The last days of the Trump presidency inspire countdown hour by hour

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Were there hourly countdowns to the end of the Bush presidency? The end of the Obama years? No, definitely not to that extent. Trump’s tenure in office ends in an ignoble way. There are countdowns to noon on Wednesday because Trump is leaving with misfortune: the first president to do so since Richard Nixon. Trump “has long since ceased to rule, but is leaving with a sealed reputation now: that of one of the worst presidents in U.S. history and arguably the most dangerous,” said David Gergen on CNN Sunday evening.

Even right now, Trump is delirious about his election loss, or is still in deep denial or some combination of these. He’s “quiet, and I think it’s important to say, according to the people I’ve talked to, still telling people he won,” Maggie Haberman told Reliable Sources on Sunday morning. “You know, he still holds it. So the idea that he’s accepted the loss isn’t there yet, if he’ll ever get there.”

Trump’s inability to face the truth of his loss to Biden could explain why he has barely confronted reporters in the final weeks of his presidency. Even more notable, he rarely called on his favorite TV shows. Aside from a couple of talks with Maria Bartiromo and Brian Kilmeade and some videos produced by WH, it has been invisible.

“I think the feeling is that if he comes out and talks more, he’s just going to add fuel to the fire,” Haberman said. “That’s why we don’t listen to him, because people are afraid of what he will say (the people he means to his advisers), of what he will say at the time of an interview.”

A farewell address?

American presidents often make a thoughtful farewell address to the nation. Will Trump do that? We know he wants Wednesday on TV, but it’s unclear if he wants to talk about his legacy. CBS News reports that he will speak “in a farewell act on the asphalt of Joint Base Andrews.” It is also unclear how television networks would handle this speech, given their past deceptions and incitements.

>> I don’t ask these questions because I “want” to hear Trump, by himself. I raise the Qs because what leaders don’t say is often more revealing than what they say. Trump is rejecting rules until the last minute of his presidency, leaving the city before Biden takes the oath …

Filling pence as price?

Vice President Mike Pence has been attending briefings and organizing events, trying to project American leadership since Trump can’t. Speaking to California sailors on Saturday, Pence said he was proud that “this is the first administration in decades that hasn’t made America go into a new war.” I appreciate what you meant about foreign messes, but America is not at peace. The war has come home. Here is my “reliable” monologue.

Pence, who, in a high-profile Trump-era story, would have become president if Trump had been convicted by the Senate or deemed inappropriate by the cabinet, landed on Sunday night after his last official visit to office. For the press base, he left Air Force Two and “stopped for a minute to look around and take it all in.” As he descended the stairs, the pool reporter shouted questions, “Sir, are you worried about the violence on Wednesday?” And: “Will you greet the president-elect at the White House on Wednesday?” Pence did not answer.

Soon: a “slow news day?”

Haberman told me that one of the constants of the Trump era was the “constant sense of entry,” a sense driven largely by his Twitter channel.
His Twitter channel no longer exists, but that sense of encouragement and coverage has not yet completely faded. In a few days years of history pass. “We thought that with 2020 behind us, things could slow down,” but so much for that, USA Today editor Nicole Carroll said on Sunday’s program.
John Dickerson presented this in a piece for “CBS Sunday Morning.” He said “the new Biden administration can benefit simply by providing a steady stream of useful information, potentially reviving the forgotten ‘slow news day'”.

He interviewed Jill Lepore, who said, “In fact, you just have to introduce yourself, have real information, bring in people who are doing the work, and answer questions that the press and the public have.” It seems simple and refreshing …

Remember how the presidents spoke?

With Biden about to take over, it’s a good day to read or reread the inaugural speeches and other compelling addresses from previous presidents. I re-read John F. Kennedy’s 1961 speech to newspaper editors, which contains much wisdom about democracy, national security, and the power of the press. Kennedy spoke of “our obligation,” both of his own and of the media, “to inform and alert the American people, to make sure they possess all the facts they need, and to understand them as well – the dangers , the perspectives, the purposes of our program and the options we have. “Read or listen to the speech here …

FOR THE RECORD

– On Sunday night, the NYT front page led the American Covid-19 failure, noting that “the country is reaching 400,000 deaths in total …” (NYT)

– We must all remember that Trump said that between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths in total would be a “very good job.” The death toll will exceed 400,000 by leaving the WH …

– In “Face the Nation”, the new director of CDC, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said that “we expect half a million deaths in this country” in mid-February … (CBS)

– Walensky was part of a coordinated push by the Biden transition team to have representatives on the five most important programs on Sunday morning …

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