There has been a bit of debate about whether President Joe Biden should attend the inauguration of Donald Trump on Jan. 20. Even though Trump stiffed Biden’s inauguration in 2020, the president would be wise to honor protocol and tradition and make a pro-forma appearance at Trump’s coronation.
Presidents, above all other people, must set the standards for our society. They need to honor the laws and regulations of the land and to follow historic protocols that keep our country united – most importantly united in legitimatizing elections and the necessity of peaceful transfers of power.
As an example, Trump refused to honor the legitimacy of his defeat in 2020. He challenged his loss in multiple courts, in demands for recounts and in precipitating an attack on the U.S. capitol to prevent certification of the election outcome.
Hedging his bets, he was making noises about the possibility of a “rigged” election in the key swing state of Pennsylvania in the months leading up to the Nov. 5 election. Guess what? Trump won in Pennsylvania and nationally, and all bogus accusations of “rigged” disappeared.
In short, Trump abides by our laws, regulations and protocols when they work in his favor; he disrespects them when they work to his personal disadvantage.
So, outgoing President Biden should be the standard-bearer of respect for our nation’s precedents. Trump played hooky like a little kid in 2020 by skipping out to Mar-a-Lago. In complete contrast, Biden should stand tall at Trump’s inauguration in Washington D.C. four years later. He can then depart with dignity, in the full knowledge that he put the country back on track after a godawful pandemic and resulting economic freefall.
Let’s put the MAGA charges of “rigging” in another dimension. More than 150 million Americans went to the polls Nov. 5, a huge turnout.
Do you think they would have cast their ballots if they thought the election were anything but secure and accurate? They, in effect, issued a verdict to election deniers forevermore. With some small exceptions, as proven in court decisions and recounts, American elections are remarkably safe.
Trump’s disrespect for the founding fathers, the American constitution they drafted and the separation of powers they created is showing up yet again as he attempts to end run the confirmation process in the U.S. Senate. He is pressuring GOP senators to throw out the “advise and consent” constitutional responsibility of that body. He knows that some of his quack nominees wouldn’t survive the confirmation process. So, again, he shows disrespect of the laws and protocols that make America great.
I wasn’t going to write quickly in the aftermath of Trump’s victory, even though I opposed him publicly and completely. I wanted to give him a chance to pull the country together as he articulated while campaigning. It was BS.
As with our laws, regulations and protocols, his words on the campaign trail don’t carry much weight in how he actually operates. His appointments of loyalists, however inexperienced, will play well to his base, including his lackeys in Congress like Sen. Ron Johnson, a fellow conspiracy theorist, and Rep. Scott Fitzgerald and Glenn Grothman. His unqualified appointments will further divide the country. So his disrespect for any semblance of unity demands comment.
He has no mandate for his divisive actions. The election was very close in many states, including a thin win in Wisconsin.
You would think he would want to cast a wider net beyond his MAGA base and improve his approval ratings. Per Gallup, he never topped 50% approval rating in his four years in office and dropped as low as 35% in 2018. We all know that a big percentage of that low percentage hates his guts, but some percentage would welcome a unifying Trump approach. That’s not going to happen; he is divisive to his core. For him, it’s “them:” versus me.
The biggest fear about Trump is that he will overreach and trash the sinew that holds our body politic together. He is already overreaching.
