Borrowing from two iconic presidents – both of whom sustained assassination attempts while in office – Trump is looking to make a huge impact on Americans – both supporters and detractors alike. According to Newsmax, the billionaire is looking to make a good impression as he is handed the keys to the White House by outgoing President Barack Obama later this month.

Presidential role models

After the 70-year-old Republican shared about his plans for the next few weeks with visitors at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, several invitees revealed the inspiration and intentions behind his inaugural speech.

“[Trump said he plans to use] Reagan’s ‘style’ and Kennedy’s articulation of grand national ambitions,” visitors at the resort told The Washington Post. “He went on and on about Reagan and how much he admires him.”

Looking to appeal to both sides of the party line, Trump was said to have mentioned his gravitation to Kennedy for his ability to capture the imaginations and aspirations of Americans.

“But it wasn’t all about Reagan,” one resort visitor told the D.C. paper. “He spoke about Kennedy and how he was able to get the country motivated, to go to the moon.”

Unlike many past presidents, who have relied on professional speech writers to write most or all of their inauguration day speeches, Trump is looking to personally compose and fine-tune his historic oratory to the American public by himself – at least through the beginning stages – with a little posthumous help from two of America’s most memorable presidents from recent history.

“He’s thinking about both men as he starts to write the speech, which is something he’s now taking the lead on,” the observer added.

Trump let his thoughts be known about his upcoming inauguration speech while attending a private luncheon with presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, NewsMax Media Chief Executive Christopher Ruddy, Democratic lobbyist Thomas Quinn and Bloomberg Columnist Margaret Carlson, the Post reported.

Taking his speech seriously

After meeting with Trump, Brinkley indicated how important it is for the successful businessman to make a huge impact on Americans as they see him for the first time as their new commander-in-chief.

“I think he’s starting to get in the zone that we’re looking at how this inaugural is going to be watched, and he’s going to put a lot of effort into it,” the history buff on American presidents expressed to CNN in an interview.

The author of Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America shared that in order to catch the essence of the presidential icons in his speech, Trump’s desire is to write his entire inaugural speech by himself – and he wants it to be powerful and to the point.

“[Trump doesn’t want his speech] to be long,” Brinkley added. “He would like it to be a shorter one. He doesn’t want people standing out in the cold.”

Trump also discussed with the scholar of presidents what he is studying in order to prepare himself to deliver the most impactful address he can.

“[The president-elect spoke of] Nixon and Reagan and Kennedy … a sort of history of the presidency and past inaugurals and things like that [and how] other inaugurations have been,” Brinkley recounted.

The author noted that he has high hopes for the incoming president when he takes the podium in a few weeks.

“I’m expecting a great address … that talks to Americans about dreaming big – about making sure that we are a city on a hill one more time,” Brinkley said in eager anticipation.