“CNN is now ready to project that former Vice-President Joseph R. Biden has won the Presidency.” I literally whooped and felt a visceral relief at the statement. The feeling that it was all going to be okay flowed through my body and I could relax for the first time in four years. I hadn’t realized the level of tension that I was carrying. Maybe it was all election anxiety, but the sense of calm that came over me was mixed with joy that the Republic persists.
The fact of the matter is that we are still a very deeply divided country. Essentially half the country feels the loss of their leader, and their view of the world, today. They are holding out hope against hope that the “fraud” of the Democrats will be exposed and their leader restored to power. Denial I believe, is the first step in grief. So I’ll let them have that for a few days.
I’m happy that we have taken a step in the direction of restoring class and dignity to the People’s House. It’s going to be a rocky 72 more days, as the President Trump has indicated he won’t concede, and in fact I expect him to throw up as many roadblocks and obstacles as possible to Mr. Biden’s transition. This anticipated behavior is not surprising to anyone that has been paying attention to the way that Mr. Trump has been wielding the office he holds. Petty grievances are a hallmark of his style, one need look no further than last month’s interview with Leslie Stahl of 60 Minutes for how sensitive and prickly the man is.
No one who has seen one episode of 60 Minutes would expect that Leslie Stahl would be anything but professional. Well, except for Mr. Trump, who demands obsequious deference from all, or you’re rude and thus easily dismissed as beneath him. Stahl committed the unforgivable sin of asking the President if he was ready for some “tough questions”, and he took offense, stating, “That’s no way to talk.” Really? It’s 60 Minutes, the long form investigative reporting news show. He didn’t want the ‘tough questions’ from Leslie Stahl on the issues of the day.
Sad.
Thankfully though, we are only 72 days away from a man who is fully ready and equipped to step into the office of the President and assume the mantle of leadership. Actually he’s already doing it. His team, including the Vice President Elect Kamala Harris, has hit the ground running and according to Politico has been preparing for some time. The Biden-Harris team has had a transition team in place already working to gather names and has begun the process of vetting individuals to step in to the many voids that Mr. Trump has left open since his assumption of the office.
Remember, the office of the President doesn’t come with a full staff. There are literally hundreds of positions to be filled, jobs to be assigned and goals to be defined. Mr. Trump didn’t understand that when he took over, and in fact ignored the good work done by his transition team leader former N.J. Governor Chris Christie.
I predict the Trump Presidency will go down in history as an aberration of the folly of Americans who became besotted by a reality star con man. In the movie the Usual Suspects, Kevin Casey has the famous line, “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist” in a perverse twist on it, I say, “the greatest trick Donald Trump ever pulled was convincing the world he did exist.”
I’m not sure what the future holds for Mr. Trump. It would not surprise me if the One America News Network begins promoting a new show, “MAGA Nation with host Former President Trump.” To premiere on January 21, 2020. Rumors are already floating that he is flirting with making another run for the 2024 election cycle that starts January 20, 2021.
What I do know is this: I’m very excited to see what Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris bring to the table, and my faith in America is that we can set aside our partisan differences and move into a greater future together.
David Pisarra is a Los Angeles Divorce and Child Custody Lawyer specializing in Father’s and Men’s Rights with the Santa Monica firm of Pisarra & Grist. He welcomes your questions and comments. He can be reached at dpisarra@pisarra.com or 310/664-9969. You can follow him on Twitter @davidpisarra
