There is no way to sugar coat it, the day Trump leaves office, Americas leadership will have its work cut out for it. Democrats will have to refine and polish their image in a post Trump era that focused on his mistakes and content with the coronavirus and the economic crisis borne from it. Not only that, we will have to deal with the lingering Trump supporters whom Trump will inevitably stir up and use to fold over into his next venture. A defeated Republican party could stir up trouble with an emboldened media, record number of supporters and capitalizing on any mistake Democrats make.
The Close Call:
This election should never have been close, and things did not go according to plan for Democrats. The facts remain that Trump has added millions of votes to his 2016 total. Trump would now be on his way to a second term if not for just 11 to 70 thousand votes in each of a handful of states even though Biden has 5 million more popular votes. . This is to say nothing of the Democrats’ catastrophic performance down-ballot, which saw several GOP Senate incumbents swat down cash-soaked challengers .
Trumps Legacy
Like it or not, Trump has engineered a shift in the American political landscape. Trump brought a cavalier style of governing where loyalty was king and name-calling was a central part of his administrations focus. His style created new levels of suspicion and anger against opposing parties that was eaten up by the media and this will be difficult for the new administration to overcome. The new Republican party whether it exists inside or outside the White House, will be grievance fueled.
In summary, Biden is having to deal with a lame-duck President on the world’s biggest platform, an even larger ego, and millions of supporters who took his rhetoric to heart about election “rigging” and how Democrats are evil nasty people. A lot depends on Trump’s rhetoric in the days and weeks to come. Hopefully he can ease the transition for the benefit of America.
The Agenda:
Democrats will be united around an agenda that includes problems new and old. Some borne from the current pandemic and others decades old:
- Climate change;
- The coronavirus;
- Economic relief to states, cities, and individuals,
- Large-scale infrastructure investment;
- Medicare-type public option for health insurance;
- and much more.
Hopefully, the demands generated by the pandemic will bring us together. The Supreme Court may even come into play in the liberal progression if the United they declare the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional.
Day One:
Covid 19
Days after becoming president-elect, Biden announced a team of advisers that will spearhead his pandemic response once he takes office. The task force will be led by Dr. David Kessler, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner; former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy; and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at Yale School of Medicine.
Economy
Biden has pledged that on his first day as president he will raise corporate income taxes to 28% — compared with the current 21% rate set by the GOP-led tax cuts of 2017. Also, this promise falls under Biden’s larger proposed tax plan, which stresses that Americans making less than $400,000 would not pay more in taxes.
Climate Change
Biden heads into office planning to reenter the U.S. immediately into the landmark Paris climate accord of 2015. Trump’s move to pull the U.S. out of the agreement became official this month after a mandatory one-year waiting period that started when the president formally notified the United Nations.
Foreign Policy
Job one will be to repair alliances and plan a global Summit for Democracy. Biden has said he intends to “pick up the pieces of Donald Trump’s broken foreign policy,” vowing to reach out to U.S. allies soon after taking office. Within his first year, Biden wants to plan an international summit where democratic leaders will discuss ways to push back against corruption and authoritarian practices as well as expand human rights.
Rein In The Far Left
Democratics got too friendly with “far left” principles and alienated conservatives. This sentiment was echoed in a strategy call for high-ranking Democrats, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Wednesday, as Politico reported: “The message, Pelosi and others agreed, was clear: If they didn’t rein in the far left, their fragile majority would be doomed in the next election.” If Democrats don’t want to lose seats in Congress in two years, Democrats will have to step back and re-evaluate their position with far left principles.
What Will Happen To Our Alliances?
Biden is a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and so he would likely devote great attention to restoring our trade and security alliances. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently said the congressional agenda for 2021 would include a major infrastructure bill and an expansion of health care. Liberals will be pushing for fast action on many social issues like police reform and immigration, and of course the hot button topic as of late, climate change.
“He’s still going to be the leader of the party and the biggest voice, and he’ll at least flirt with the idea of running again. It’s going to continue to be a populist, grievance-fueled party.”
If we have gained anything from the Trump Presidency and the pandemic, it is that many of us are now much more interested in politics. The Trump presidency will soon be over. For better and for worse, politics are here to stay.
