What did Donald Trump mean, and when did he mean it?

The president’s inaugural address and other remarks since the election make me wonder.

Friday’s speech  was classic Make-America-Great-Again Trump, revisiting familiar campaign themes.  But a few favorites from the trail were missing. It has been interesting to see which themes fall by the wayside and which ones remain.

The world “wall” was missing from the inaugural address, perhaps because Trump was not looking for interaction from the crowd. But the president did say that the United States had spent more money protecting other countries’ borders than its own. He put the political leaders of the world on notice that America was looking out for No. 1; they are on their own.

From here on out, it’s “buy American and hire American,” Trump said. And isn’t that what we all want? And we’re eager to believe it, even though Trump’s own practices contradict the pledge. He’s an international businessman who has put his name on imported goods and hired foreign guestworkers. Going on past experiences, 66 percent of the time Trump doesn’t even like to marry American.

(Nothing against Melania Trump. She has beauty and grace.)

Trump wants us to ignore his actions and put faith in his words — and only his words. Anyone who disagrees with him is peddling “fake news,” according to Trump. Sad!

And any competition that he does not appear to be winning will be called “rigged” — until he wins it.

As Groucho Marx said, “Who are you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?”

Trump’s candidacy was fueled in part by distrust of Hillary Clinton, a feeling that degenerated in some corners to hate and moral condemnation. “Lock her up!” the rally crowds chanted, and Trump egged them on. After all, didn’t he call her “such a nasty woman” in a nationally televised debate? Didn’t he say he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate her on the email issue?

Trump has shown a kinder, gentler side since the election, being almost gracious toward the former secretary of state and first lady. He now dismisses talk of a special prosecutor.

Is this, as he has said, an attempt at healing? Or did Trump doubt from the outset that Clinton’s email mistakes broke the law? Was he just employing hyperbole to whip up support?

Trump may change his tune on Hillary Clinton, but his supporters are unlikely to follow suit. In that regard, Trump has done Clinton more harm than he can ever undo.

And he may reap the whirlwind as a result. Violent people who smash windows and burn cars can be dismissed as criminals. But peaceful crowds who march by the hundreds of thousands to protest Trump are just getting started. Some blogger will probably say they never actually existed. But no one can deny the distrust.

Disenchantment with Washington has been growing for decades. “For too long,” Trump said, “a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost.”

The disconnect in our country goes beyond politics, though. Trump could just as well have said, “For too long, an increasingly small group of people in our nation’s economy has reaped the rewards of capitalism — and reaped and reaped — while the people have been left out.”

That’s the rigged system. These days, showing a strong work ethic just gets you more work; wages are at a virtual standstill. The vast chasm between CEO pay and average employee wages is obscene.  And Washington simply enables this behavior — or ignores it for fear of upsetting donors.

Trump does not want to receive a paycheck in his new job. Face it, the president’s $400,000 annual salary is peanuts to a man worth billions. It would be satisfying, though, to see Trump accept a paycheck and pay income taxes on it, as the rest of us do.

“The time for empty talk is over,” Trump said. “Now arrives the hour of action.”

Now we’ll find out what Trump really believes.

Elizabeth Cook is editor of the Salisbury Post.