“Democracy works only when losers recognize that they have lost,” writes political scientist Henry Farrell.
As some of you may be able to identify, I have relatives that are certain this election was “stolen.” They are waiting with baited breath to see what their Dear Leader will do next … and will undoubtedly vigorously applaud his every action.
WAIT. When asked about whether Joe Biden will receive access to intelligence briefings, Kayleigh McEnany says, “That would be a question more for the White House."
Kayleigh McEnany IS the WH Press Secretary, though she is appearing on FOX as a Trump 2020 adviser. pic.twitter.com/34gfs72fzE
On Wednesday morning’s edition of CNN’s New Day, Berman and Camerota noted that Trump has not appeared in public since major news outlets declared Biden the winner.
Berman, over a graphic that read “President Trump in Hiding After Election Defeat,” began by praising President-elect Biden’s handling of Trump’s refusal to concede.
“It really is notable how the president-elect has chosen to behave, how he chose to address this yesterday, because there is genuine concern, even alarm, among a lot of people about how the president is reacting, so his behavior is notable,” Berman said.
“The other thing that’s notable, and I just don’t think we can push this aside: Where has the president been?” Berman continued. “It’s been since Thursday that we’ve seen his face. So he is in some sort of hiding.”
“It ain’t real on the ground,” we had told a friend on Friday after the respected website Decision Desk HQ called the race, “until it hits the airwaves.”
Lordy.
The moment was operatic, out of The Godfather, the networks simultaneously settling all family business, the sheer finality of it all.
And a moment later, the videos started flooding in.
People were taking to the streets. Americans were taking their joy to the streets. Shouting. Cheering. Singing. Dancing. We haven’t just been on lockdown eight months, we’ve been locked down four years, and we were finally letting freedom ring.
And in that moment, Joe Biden became Mr. President-Elect.
The final image of Donald Trump’s tyrannical reign may be Four Seasons Total Landscaping, next door to Fantasy Island Adult Books, but the final moment will always be when Americans moved on, when, for all the power he would still hold for another ten weeks, our collective attention shifted to somebody else.
I remember watching when he was vice president swearing in the new senators, (yes I am nerdy enough to watch the swearing in ceremonies).
They would do an official swearing-in on the senate floor and then a ceremonial swearing-in where the family could get pictures with the vice president.
Every time the family came up he made a concerted effort to greet each one of them as if they were a long lost friend.
He was especially good with children and in particular with those he could sense were uncomfortable or nervous.
On one occasion he learned that there had been a recent death in the family and took several minutes to talk with the family and comfort them over their loss.
The video, which the Fox host Tucker Carlson warned viewers was “almost too disturbing to air,” was reportedly taped on Monday, during a video conference with the President-elect.
“If authentic, this video could be grounds for Biden’s impeachment,” Carlson said.
I’m sure most of my readers have heard about the Trump administration’s insanely stupid goof-up over scheduling an event at the “Four Seasons”. But this video will still put a smile on your face:
It turns out that much of the story of her past does not check out.
Records, if they still exist, have been difficult to locate.
Certainly Marta C. González Saldaña was a dancer.
The video is genuine. The power of music in her life remains apparent.
But she was a woman with a mysterious personal history.