Monday, January 30, 2017

Text of Trump's Inauguration Speech

(photo from aljazeera.com)

On the day that a president begins a four-year term, he delivers an 'inauguration' speech. Inauguration basically means introduction.

A couple of weeks ago Trump gave his inauguration speech as a type of introduction as to what he intends to do for the new four years.

On the following link you can read his entire speech and I have the most interesting vocabulary words listed and defined under the link.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/20/politics/trump-inaugural-address/

Vocabulary to help you understand the text in the link:

an address - to address someone is to speak to him/her, so an address is, basically, a speech.

Chief Justice Roberts - he is the head or leader of the US Supreme Court. He reads the oath of office to the person who will become president and that person repeats the oath in order to officially begin as president. The oath of office is the promise made by the person who will become president that he will protect the Constitution and attempt to serve the American people well.

to restore its promise - basically Trump is saying that recent American leaders have been going in the wrong direction and he is going to 'restore' or bring America back onto the right path. America's promise means America's potential. Previous leaders have lost America's potential and he will get it back.

the course of America - the path, the direction in which America will go.

to confront hardships - to face or deal with difficult times.

the transfer of power - when one president takes over for another.

gracious - very kind and polite and supportive.

transferring power - Trump claims that his election was special because he will help bring power back to the people and take power away from the professional politicians in Washington D.C.

reaped the rewards - they have benefited from being in government.

borne the costs - the people have been paying for dishonest (corrupt) politicians to become wealthy. bear, bore, borne  (to bear is to carry or to endure)

Washington flourished - politicians in Washington did very well and made lots of money.

politicians prospered - politicians became rich but people lost their jobs.

the establishment - politicians who have been around for a long time, people who have been doing the same thing for many years.

a crucial conviction - an essential belief; crucial - essential, a conviction - a belief

a nation exists - Trumps states that the US government should be doing a better job of serving its citizens.

a righteous public - a public that believes in doing the right thing or moral things; if you are righteous you are a good person.

trapped in poverty in our inner cities - 'inner city' is a term used for the very poorest and often most dangerous part or parts of a city. If a person is trapped in poverty, that person cannot escape or overcome poverty.

rusted out factories - factories that have not been used and which are rusting (when metal starts to become covered with reddish dust)....like tombstones - tombstones are placed on the graves of dead people in cemeteries

flush with cash...deprived of knowledge - our education system has lots of money but children are not learning as much as they ought to. to be deprived of knowledge means not receiving knowledge.

carnage - destruction, horror.

allegiance - loyalty.

at the expense of American industry - Trump states that we have helped other countries develop their economies while hurting our own.

subsidized armies - he states that we pay lots of money to help other countries to protect themselves and that the US gets nothing in return.

depletion of our military - Trump believes our military has become weaker or depleted (it has lost strength).

infrastructure - bridges, roads, tunnels etc.

factories shuttered - factories closed down (to shutter something is to close it down).

redistributed - sent out to.

a new decree - a new order, a new set of rules.

ravages - destruction...Trump is stating here that in the process of other countries making goods which we buy we are becoming weaker.

welfare - when the government gives away free money, free housing, free food etc. to the poor.

to impose our way of life on others - to force others to live as we do.

eradicate - eliminate.

the bedrock - the foundation.

patriotism - a love for one's country.

law enforcement - the police.

to harness the energies etc. - to utilize or use the energies etc.

sprawl - something spread out very widely.

plains - flat land