I am writing this column before President Donald Trump’s inaugural address, and you are reading it after. So perhaps he will have said some similar things to those I suggest below. And to the extent that he did not, he should have.
“My fellow Americans, greetings. My election followed perhaps the most contentious presidential campaign in U.S. history. While impassioned rhetoric is certainly nothing new in presidential election politics, the stridency and vitriol in the late campaign is perhaps unprecedented. My opponents and their supporters routinely labeled me and my supporters with the most extreme moral and political epithets, comparing me to the vilest dictator in world history. This could be the opportunity to return their violent rhetoric and to gloat over my resounding victory. I will not do that.
“Rather, I begin my remarks by celebrating the most unusual coalition of voters that any president has ever assembled. The broad demographic support for my presidency illustrates that a plurality of the American people did not believe the rhetoric from my opponents. Instead, they saw the opportunity for a new kind of populist political representation, which strains — if not quite breaks — the rigid lines of right and left in American politics. And they saw my candidacy as restoring something like common sense to American public life, in contrast to some of the absurd policy positions of my opponent. I cannot account for the moral or political positions of each of the 77 million citizens who voted for me. But we all know that no more than the tiniest fraction hold the kind of extreme political positions that were ascribed to you by the other party.
“I recognize that some people voted for me with great reservation, considering me to be the lesser of two evils. And even though they voted for me, they have serious concerns both about the way I will govern and the substantive policies I will pursue. I am chastened by that reality. To those voters, I pledge to alleviate your reservations and assuage your fears. It’s time to turn down the rhetoric and turn up the concentration on sound policy. I will begin that today by initiating several measures.
“First, regardless of one’s position on abortion, no American citizen should be forced to pay, directly or indirectly, for an elective abortion. Abortion is not health care. Therefore, my administration will immediately begin the process of defunding Planned Parenthood and any other abortion provider that now receives federal funding. To the extent that Planned Parenthood offers services unrelated to abortion, those services are already delivered by publicly funded clinics and health care workers with far more reach than dedicated abortion providers. We will also restore the Mexico City policy, ceasing funding to NGOs and other organizations that provide or advocate for abortion.
“As I said in my campaign, abortion policy has now been delegated to individual states, and it is not in the purview of federal policy. I know that some of you who voted for me disagree with that conclusion. You believe that there should be federal legislation uniformly protecting unborn life across the 50 states. I appreciate that position, even though I do not agree with it. Therefore, I pledge that my administration will use the legitimate powers of the federal purse to encourage states to pass legislation consistent with the protection of unborn life. This will include withholding Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for any procedures that are not consistent with the protection of unborn life. We are in the midst of a crisis in declining population. My administration will use the federal purse and bully pulpit to encourage and welcome children.
“Toward this end, I will introduce broad legislation protecting and encouraging the proliferation of children. This will include, among other measures, expanding the child tax credit, subsidizing prenatal and perinatal care for mothers, and making birth free. Children are public goods, benefiting all of us. Sound public policy, therefore, must encourage and support families who desire children but find the financial burden to be an insurmountable hurdle. These programs will be funded through reductions in wasted and ill-conceived international aid to countries, NGOs and other organizations whose interests do not align with ours or the broader common good.
“My administration will also be noted for its vigorous and consistent protection for women and women’s spaces. We will take a proactive role, through proposed legislation and regulatory measures, to reverse the misogynist policy of the past administration. Among other measures, we will cut off federal assistance to any school or other publicly funded institution that does not protect girls and women from intrusion by boys and men into restrooms, locker rooms, athletic teams and other women-only spaces.
“Put simply, my administration will not fund the cult of transgender ideology. If your state forces girls and women to compete in athletics against, or shower with, boys and men, you will not receive one penny of federal funds for any institution that administers such policies. Similarly, we will not reimburse any medical facility that performs mutilating surgery or other procedures related to trans ideology. This administration will protect children from these ideologically driven procedures. It’s time to put an end to trans lunacy in the United States of America.”
Of course, there is much more to say. But if President Trump included at least these points in his inaugural address, it would have been a positive step toward a better society — even for those who disagree with the policies. I have said that I do not believe Donald Trump is emotionally or psychologically fit to be president of the United States. I hope he proves me wrong.