Biden walking in looking like he’s being marched to the electric chair, while Trump walks in scowling like he’s ready to pull the switch. The famous line of George Washington leaving and John Adams entering (” I am fairly out and you fairly in! see which of Us will be happiest”) was merely Adams writing his impression of Washington’s facial expression in a letter to his wife, who could not be there. This is a very different mood.
Sure, Jim. But there’s a 25 percent chance that Joe Biden thinks he’s being sworn in again.
Well, Joe Biden made it. If he can hang on for the next twenty-one minutes, he will have served a full term.
As loathsome as the outgoing administration has been, I still feel a lot of emotional estrangement from Trump and Vance. Which is maybe a healthy place to be as a columnist, but it’s still a difficult place to be as someone who cares deeply about politics and policy. Even for all of that, an inauguration of a new administration really is a great American pageant, and it will be good for us to get back to the habit of just accepting the legitimacy of the transfer of power, which has been so degraded over the past 25 years.
Good news: CBS found a “woman of color.” It’s Pocahontas, who is depicted in the Rotunda.
CBS News is analyzing the audience for women and “people of color” — a subject its hosts describe as “fascinating” — which would suggest that the “vibe shift” has not yet reached that station.
This will probably be the last time most of us will hear “Dr. Jill Biden” introduced until, frankly, the next state funeral.
Doctor Jill!
I’m sure Trump will enjoy the symbolism of being sworn in before a painting of Washington accepting the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. The world turned upside down, again.
No reason was given for former first lady Michelle Obama’s absence from the inauguration. And it’s a free country; if Mrs. Obama doesn’t want to attend, she doesn’t have to do so.
But if Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris can stand to attend and watch Donald Trump take the oath of office, it doesn’t seem like it should be so unbearable for Michelle Obama.