Op-Ed: The one person Trump left out of his speech
Did you notice something funny about President Donald Trump 's inaugural address? That he, um ... left someone out?
In what was probably the most populist inaugural address in American presidential history, President Trump began with the people, continued with the people, and ended with the people.
It seemed like the first time in his very long public life that he didn't at least carve out a significant portion of a speech to talk about ... himself!
He kept it about the people by specifically addressing problems that he's seen, but certainly not experienced on a personal level. President Trump talked about the empty factories and the crime-ridden inner cities.
Each and every promise was prefaced with the word "we." As in "We will ... unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism" and "We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world."
He didn't even say the government would unite the country, as he insisted Americans' own patriotism will heal the racial and cultural divide.
Speaking of keeping the government and himself out of it, President Trump didn't even mention how he intends to cut taxes and regulations. In fact, that omission may be why Wall Street didn't exactly soar on the speech . It doesn't mean the Trump administration won't do those things, but it does mean that the new president decided that a speech dedicated entirely to the people was more appropriate for this inaugural address.
For those of you keeping score at home, he said "we" more than 50 times during the speech and only said "I" three times. And even then, it was in more of an "I'm with you" way:
"The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans."
"Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for you with every breath in my body, and I will never ever let you down."
In the biggest sign of personal humility, President Trump invoked the name of God more than once during the speech. For example, near the end he said, "The Bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity."
That's not something we're used to when it comes to Mr. Trump, and neither was an entire speech without one bit about his personal accomplishments or opponents he'd overcome.
The problem with most populist leaders is that they usually become less about the people the more power they get. If this speech is any indication, President Trump is trying to finally make his time in office about something other than himself.
Click here to read the full text of President Trump's speech .
Commentary by Jake Novak, CNBC.com senior columnist. Follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny.
For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
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