Echoing North Korea, Trump Declares Inauguration a 'Day of Patriotic Devotion'

President Donald Trump on Monday declared that the day of his inauguration would now be known as a “National Day of Patriotic Devotion,” echoing the language of several generations of North Korean leaders.

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 20, 2017, as National Day of Patriotic Devotion, in order to strengthen our bonds to each other and to our country—and to renew the duties of Government to the people,” the proclamation reads.

The Guardian writes that “Jiro Ishimaru of Asia Press, an Osaka-based organization with a network of high-level contacts in North Korea, said that by invoking patriotic devotion, Trump appeared to be channeling three generations of North Korea’s Kim dynasty.”

“Ordinary North Koreans hear those words every day,” Ishimaru told the Guardian. “They don’t just appear in the media and speeches, but on posters and in other propaganda.”

The newspaper points out that Trump’s phrase “patriotic devotion” is a particular favorite in North Korea, offering examples of the phrase from speeches and propaganda:

“It is not unusual for incoming U.S. presidents to draw on their political and philosophical beliefs when, as is customary, they give a new name to inauguration day,” the Guardian adds. “Barack Obama called his first inauguration, in 2009, a National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation; eight years earlier, George W. Bush began his first term by declaring the date a National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving.”

But Trump’s “National Day of Patriotic Devotion” provoked alarm, disbelief, and comparisons to other autocratic leaders on Twitter: