There have been fewer than a handful of great inaugural addresses and only about half of the other 55 have been more than adequate.
There is no chance that Donald Trump will join the great category Monday. There are four, according to the late William Safire, a journalist, White House speechwriter and wordsmith: Abraham Lincoln's two inaugurals, Franklin D. Roosvelt's first and John F Kennedy in 1961. Three of these were in times of great crises, all had a powerful message, with extraordinary eloquence.
Trump, whose forte is political rallies, doesn't do inspiration or eloquence. Like eight years ago, there will be plenty of narcissism, demagoguery on immigration, crime and China and repeated claims that he and the billionaires he has assembled will be returning power to average Americans.
On the slim chance the 47th President elevates his game to ok, consider the criteria for a good inaugural address
One of the best summaries was written a decade and a half ago by Steve Hess, a prestigious Brookings Institution political scientist and, as a very young man, a White House aide to President Eisenhower. First, they aren't supposed to be a laundry list of policy initiatives or a reprise of
campaign rhetoric.
His advice is don't go too long. The longest speech was William Henry Harrison almost two hours in 1848; he died two months later. Hess wrote that the "gold standard" was JFK's still memorable address, only twelve minutes. Trump last time did well on that score, 16 minutes in a speech that railed against American carnage, which former President George W. Bush called "crazy shit."
On style Hess cautions be authentic --he chides Bill Clinton for trying to "clone" JFK -- eschew humor, remember the audience is not the supporters in front of you but the millions watching: "Be comfortable with your rhetorical self."
There should be a cogent, understandable theme , Hess notes, "on why you were elected and what you promised to accomplish as President --one thought -- even the one word -- that best describes what you want you Presidency to stand for."
Safire's four horsemen met those tests and more.