Trump mixed fact and fantasy in inaugural

In a generally forward-looking, brusque, and patriotic inaugural address, President Donald J. Trump went off the rails toward the end, making promises that were unenforceable, silly, or dangerous.

Unenforceable is his desire to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. 

He can call it the Gulf of Borscht for all anyone cares, but the International Hydrographic Organization names and charts international bodies of water. Map makers will not be following Trump’s goofy whim.

As President, he can rename Alaska’s Mt. Denali, its indigenous name, back to honoring President William McKinkey, although I see this as No. 235 on things Americans care about. Even most Alaskans prefer Denali.

The dangerous idea is his statement about the Panama Canal: “We are taking it back.” Reason? It is controlled by China, he said. And that is the first falsehood of his new term. It is not controlled by China.

Before he went off the rails, the opening of his address targeted one of his two campaign topics — illegal immigration.

He promised to declare a national emergency on the Southern border, and declaring the cartels terror organization. He would reinstate “wait in Mexico,” and end “catch and release.” He also said he’d get the military to enforce the border.

He would target criminal aliens. He did not talk numbers he would deport, probably wisely.

He would also declare a “national energy emergency” to deal with inflation, which was the second of his two great campaign issues. He said he would direct his cabinet to bring down the cost of things, and the first weapon in this fight would be expanding energy resources, and also tariffs.

The first will piss off environmentalists — along with his pledge to end the electric vehicle mandate and the green new deal — and the second will fly in the face of economists’ warnings that tariffs will bring higher prices.

His plans would usher in what he called the “golden age of America,” and would always put America first. In red meat to his base, he said the U.S. would recognize only two genders — male and female. Did this fall under his promise to “unify” America?

In all modesty, reflecting on his near assassination, he said God put him here to “make America great again.”

He promised America would be a manufacturing nation again, he would create an External Revenue Service to collect from foreigners, restore government efficiency, stop governmental censorship, return law and order to cities, drop social engineering from the military.

And more.

Is it possible?

“The impossible is what we do best,” he said.