In with the new
January 20 is finally upon the United States. Joe Biden is about to formally take office as the 46th President of the United States of America. His inauguration comes at the end of a period of great turmoil and rising tensions
following the storming of the Capitol earlier this month. In the days leading up to the inauguration, the FBI warned that domestic terror groups that were likely to use inauguration day as an occasion for significant organised acts of violence. In the meantime, investigations have continued on the Capitol riots and increasingly disturbing details are being steadily unearthed regarding the level of planning, premeditation and complicity that went into the insurrection attempt. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accurately conveyed the mood when she stated that she did not feel safe with many of her Republican colleagues who she claimed would not have hesitated to sell her out to the violent rioters. While she did not explicitly state as such, it was implied that there may even be a deeper level of complicity between certain members of Congress and the mob.
To cap-off this volatile time in American politics, the inauguration of Joe Biden is a grim reminder of the events that have transpired and the challenges that Biden and America must face in the very near future. As he takes his oath of office, Biden will be surrounded by rings of steel, barricades, military vehicles, checkpoints and several times the number of troops present in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. While an extreme necessity given the extenuating circumstances, no one can deny that Biden's inauguration is not exactly a bracing picture of 'peaceful' power transfer. Indeed, it is not a scene that most would expect from a nation with a democratic history as old as the US. Aside from a stripped-down and heavily militarised ceremony, this year's handover of presidential authority breaks the norms in a few other ways. For one, Donald Trump and even Mike Pence have confirmed that they will not be attending the inauguration. Never one to stand on tradition, Trump is part of a truly exclusive club of outgoing presidents who have not attended the inauguration of their successor. These three presidents, like Trump, were single-term presidents. Trump has instead elected to make one final speech enumerating his achievements and letting his followers know that their movement has "just begun". He also plans to head-out to Florida hours before Biden's inauguration. Before the Capitol riots, there had been some discussion in Trump's political circles of organising a political rally at the same time as the inauguration to announce a possible 2024 election bid for Trump and placate his many followers who still actively maintain that Joe Biden is not their president. Now, such revelry seems unlikely given that Trump is set to face new impeachment charges in a few short days that may see him permanently disbarred from holding any public office in the US. It isn't hard to see why Trump would not have stuck with tradition and invited the Biden's over for the traditional White House visit before inauguration or left a thoughtful handover letter for Joe Biden as a concerned predecessor. As sources report, Trump has found time for little else but his efforts to reverse the election in the last few months. Even as America is going through the worst wave of the pandemic that has been witnessed yet, reports emerged earlier that Trump had not attended a single Coronavirus taskforce meeting in several months. Instead, the President and his inner circle deliberated a list of pardons, some of these pardons even allegedly being sold by Trump's enterprising associates and aides.
Even as many in the Washinton power circles emphasise that Trump is leaving office in disgrace and ignominy, it is hard to say if it is the end of the Trump political brand. While the Capitol riots did seem to cool the enthusiasm of his closest Congress supporters, some like Lindsey Graham have now claimed that Donald Trump can and should continue leading the Republican Party in the future and has implied that the party risks destruction by turning on Trump at this point. Even if Trump himself is to be ignored or disbarred, even his children have expressed their intention of using the Trump name and brand of politics to run for public office in the near future.
Leaving aside the mixed legacy of Trump and the Republican Party, Biden and his team are expected to 'hit the ground running' with regards to his promise to begin reversing the ills of Trump's policies from day one itself. Biden is expected to sign no less than 17 executive orders and actions that will cover a wide array of issues such as starting the process of returning the US to the Paris Agreement, repealing and reworking Trump-era immigration laws, kick-starting vaccine production and delivery. All of these actions represent a move in the direction of fulfilling Biden's stated promises for the first 100 days of his administration. It is easy to see that the path ahead for Biden and America is not easy. Even leaving aside the monumental tasks that must be undertaken, Biden also faces a nation and Congress that is likely to remain divided even in this time of crisis. All the same, hope remains that America could prevail in its comeback.
