President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took their oaths of office before noon in Washington Wednesday. Because of a virus that has so far killed more than 400,000 Americans, and because of a violent mob that threatened to overturn Biden's Electoral College victory at the suggestion of the previous President, the inauguration at the U.S. Capitol was witnessed only by an invited and socially distanced live audience, several thousand National Guard troops watching for a palace coup, and a worldwide TV and online audience.
Donald Trump chose to spend the remaining hours of his presidency granting pardons and clemencies to such luminaries as Steve Bannon and rapper Lil Wayne, but not for himself or his family. He left the White House early Wednesday morning, ditching the inauguration for Mar-a-Lago in Florida as he flew in Air Force One for the last time while being serenaded by a recording of Frank Sinatra's "My Way". All the while insisting that he really won the election.
A week after the insurrection, Trump was impeached for the second time in American history by the House on a 232-197 vote. The Senate has delayed his trial until Biden gets his feet wet in the White House. Despite a Democratic majority, about all the Senate can do to convict Trump (now that he is no longer President) is to make sure he never runs for office again.
The confrontation at the Capitol, which left five people dead and American democracy in peril, was the last straw for those who once associated with Trump. He had been kicked off his beloved social media accounts. Corporations are taking a hard look at their campaign contributions to Republicans, cutting off those who sided with the insurrection and voted against Trump's impeachment. Fox News Channel is losing its conservative TV viewers to upstarts like Newsmax and One America News. Worst of all (for Trump, that is), the 2022 PGA Championship has been pulled from his New Jersey golf course.
In the first year or so of the Biden administration, the new President faces a major task in undoing the many policy reversals of the previous President. Going back to the Paris climate accords, easing the travel ban on certain foreigners, and taking the ongoing threat of coronavirus much more seriously are a good start. But the long shadow of Trump and Trumpism in Washington and elsewhere will make it much more difficult to get Biden's agenda across, and to achieve the unity he says he wants. Let's see if he and Vice President Harris can overcome the shadow.
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