Trump's inauguration word choices give insight into Trump 2.0
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President Trump in his inaugural address on Monday portrayed the classic communications adage that it's not what you say but how you say it.
Why it matters: The speech gives insight into what to expect from Trump 2.0, and while his tone was warmer than in 2017, many of the underlying policy priorities remain the same.
The intrigue: We ran the transcripts of both speeches through ChatGPT and asked how the tone differed for each.
- According to the AI-powered analysis, Trump's optimistic tone shifted from "bold and assertive" to "hopeful but tempered." Meanwhile, his criticisms of opponents went from "direct" to "more restrained and framed as systemic issues."
- Trump's rhetorical style also shifted from "grandiose and dramatic" in 2017 to "inspirational and patriotic."
By the numbers: The words "I," "our" and "you" remained the most used words in the speech and were used at rate 2x higher than in 2017.
- Frequently used words that didn't receive significant mention in his previous address include: "thank," "govern," "unite," "panama," "justice," "change" and "together."
Of note: Trump's 2025 address was roughly double the length of his 2017 address, which was the shortest in modern history.
Yes, but: According to an analysis by AI-powered speech coaching platform, Yoodli, Trump struggled with conciseness in this year's address, saying 36% more than was needed to get his point across.
Zoom in: Yoodli also pointed out the speech's disjointed structure and lack of follow-through.
- "For instance, [Trump] mentioned "America first" several times, yet did not always tie it back to specific actions consistently," the AI speech coach said.
What's next: Trump is expected to show just how committed he is to these ideals by taking executive action on a flurry of issues ranging from immigration to the future of TikTok.
More on Axios: Trump vows to restore democracy and freedom to Americans in inaugural address
