 | By Jyoti Thottam Deputy Op-Ed Editor |
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Do you remember the blue box? During President Trump’s inauguration, he and the first lady arrived at the White House for photos and chitchat with their predecessors. The image that stays with me from that moment was the box in Tiffany’s signature blue — a gift that Melania Trump handed to Michelle Obama. At the time, it was all a little mysterious. What was in it? Was this a tradition? A peace offering? Or something else? |
It turned out to be nothing more remarkable than a picture frame, but the episode was a reminder that the transition period between presidential terms — the weeks between Election Day and Inauguration Day — is not well defined. Americans have come to expect that each outgoing president will graciously hand over the office to the next, perhaps leaving behind some words of wisdom in a handwritten letter. But in the end, this element of the presidency, like so many others, is shaped by the character of the person who holds the office. |
President Trump may leave office without so much as a concession speech. If this transition is as tumultuous and chaotic as his presidency, the next several weeks will be intense and confusing. In other words, it is a time when I will be reading experienced political writers like Kevin Baker even more closely. |
In his essay for Times Opinion this morning, Kevin writes about the profound challenges facing a new president whose coalition “seemed to fracture before it ever took power.” President-elect Joe Biden “finds himself at the front of a Democratic Party that is at best a long shot to retake the U.S. Senate, that saw its majority in the House much diminished, and suffered yet another in what has now become a long string of state and local election losses. This will greatly limit his options.” |
That is just the first of many Gordian knots awaiting Biden. Also this morning, Jack Goldsmith writes about a possible wave of self-serving presidential pardons. |
I encourage you to read their sharp analysis to help make sense of whatever comes next. |
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