THE NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD CHOSE A TELLING QUOTATION in “Standing Up to Donald Trump’s Tactics,” Opinion, January 17, 2025: “ ‘Real power is—I don’t even want to use the word—fear.’ Donald Trump made that remark to the journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa in March 2016.”
This shuddering pronouncement contrasts immeasurably with Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s paraphrasing Henry David Thoreau, “There is nothing to fear but fear itself,” uttered in his 20-minute inaugural address in the depth of the Depression, March 4, 1932.
First and Trivially. I wonder how Trump’s coming address will compare with FDR’s 20 minutes. Other than his first inaugural’s 16 minutes in 2017, has Trump ever orated for as few as 20 minutes?
Second. I contrast the coming January 20, 2025 with John F. Kennedy’s first inaugural, January 20, 1961, when “nearly a million people in the nation’s capital braved the subfreezing temperatures to get a glimpse of the new president they had elected.”
I wonder if Trump will weave about crowd size, just as he and his fealty did in 2017.
Above, the 2017 Inauguration. Below, the 2017 Washington, D.C., Women’s March. Each image from CNN at the time of peak density.
Third. Amanda Terkel and Kristen Welker report in NBC News, January 17, 2025, “President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony is moving indoors to the Capitol rotunda because of a frigid weather forecast in the nation’s capital Monday, the president-elect announced on social media Friday.”
“Inauguration Day is often cold,” NBC News noted, “but Monday looks to be especially brisk. The high is expected to be roughly 20 degrees, with a low of six degrees, and strong winds. The last time the ceremony was held indoors was Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration when it was only seven degrees; the parade was also canceled that year. Former President Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009 was the only other sub-freezing high on inauguration day.”
Ponder, if you will, the meaning of “snowflake” and whence it’s directed.
Fourth and Finally. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History recounts, “On January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the thirty-fifth President of the United States. His short, fourteen-minute inaugural address is best remembered for a single line: ‘My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.’ ”
How contrasting this is to almost any Trump action.
Illustration by Rebecca Chew/The New York Times.
Back to the New York Times Editorial Board: “Fear is, of course, a favorite tool of the president-elect,” the Editorial Board writes. “He has used it for decades to intimidate opponents, critics and allies to give up, give in or give way. He built his real estate empire through lawsuits and threats against rivals and partners.”
The Editorial Board continues, “He cowed and demolished political opponents through humiliation and invective. He consolidated control of the Republican Party and silenced G.O.P. detractors with pressure tactics and threats to end careers. And as president, he used the power of the office and the power of social media to make life miserable for anyone he chose.”
Three Thoughts. The Editorial Board writes, “For institutions [and individuals] facing this kind of pressure, we’d urge them to meet the moment with three thoughts in mind. First is simply demonstrating conviction by identifying the right thing to do, then showing the courage to pursue that path, even in the face of pressure.”
“Second,” the Editorial Board continues, “is remembering that despite Mr. Trump’s transactional nature, no one can count on remaining in his good graces without continued unconditional fealty. (Ask those in his own inner circle who justified or turned a blind eye to misbehavior again and again, only to be cast out for a single episode of standing up to his excesses.) Any advantage gained may be fleeting; any risk overcome may return.”
I add my own opinion of Trump’s seemingly new image of deft “deal-maker.” The idea of “win-win” appears particularly alien to him. Trump’s deals have been purely binary, with only one accepted winner. To wit, the 2020 election.
“Third,” says the Editorial Board, “is demonstrating faith in the American system, with its remarkable series of checks and balances, with its strong set of rights, with its promise of equal justice.”
It concludes, “This country and its principles are too vital to sacrifice anything in the interest of going along when Mr. Trump huffs and puffs. America will stand strong as long as people stand up for it.” ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2025