Trump’s inaugural speech must serve as call to action

“A new national pride will stir ourselves, lift our sights and heal our divisions. It’s time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget, that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots. We all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American flag.

“And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they fill their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty creator.

“So to all Americans in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, from ocean to ocean, hear these words: You will never be ignored again. ”

Thus, the 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, let it known that he intends to serve all the people of this nation, and that the federal government’s power will derive from them.

The underlying message of Trump’s inaugural address Friday was not new – other presidents have offered variations of the power-to-the-people idea.

But what made the new president’s unity pledge different is that he is not bound by the ideology of party or a partisan political agenda.

To be sure, he ran for president as a Republican, but he did not win the nomination because the GOP establishment wanted him. Instead, he forged a coalition of disaffected Republicans, working-class Democrats and unaffiliated voters to first defeat mainstream GOP candidates and then capture the Electoral College vote in the general election contest with Democrat Hillary Clinton, a seasoned politician.

In addition, Trump’s private-sector experience as the head of a global real-estate development empire has given him the confidence to let the Republican majority in Congress know that its opposition to his agenda will have political consequences.

Therefore, the president should have no trouble putting the words he spoke at his inauguration into action.

Bully pulpit

He has the bully pulpit to persuade his supporters that even those Americans who did not vote for him “bleed the same red blood of patriots.”

During the highly contentious primary and general elections, Trump’s racist, homophobic, chauvinistic, anti-immigrant rants brought out the worst in some of his faithful.

The president’s inaugural address was a clear departure from what he said even after the Nov. 8 general election, but the proof of his sincerity will be in his doing.

There were some policy initiatives that he discussed that deserve bipartisan support in Congress.

“We will build new roads and highways and bridges and airports and tunnels and railways all across our wonderful nation,” the president said. “We will get our people off of welfare and back to work, rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor.”

And then Trump offered a glimpse of his priorities that undoubtedly resonated with residents of old industrial regions like the Mahoning Valley that have suffered the effects of global trade:

“We will follow two simple rules: Buy American and hire American.”

This newspaper has long argued that the nation’s infrastructure needs have been ignored for too many years because Republicans in Congress insist on finding the money in the budget to pay for the new roads, highways, bridges and other projects that are in need of attention.

Last year, President Barack Obama proposed a half-trillion-dollar transportation construction initiative to be paid for with revenue from new taxes on overseas earnings by American companies.

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the Republican majority in Congress refused to consider Obama’s proposal.

Now, Trump has the opportunity to make good on his campaign promises to not only address this nation’s infrastructure needs, but also to target American companies that do not pay taxes on the revenue they earn from their foreign operations.

The president has talked about forcing American companies to bring back the jobs that were shipped overseas for cheap labor and lax environmental standards.

His infrastructure plan will be the first test of the new administration.