so yes, i agree with tim. this will be quite a memorable moment. within hours afterwards we ll see some real action. christine was talking about it years ago about how we were coming in during a time of crisis and then of course, things calm down and got better over the last eight years. we saw these letters from past presidents to incoming presidents released last neat. bill clinton to george w. bush, and then from george bush to barack obama. one question jumped out to me, the first line said you are specially important to lead our country, that is january 20th, 2001. september 11th, 2001, that time of positive change, you know, that changed so much which is a reminder that there is so much unpredictability. things happening you just don t know. you just have no idea. and yesterday i was reading the letter that president obama wrote to the american people, the last letter me writes before
the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror, with paralyzing needed effort. to convert strength into events. gives me goose bumps, really does. in just a few hours, president-elect donald trump will give his inaugural address, he says he wrote it himself. will it be a celebration? will he try to build a bridge for those who had not voted for him. tim, let me ask you first, this is an important moment for him, he is setting the tone for the next at least four years. what kind of tone do you expect from mr. trump? well, i mean, what he and his camp and he and his people have been saying is very much what you mentioned. america first, it s going to be a unity speech. what everyone wonders about any
wall. and if you ask them and talk and you double down on them, well, i don t think he is going to build a wall all the way across but he will protect us. so what about tim s point, especially today that it is starting at noon that every word you make, every word you say matters. well, he has shown up until this point that he does not value words the same way we do. so you know, as reporters you know we re used to a sentence or a word going and politicians as well going through all of these massages and editing and making sure that everything is perfect. he does not place the same value on words the way we do. and i don t know if that changes. that is like that unknown thing. and for his voters and the people that supported him that did not matter. and so we may be entering a completely different world that we don t know. you know, greg, let me ask you this because the rest of the world is watching. you know you cover all of this for people for companies, for
leaders on edge. we know that president-elect trump has dispensed with the rule book and does things his own way. dispensing with long-held diplomatic norms, and that leaves people on the back foot not knowing exactly how to react. so many are listening and looking for more clues of what is to come, john and christine. and we are told clarissa that his theme will be all things, america first. i want to bring in our panel right now to discuss this big day joined by political columnist, and cnn political reporter jean scott, and he is a reporter for the washington examiner and new york post columnist. also tim naftali, former director of the presidential library. tim let s start with you.