way to show his unhappiness with the way America has been run: “But we are transferring power from Washington D.C. and giving back to you, the American People” (“The Inaugural Address, 2017). His statement presupposes that previously the power of America has not been in the hands of its citizens, but that, as president, he will work to return that power to the people. Their use of presupposition helps to show their audience the places in American government and structure that they think needs …show more content…
In order to assert his belief in the idea of equality for all, Obama declares, “The God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness” (Phillips, 2009). Obama’s repetition of the word “all” makes it clear to the American people that Obama is a strong supporter of freedom and equality for everyone and that he will try throughout his presidency to uphold those beliefs in his decisions and actions. Likewise, Trump uses repetition to showcase how important it is to him that he brings the power in America back to the American people by claiming, “This is your day. This is your celebration. This, the United States of America, is your country” (The Inaugural Address,” 2009). By repeating, “This is your…” Trump is demonstrating is passion and desire to put American people back in the driver’s seat of America. Repetition is a strong way of showing one’s audience the values that they hold and the things that are most important to them. Initially, it is clear that Barack Obama and Donald Trump have very different approaches to speech giving and talking about the issues in America and hopes they have moving forward. The way the two men speak overall hardly resembles one another. However, they both use a lot of the same linguistic features to help get their points
For instance, they both use a lot of presupposition to appeal to the beliefs of their audience. Both Trump and Obama use presupposition to refer to how they believe America has been in the past to allude to ways in which they want to change it. For example, Obama states, “The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history” (Phillips, 2009). Obama’s statement here presupposes that our history is one that he is not proud of, and that we must make changes now in order to rewrite a better history for future generations. This is not an uncommon belief because Trump uses presupposition in a similar way to show his unhappiness with the way America has been run: “But we are transferring power from Washington D.C. and giving back to you, the American People” (“The Inaugural Address, 2017). His statement presupposes that previously the power of America has not been in the hands of its citizens, but that, as president, he will work to return that power to the people. Their use of presupposition helps to show their audience the places in American government and structure that they think needs …show more content…
In order to assert his belief in the idea of equality for all, Obama declares, “The God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness” (Phillips, 2009). Obama’s repetition of the word “all” makes it clear to the American people that Obama is a strong supporter of freedom and equality for everyone and that he will try throughout his presidency to uphold those beliefs in his decisions and actions. Likewise, Trump uses repetition to showcase how important it is to him that he brings the power in America back to the American people by claiming, “This is your day. This is your celebration. This, the United States of America, is your country” (The Inaugural Address,” 2009). By repeating, “This is your…” Trump is demonstrating is passion and desire to put American people back in the driver’s seat of America. Repetition is a strong way of showing one’s audience the values that they hold and the things that are most important to them. Initially, it is clear that Barack Obama and Donald Trump have very different approaches to speech giving and talking about the issues in America and hopes they have moving forward. The way the two men speak overall hardly resembles one another. However, they both use a lot of the same linguistic features to help get their points