By Alex Reiner

Donald Trump’s inaugural address was not thought of as a traditional presidential speech by many Staples’ students due to its rhetoric and wording, sparking many classes to delve into an analysis of its content and tone.

President Donald J. Trump gave his inaugural address on Jan. 20. It was very different than most in the past and caused many Staples’ students to worry based on his word choice and the message he portrayed.

“Trump’s inaugural address was drastically different than previous ones,” Jacob Lustig ’18, an A.P. Government and Politics student, said. “[It] was not surprising, but still concerning.”

All of the A.P. Government and Politics classes were tasked with  analyzing Trump’s speech and then comparing it to previous inaugural addresses.

Lana Whittleton ’18 is a student in  A.P. Government and Politics who “thought Donald Trump’s inaugural address was very different than other presidents before him because most presidents have tried to use a hopeful tone.” Whittleton also added that she disliked the tone he used. “I was not a fan of the dark and nationalist tone. I found it a bit ironic.”

Lustig agrees with Whittleton that he does not support the tone Trump used throughout his address. “Trump painted a rather negative and frankly inaccurate image of today’s America,” Lustig said. He believes that Trump should have attempted to align America with its allies through his speech.

Jack Portman ’18, A.P. Government and Politics student, did not have as negative of a perception of the speech compared to other students. “While I did not necessarily agree with all of his messages, he did a good job getting his point across,” Portman said.

Along with the A.P. Government and Politics classes, the sophomore U.S. History classes also discussed Trump’s inaugural address. The U.S. History A classes had to give a speech for their midterm assignment, so their discussion was based around an analysis of the delivery of his speech, while the U.S. History Honors classes had a more general class discussion regarding the speech.

“I feel that President Trump didn’t show any signs of a good public speaker in his speech,” Harry Azadian ’19, a student in the U.S. History A class, said. “I also thought the language he used conveyed how much of a demagogue he is.”

Summer Hutchinson ’19 has a similar belief to Whittleton and Lustig in that the inaugural address  appeared too nationalistic. “He claims that he is putting America first yet [his speech] has caused extreme turmoil and uneasiness,” Hutchinson said.

Azadian also added that his class analyzed how Trump’s speech was nationalistic. According to “The Telegraph,” many believe that Trump’s speech “was the most ‘American’ ever.” He used the word “America” thirty-five times, surpassing Bill Clinton for the most uses in an inaugural address.

“His speech showed that his presidency will be about making America the priority,” Portman said. “Whether that is good or bad, we will just have to see.”