Donald Trump Quoted Bane In His Inaugural Address. YES, BANE.
So, little news item today: this guy, Donald Trump, was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America. Yeah, the guy from Home Alone 2! Kinda crazy, right?
Anyways, he gave a pretty standard inaugural address, talking about unity, hope, the word "again" a lot, etc. But one line really stood out to people - where Trump promises to give power back to "the people" (apparently implying that the people had lost their power in our democracy prior to his election), since it was baaaasically exactly the crux of Bane's big speech to the citizens of Gotham in The Dark Knight Rises:
Here's Trump's speech:
Today's ceremony, however has very special meaning. Because today, we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another. But we are transferring power from Washington D.C. and giving it back to you... the people.
For too long a small group in our nation's capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have born the cost.Washington flourished but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered but the jobs left and the factories closed.
The establishment protected itself but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs and while they celebrated in our nation's capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land. That all changes starting right here and right now because this moment is your moment. It belongs to you.
It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America. This is your day. This is your celebration. And this, the United States of America, is your country.
And here's Bane's:
We take Gotham from the corrupt! The rich! The oppressors of generations who have kept you down with myths of opportunity, and we give it back to you... the people. Gotham is yours. None shall interfere. Do as you please. Start by storming Blackgate, and freeing the oppressed! Step forward those who would serve. For and army will be raised. The powerful will be ripped from their decadent nests, and cast out into the cold world that we know and endure. Courts will be convened. Spoils will be enjoyed. Blood will be shed. The police will survive, as they learn to serve true justice. This great city... it will endure. Gotham will survive!
Of course, there's nothing really inherently wrong with the idea of giving power to the people - except in both cases there's a pretty grim connotation to the phrasing. For Trump, that the people's power had somehow been taken away from them and now he was somehow restoring it (if the people's power in a democracy was taken away, odds are Trump would not have been elected, right?); and for Bane, encouraging anarchy, violence, and mob rule.
Of course, none of this really matters, since it's mostly just a fun excuse to make some jokes:
The Dark Knight Rises #inauguration ???? pic.twitter.com/jU9DgaEbN8
-- ????: trapafasa (@trapafasa) January 20, 2017
You merely adopted the fake spray tan. I was born in it, molded by it. Nobody saw my natural skin colour until I was already President
-- ★ Amy Star ★ (@AmyZenunim) January 20, 2017
the problem with the Trump-as-Bane formulation is that the guy who defeats Bane is a law and order billionaire with a rage problem
-- Saladin Ahmed (@saladinahmed) January 20, 2017
2016: Melania steals from a Michelle Obama speech
-- Noah Kinsey (@thenoahkinsey) January 20, 2017
2017: Trump steals from a Bane speech
2018: Pence steals from an Emperor Palpatine speech