17 Comments

Well said, and totally agree. (Although "Welcome home" was a bit much lol).

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Sorry, Biden gets exactly zero points for this, if he’s even aware of the gravity as you describe it. The Democrats have spent four years lying about his health, weakening norms and degrading constitutional strictures in their own right just as Trump did before them. Neither pursuit of nor protection from Trump is any kind of excuse.

He’s welcoming Trump today because of his feckless failure as president. He could have found the center, rejected radicalism and calmed the nation. Instead, he spent his time courting left wing nut jobs and stoking hysteria. How else should I take warning Americans about the “end of democracy” if the result of democracy didn’t go his way?

I’m no Trump fan. I think he became a traitor to this country on January 6 but he won an election and beat every rap the left desperately tried to lay on him and he did all of it constitutionally. He’s not arriving at the head of a conquering army. He here as a result of a democratic election.

Biden is doing his job. He isn’t instigating a riot because he lost or sulking in his bedroom like Michelle Obama? That’s a standard to be proud of? How far we have fallen….

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Agree, Jason, except I think if the DOJ had prosecuted Trump in a matter of fact but timely manner for January 6 and the documents case instead of stalling and bending over backwards not to appear “political” Jack Smith would have secured convictions on both cases and justice might have been accomplished. We will of course never know.

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Couldn’t agree more. I think he may have been impeached the second time had Pelosi not stonewalled Trump loyalists from the process. You’re supposed to face your accuser and not doing that for partisan reasons hardened opposition.

Sometimes I believe this was intentional because I think Democrats wanted a weakened Trump they could easily defeat vs a destroyed Trump and a fresh Republican challenger. It was a bad strategy and I think the left deserves this president as much as his own sycophants on the right. Those of us in the center are like Thomas More in a man for all seasons: reluctant opposition.

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Hmmm.. well, I think I’m with you but Trump was indeed impeached twice, just not convicted. As for Pelosi—she is widely considered a world class tactician, but she’s not infallible. That said, the lack of conviction for the second impeachment is on Mitch McConnell. He knew Trump was guilty as sin (he said as much) but thought Trump would be finished politically regardless and was worried the Republican brand would take a huge hit if their standard-bearer were convicted. He couldn’t have been more wrong of course and I believe he has never regretted his own lack of integrity more than on that occasion.

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I have to disagree with the overall premise of your piece, Matt. Sure, Biden is playing his part according to norms and traditions but the fact that Trump is returning to power—after his numerous infractions against our Constitution in violation of his oath, not to mention his prolific criminality—indicates that this is far from a healthy democracy.

It seems as if Biden is pretending this is business as usual because he wants to pretend that he did not egregiously miscalculate by attempting to remain in office after the midterms, and even for an additional month after his disastrous debate performance.

Biden wants to pretend that Trump is not a clear and present danger to our nation. But he is. And everything is not okay. If we are to have any hope of surviving his second term we cannot pretend it is.

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I think Biden attending Trump's inauguration and going out of his way to welcome him back into the White House in a friendly manner is less about "pretending this is business as usual" and more about setting aside his personal qualms with Trump and observing a specific presidential norm that he thinks is important for the ongoing viability of our liberal democracy. I'm of course referring to the peaceful transfer of power. As I'm sure you know, prior to Trump, it was standard for an outgoing president to welcome the incoming president, regardless of party. The likeliest explanation is that Biden wants to observe that norm as it has historically mattered a great deal and is critical to the prospects of American democracy moving forward.

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I go back and forth on this. John Adams didn’t attend Jefferson’s inauguration. Nor did Andrew Johnson, Martin Van Buren, John Quincy Adams attend their successors’. And of course, nor did Donald Trump.

Last summer, Jonathan Last noted that any institution that does not explicitly oppose Donald Trump is inevitably deformed into helping him. I fear this is another instance of that.

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Not attending the inauguration would not prevent the peaceful transfer of power and would have removed some of the stench of hypocrisy that was wafting like tear gas around the event yesterday.

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Im struggling to make sense of all the pardons. If there was no wrongdoing, shouldn’t need so many pardons!?!?

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That's because preemptive pardons are nonsensical. I assume (if Pam Bondi's DOJ actually find evidence of criminal wrongdoing (which I think unlikely) then they will challenge the constitutionality and eventually the Supreme Court will unanimously rule them to be unconstitutional.

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The historical but horrible development in the USA shows that the terms and values as democracy are still a part of process since there are many disagreements about their meaning and practice

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"Just wait for the next election" is not helpful advice against a man whose primary crimes have been against democracy.

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This article is full of lies

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Heartily agree we should not abandon norms because others have. A favourite quote from "A Man for All Seasons": "And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat?"

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Still waiting for our balls to drop, are we?

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The best thing Biden has done is attend an inauguration. I agree.

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