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The easiest (and most accurate) point to make about Donald Trump and Joe Biden is that their presidencies will be no more alike than the men themselves.
Which is to say, as we transition from chaos to stability, all of the presumed differences we have long anticipated are going to quickly be both obvious and/but a shock to the system.
It has been said that when the American people turn from an incumbent president to a successor, the voters choose someone whose essence is the very opposite of what came before.
Compiling a list of what Trump and Biden have in common (don’t drink alcohol; somewhat consumed by Penn; semi-secretly insecure about their academic records; instinctively think of the police as the good side in almost any situation; don’t quite get Barack Obama; can lack self-awareness when they talk in public; think Sinatra is the bee’s knees; hair obsessives who have spent more time this past year and over the past 50 years on grooming than any other 70-somethings you know; prone to miscalculate over China; even if they did imbibe spirits, neither interested in having a drink with Mitch McConnell) only serves to put in sharper relief the stark differences between these two presidential cats (oh, and they now both think that Kevin McCarthy is a…different word for “cat”).
For those looking for a metaphor for the metaphor, step right up and embrace Goofus and Gallant, the stars of the old children's comic strip that appeared in Highlights, an old-timey magazine for kids.
Per my sources (a/k/a the folks who write Wikipedia):
The comic contrasts the actions of the eponymous characters, presenting Gallant's actions as right and good and Goofus's as wrong and bad…
Throughout its history Goofus and Gallant has been interpreted as an effective didactic comic. It has been used in several studies as a stimulus to prompt children to identify kind and unkind actions, and the characters of Goofus and Gallant, as archetypes of badness and goodness, have been referenced in several works by philosophers.
Every Wide World of News reader can decide for herself whether Donald Trump is Goofus or Gallant, and the same with Joe Biden.
The point is: Trump and Biden could not be more different and we are all about to feel the full force of that reality.
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Trump is for breaking DC traditions; Biden accepts DC traditions.
Trump started his administration purging all elements of Barack Obama; Biden is effectively presiding over Obama’s third term.
Trump thinks he had nothing to do with the invasion of the Capitol; Biden agrees with the reporting in this essential reading Associated Press investigative story tying Team Trump to the planning of the rally and with this eye-popping quote from former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker:
“There’s no way the president didn’t know what was going on at the U.S. Capitol.”
Trump stews over not having top Hollywood talent at his inauguration (the Washington Post says he is “ particularly upset that Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Tom Hanks and other stars agreed to perform as part of Biden’s inaugural celebrations”); Biden is turning away A level talent because he has the A+ers.
(By the way, if you like Melania dish, that Washington Post story is chock full of it, including some reported assertions about the first lady’s attitude towards contesting the election, the rally, and the riot.)
Trump has spent weeks thinking about to whom to deliver last-minute pardons (this news cycle’s consensus, as embodied in the essential reading New York Times story, is that there will be no clemencies for Rudy, the Trump kids, Steve Bannon, other direct Trump associates, or the president himself…unless there are); Biden has not spent four seconds pondering any of this.
Trump began his administration with a singular effort to tighten immigration restrictions and emphasize border security with Mexico; Biden is beginning his administration with a proposal for an eight-year pathway to citizenship for people who came to the United States illegally (a move that will test just how much America has changed – or not – in four years).
Trump has a secretary of state who is derided by the Dominant Media and the Gang of 500 (Read this wowza Washington Post profile/journalistic assassination of Mike Pompeo for a fine illustration of the point); Biden will have a secretary of state who is a charter member of the Gang of 500 (this Wall Street Journal love letter to/profile of Tony Blinken, in which, among other things, he is compared to James Baker, is quite something).
(Note that Blinken, Janet Yellen, and a handful of other senior cabinet nominees are having Senate confirmation hearings on Tuesday.)
Trump had no use for former presidents; Biden plans to rely on them extensively (except for one of them).
Trump thinks Sunday mornings are for Twitter (at least he used to…) and Maria Bartiromo; Biden thinks they are for church.
Trump thinks the Democratic governors are the source of all evil in America today; Biden plans to rely on them heavily to deal with the pandemic and a whole lot more.
Trump focused his early days in office and throughout his term on loosening energy regulations; Biden is starting things out nixing the Keystone XL pipeline project.
Trump thinks a Senate impeachment trial is evil; Biden thinks it is a necessary evil.
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Monday’s Wide World of News wrongly rendered the name of the Wall Street Journal’s Gerard Baker, an error truly regretted, in part because it is likely the first time that error has ever been made.
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Have Mark Halperin (that’s me…) speak to your group, company, or meeting.
Topics: politics, the new Biden administration, the media, the Presumption of Grace, or whatever you wish.
"Mark Halperin was the featured guest for our political club's recent pre-election virtual program and he knocked it out of the park. He was a well-prepared presenter and kept our online audience engaged from start to finish. His ability to translate his astute observations and lifetime of political knowledge into easily digestible talking points for our members seemed effortless. The feedback we have received since then has been overwhelmingly positive and I'm confident we will have him back to present again soon. I give Mark my highest recommendation as a speaker for any club or organization that wants a straightforward and seasoned political commentator."
-- Jay Revell, Capital Tiger Bay Club, Tallahassee, Florida
Send an email to markhalperintalk@gmail.com to set up an event.