America Has Two Presidents
Our transitions are too long.
As regulars are well aware, I did not vote for Donald Trump to be President. Indeed, I’m 0 for three on that score, having voted for his Democratic opponent in 2016, 2020, and 2024 despite having voted Republican in all eight previous presidential elections for which I was eligible. Nonetheless, I have expressed my frustration multiple times since the election that President Biden, whose administration was soundly defeated* in the election, has used the lame duck period to “Trump proof” the government, rushing to carry out policies that the voters just rejected** and endeavoring to make it harder for the victor to carry out the policies he was elected to enact.
This, however, goes both ways. We only have one President at a time and Trump is currently interfering with the affairs of state in ways I find quite problematic. While I find it unseemly, I don’t much mind that foreign heads of state are flocking to Mar a Lago to kiss the ring; the leader of the free world needs to be able to hit the ground running and establishing relationships and setting expectations during the transition enables all concerned to plan for the future. But, to take the latest example, intervening at the 11th hour to scuttle a budget deal that would have kept the government running during the holidays is not something a President-Elect should be doing.
Ultimately, while I believe both Biden and Trump are violating longstanding norms, the problem is the absurdly long transition period between administrations. Trump was elected on November 5—over six weeks ago. He won’t be sworn into office until a month from tomorrow—a day short of 11 weeks after the election. (And, yes, I’m fully aware that the inauguration was in March until the passage of the 20th Amendment in 1933.)
By comparison, our cousins across the Pond manage to get a new PM clapped into 10 Downing in as little as two days after an election. France, which also has a presidential system (although a very different one) executes the transition in less than a week.
Certainly, it would take some planning to make our transitions faster. It would, for example, require candidates to announce their intended nominees for major cabinet posts ahead of time so that they could be vetted and confirmed quickly. But the current system is not only wildly undemocratic but creates truly perverse incentives.
*I’m aware that, as laggard states slowly counted their votes, the margins shrank considerably from what they appeared to be on Election Night. Trump appears to have won slightly less than a majority of the vote. Nonetheless, he swept all seven of the “swing states” that both candidates spent most of their resources on and made gains over his 2020 totals in virtually every county in the country.
**Parsing voter intentions when there is a binary choice is, to be sure, complicated. I voted for the Democratic nominee in the last three elections despite having significant policy disagreements with each of them; presumably, a lot of folks who voted for Trump disagreed with him on some issues. Regardless, he made his stance on immigration, Ukraine, and several other issues rather clear for a very long time.
********************@
He’s screwing around with the budget deal to create chaos, so he can (presumably) come into office and “fix things.” This is the objective.
Okay, so the transition is long. What is the right amount of time? It does take a while to get everything in order, and I’m not sure that the UK or France, each with populations of around ~68 million (and much smaller geographical areas), are really a 1:1 comparison.
Americans voted FOR this sh!tshow. They are welcome to touch the hot stove as much as they need to, I am struggling to care–I am simply too tired.
Trump has been acting as a shadow government for 4 years, calling shots in the Republican congress (Border legislation?). I am apprehensive about the actual impact, but interested if a Christmas government shutdown sticks to him. It seems like something that could truly cause buyer’s remorse.
After each election, the winning party declares they have an overwhelming mandate for change. This is, of course, just puffery. All the maneuvering is just jockeying for position. In the domestic arena, I can’t care. It is in foreign relations that I see the greatest danger. It is just internationalizing our internal differences and that is bad for our position in the world.
@Jen:
I’m not sure why a larger population would matter. But India, which has close to four times our population, manages to transition in about two weeks. Granted, it’s a Westminster-style parliamentary system but it’s the only democracy with a larger population than ours.
Well, no. Yes, they voted for Trump. But the long transition means they get Trump and Biden fighting for control of the steering wheel. It’s just bad all around.
@Scott:
Agreed. Most obviously, t’s highly problematic that Biden is aggressively pushing the envelope on Ukraine, taking risks he was not willing to take with an election in the balance, before handing it over to Trump. I vastly prefer Biden’s sensibilities on Ukraine-Russia to Trump’s. But, to the extent the election was a referendum on Biden administration policies, Trump should be the one calling the shots.
The felon may have won the election. He will no doubt get the title, the oval office, and the SS detail. But to call him a “president” is equivalent to dressing up a gorilla* in a tuxedo, placing him in an ornate dining room, and calling him a gentleman.
*My apologies to all gorillas.
DNC should set up a shadow administration and spend the next four years second guessing everything Trump does, issuing orders to congress and such, talking about how everything would be better if they were in charge, etc.
Really was just a proxy for noting that the US is bigger, and with size comes complexity. India is much larger, but as noted a parliamentary system isn’t really the same–it’s less reliant on the mood/whims/priorities of a single head of government. It really is hard to make an apples: apples comparison between the US and other countries.
Correction: We have three current presidents.
One lame duck, one newly elected, and one unelected oligarch who owns the newly elected one.
In just reading the headline, I thought the second president being referred to was Elon Musk, especially given that he appears to have pushed Trump into endorsing a government shutdown. That said, the transition is too long, the campaign is too long, and the “advice and consent” period is too long (Garland wasn’t approved until March, 2021). But who’s going to fix any of those things? Norm-buster Trump is already working on shortening – if not removing – the transition.
@Chip Daniels: Josh Marshall agrees with you. From a recent blog post (can’t find the gift link so quoting in its entirety):
It is not just Trump, Elon Musk has been putting his oar in too.
Stock markets were off 3% yesterday, which analysts are blaming the Fed for, but I dunno – maybe government disfunction might be a factor too.
ETA: Markets have bounced back a bit on the opening this morning.
Noting that I have long thought the transition period is too long and that I do not like lame-duck governance, I will say that Biden is not abusing norms–it is not unusual for presidents and Congresses to act during this period. They are still the constitutional government of the US.
Trump is the one who is violating norms.
And I would say that you are being a tad stubborn about “soundly” 😉 (If anything, because the margin of victory really isn’t relevant for questions about lame-duck governance or transition length).
@Chip Daniels: You beat me to it. When I saw the heading of this thread my first thought was that James was referring to Musk.
I expect Trump to come to resent the pressure to accommodate Musk’s whims, more drama.
@Steven L. Taylor:
Not only is he and Congress not violating norms, but the reason this deadline is in December is because the Republicans refused Democrats efforts to extend it into the new year, presumably with Trump’s input. This is 100% on Republican shoulders.
Off topic – James, no open forum today?
@MarkedMan: My fault (and James likely didn’t notice). It’s up now.
@MarkedMan: An excellent point.
@a country lawyer: I meant to mention above that I had the same thought until I saw the photo.
After the recent Continuing Budget deal was torpedoed by Musk, it kind of looks like we have two presidents, Joe Biden and Elon Musk .
Isn’t it amazing just how quickly JD Vance became irrelevant? Vance is now looking to be Assistant to Vice President Trump
@Chip Daniels: I agree that Musk seems to be wielding an inordinate influence over Trump, which perhaps isn’t surprising since many credit Musk’s massive investment in fixing the GOTV apparatus for Trump’s win. But Presidents are allowed to take advice from whomever they wish; at the end of the day, it’s Trump’s call.
@Kathy: This is getting beyond tiresome.
@Steven L. Taylor: My objection isn’t to Biden governing during this period—there’s really not much choice in that regard—but in his working to implement policies that were just defeated at the ballot box. While I concede some stubbornness in maintaining that this was a sound victory, given that the entire focus of our campaigns is on the “swing states,” I would credit anyone who swept them with a sound victory. Combined with Biden’s stunning unpopularity, it’s hard to see the results as other than a rebuke of the Biden administration. (And I concede that’s there’s a global anti-incumbent mood.)
@MarkedMan: What sparked the post was a president-in-waiting derailing the federal budget.
The big emerging issue for Trump is to make the Debt Limit increase happen on Biden’s watch. So Trump is trying to make the Republican House vote for a 2-4 year debt limit increase. We all know how massively the debt increased under Trump and that this was laid on Democrats as their fault. This is the same playbook. Hopefully Democrats have learned their lesson on how slippery Trump is in accepting responsibility for his actions and act accordingly.
@Jen:
I’m not sure why a larger population would matter. But India, which has close to four times our population, manages to transition in about two weeks. Granted, it’s a Westminster-style parliamentary system but it’s the only democracy with a larger population than ours.
Well, no. Yes, they voted for Trump. But the long transition means they get Trump and Biden fighting for control of the steering wheel. It’s just bad all around.
@Scott:
Agreed. Most obviously, t’s highly problematic that Biden is aggressively pushing the envelope on Ukraine, taking risks he was not willing to take with an election in the balance, before handing it over to Trump. I vastly prefer Biden’s sensibilities on Ukraine-Russia to Trump’s. But, to the extent the election was a referendum on Biden administration policies, Trump should be the one calling the shots.
The shadow government that has been making the decisions behind Biden could always show itself and challenge the world seeing Trump as the president. Oh, they can’t lest Democrats be judged by the voters.
This wouldn’t have happened if Biden was seen as being in charge. But he hasn’t been for more than a year as the world started to burn. Democrats can try to loot the treasury, but come Jan 20, 2025, the future is Trump’s to define. Everyone is looking to him for leadership, to fill the void.
@JKB:
Medication is your friend, dude. The doctor explained all that to you in the office, and the pharmacist told you the same thing. If you’re imagining non-existent people running the country, remember that those strange voices in your head aren’t real and you should ignore them.
I don’t think this is a case of America having two Presidents, rather, it reflects Trump’s influence with parts of the GoP, especially in the current House.
I’d point back to the deal about a year ago, which was brokered by Senate Republicans, to trade Ukraine funding for some immigration reform with Democrats. Trump scuttled that through his influence, not any institutional power or authority, which is exactly what he did in this instance.
The fundamental problem isn’t, therefore, a long transition period or any special authority in being President-elect – the problem is that a decisive number of elected Republicans in the House and Senate will do whatever Trump wants whether he’s President-elect or, in the earlier case, merely a candidate.
That’s a distinction with a difference. Parliamentary systems allow for shadow governments that result in quicker and smoother transitions. There’s really no comparable country that has our Presidential system with all the power, hugeness, and complexity that the Executive holds. A Presidential transition is much more complicated than in India and most other governments.
@MarkedMan:
If it were just the two of them, I would say have at!
@James Joyner:
Well, no.
One, Biden is still the president right now; unelected foreign-born oligarch Musk doesn’t take the office till next month. If “But Presidents are allowed to take advice from whomever they wish; at the end of the day, it’s Trump’s call” applies then “But Biden is constitutionally and legally the president till Jan 20; at the end of the day, it’s Biden call” also applies.
Two, there’s not any particular evidence the election was a referendum on Biden’s Ukraine policy, or that the election was a referendum on anything but Democrats being the incumbent party during an anti-incumbent global shift.
Now if Biden were issuing edicts raising the price of eggs to $5.99/dozen, then one might plausibly argue Biden is acting contrary to voters’ wishes. Even then, the complaint would be moot, since Biden has authority to (try to) pursue whatever policies he wishes for the next month.
@Not the IT Dept.:
Tell it to the Wall Street Journal
Did God choose an adulterous man to rule his nation?
@JKB: Exactly. No previous administration has allowed a power vacuum to exist. Biden’s not doing a farewell tour or participating in the budget negotiations. He’s already issued pardons. There’s no one who’s taken over as the face of the administration and what has he done in the past two years anyway?
@charontwo:
I wonder when it will occur to Trump that increasing numbers of people view him as Musk’s personal puppet/ventriloquist’s dummy. I recall what happened when Trump realized Steve Bannon was widely regarded as his controller.
@Fortune:
This:
Biden has been doing his job, without drama and fanfare. And, notably, without whining about the ageist and ableist hatred he’s faced.
My grandparents would’ve appreciated that kind of stoic competence, but they came from a cohort that make sacrifices to stare down the Great Depression, Hitler, and Jim Crow; you’d never have caught Granny, Nana, Pop, or my Grandfather Henry crying about having to wear a mask in a store.
Modern Americans — particularly we boys and men — have grown so silly, weak, and childish we now lionize gluttonous, insecure, grandstanding beta males and loudmouth trolls like Musk and Trump.
I blame the internet. Where have all the cowboys gone?
@James Joyner:
For crying out loud, we’ve had the long transition for the entire history of the country, and therefore for the entire modern age of rapid communications. Every president in waiting until now has behaved appropriately. The problem isn’t the lengthy transition, the problem is Trump and the weak Republicans in Congress.
A number one recipe for failure in running anything is trying to fix a management problem by changing the process. The process may not be optimal, but it isn’t the cause of the government shutdown. That rests on Trump and the Republicans in Congress.
@MarkedMan: HaHa! Trump is taking over the current administration because of the weak Republicans in Congress, not the weak Democrats in the White House?
He made his attitudes clear. His policies? His stated policy on immigration is mass deportation, which is infeasible. His stated policy on Ukraine is that he’ll end the war, somehow. The press has anecdotes about dreamers who might be deport and farmers who’ll lose all their workers. Followed by Trump voters saying they don’t think Trump will deport the good immigrants. You don’t know what Trump will do, I don’t know, the voters didn’t know. How could we when Trump doesn’t know? Ask six Trump voters what Trump will do you’ll get six different answers. Well really three different answers and three incoherent responses.
But that’s irrelevant. People don’t vote on policy.
James, I take strong issue with your subhead, “Our transitions are too long.” The length of the transition isn’t the issue. The problem is that, unlike nearly every other President preceding him, Trump is not quietly sitting on the sidelines until inauguration day. He’s actively interfering with the functioning of government, even though he’s just the President-elect.
Which of course, is just a continuation of his campaign for the last four years to interfere with the functioning of government, which is as bad for an ex-president as it is for a president-elect.
Of course, there is at least one precedent for Trump: Richard Nixon’s interference with the peace talks between the US and North Vietnam. Which is only a “precedent” in the sense of something that never should have happened, was morally and legally reprehensible, and for which Nixon should have gone to jail.
@Fortune: Yes. The President has no formal role in the budgeting process. It is entirely in the hands of the Congress. You didn’t know that?
For my entire life the President has sent down a thick and detailed budget at the beginning of every budgeting process and Congress has said “Thank you very much” and then tossed it in the trash, then negotiated their own. Their only presidential concern is the veto, but that only comes into play after Congress does their job.
@They Saved Nixon’s Brain sez:
I’m tanned, trim and ready to help Trump ruin this country in ways that I could only dream of!
@Kingdaddy:
This is true, but you should add “… and we have one of the Houses controlled by incredibly weak Republicans who aren’t doing what every other Congress in history would have done: ignore the desires of both the incoming and outgoing president when it comes to budget negotiations.”
@MarkedMan:..budget…
My hazy memory recalls President Reagan whining about Congress never passing a balanced budget when not one of the financial plans that he presented to Congress was a balanced budget.
@Fortune:
@JKB:
The two of you remember that Reagan was exhibiting signs of Alzheimers, particularly during his second term of office, and that Nancy Reagan was behind him mumbling prompts when necessary, and that he *scheduled naps* during the day, right?
Biden is old, and most meetings run too d@mn long anyway, no matter which office you’re in. (“This meeting could have been an email” is funny because it’s true.)
Trump has been showing signs of diminished capacity for years, and he has dementia in the family (his father, IIRC). Y’all might not want to get too far out in front of your skis.
@Jen: I shouldn’t criticize Biden’s inability because Republicans have been unable? Great plan if you’re worried about scoring points, bad one if you’re looking to tell the truth.
@Jen:
Perhaps why Trump is letting foreign-born billionaire Musk assume his job duties — after picking druggies and sex criminals to fill the MAGA cabinet.
@Mister Bluster: It was all part of the show then. Reagan would challenge Congress to implement the cuts suggested by the Grace Commission without suggesting any that he favored embracing. It was always Congress refusing to embrace fiscal discipline at fault that way. How is the President supposed to know what should be cut?
James said:
I agree with this. I can remember how this is how things played out in 2020, for instance.
(I am 95% pacifist, but I do not favor unilateral disarmament).
@James Joyner:
In my view, you are forgetting that Biden was soundly elected in 2020 and his term runs until Trump is inaugurated. As a person who supports Biden’s policies, I am offended that Trump interfered with the bipartisan border bill and is acting as though he is president. I applaud Biden for continuing to implement the policies that the people who voted for him believe in until the last moment. I’m sure Trump will do the same for his supporters, even though it’s entirely possible that we will not have free and fair elections when his term ends.
Your seem to be adopting the “Hail Caesar” rhetoric of other online influencers.
I have often mused that the only way the Republican party will govern for the people is if they finally call all the shots and are held accountable. That would be normal correction of swings in conservatism to liberalism.
But nominating Gaetz, Hegseth, Gabbard, Kennedy? Otherizing trans to create a scapegoat? Undermining the great achievements in American science–especially in vaccines? Cozying up to Putin? Interfering with the 2020 elections? Egging on the J6 insurrection? Using a potentially violent way of enforcing border control with our military rather that supporting bipartisan nonviolent means? This is NOT normal.
You may say the people have spoken, but I also say the people have trusted that they can have their “policy” cake without losing their ability to hold free elections every four years.
I don’t mean this as condescension of the average American, but I will share that I didn’t begin to truly study pre-WWI history until Trump was elected. It has required a lot of time and persistence. There is no way the average American has any idea of how the current situation in America mirrors past failures of democracy. That is not their fault, as it is not widely taught in the educational system. They voted without this understanding. A person very dear to me voted for Trump. He reads news headlines from “free” newspapers. That is the extent of his interest in politics. But, man alive, he gets hot when a Democrat screws up. I cannot understand this. It is a deeply held, visceral hatred of Democrats. Why? The welfare state that thwarts personal initiative.
Maybe now that they are in power, the Trump administration will move left to attract supporters. But I doubt it. They will continue to foster conflict among Americans, with Trump as our Divider in Chief. All the while, the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer.
Does he think Congress is in a position to fund anything new? They are passing a CR and unless they add in funding in the next day or so, Homan will get nothing.
It’s scary that he may not know how this all works. Most of the chatter is just that: unintelligible chatter.
Trump’s border czar says he’ll need funding and at least 100K beds to carry out deportation plans
@JKB:
Not to worry, De-Facto President-Elect Musk is handling things.
He wants a shutdown, he’ll get one.
After all, he invested well over $250 million in Trump’s Vice-Presidential campaign. He wants a decent return on his investment.
@Skookum:
Agreed.
We did. A record 81+ million of us voted for Joseph Robinette Biden and Kamala Devi Harris to serve as president and vice-president, delegating accordingly, from Jan. 20, 2021 till Jan. 20, 2025. It was a resounding win, with a clear 51.3% majority of the electorate, some 4.5% more than his main opponent.
Those who think Biden should have instead abdicated his presidency on Nov. 6, 2024 are free to express that opinion. But the constitution doesn’t care, and neither do we. The 49.8% voting plurality that gave Trump a historically narrow 1.5% edge will have to wait for their guy and his druggies, sex criminals, and unelected foreign-born billionaires to reverse policies they dislike — as set by law.
They can handle it; they won’t die from waiting a couple months and some change.
@Fortune: You said, quote, No previous administration has allowed a power vacuum to exist.
I’m simply pointing out that “no previous administration” is incorrect, unless you are being incredibly blind to Reagan’s diminished capacity. Criticize Biden all you want, it’s a free country (for now, at least).
@al Ameda: Great gift, you got a new narrative for Christmas. It doesn’t do anything, you just throw it at the thing you don’t like, and it doesn’t stick, but it says “Trump” and “Musk” on it so that’s nice.
@Jen: Reagan transitioned to Bush with many of the same staff staying on. There wasn’t a power vacuum. This is unique.
@Kathy:
Elon and the Felon. The Muskrat did put in close to a quarter billion dollars to get his felon elected.
@Fortune: No. It. Is. Not. There IS NO POWER VACUUM.
You don’t like the current president. I get that. But that doesn’t mean there’s a power vacuum–the work IS still being done. This “diminished” president has managed to free hostages, just recently. Now, the secret there is…the State Department does a lot of the work. Surprise! It’s not just the president on the phone 24/7! Other people have jobs, important ones!
And, for the record–your argument is basically that any change of party at the Presidential level causes a power vacuum–that’s ridiculous.
Remember when Poppy Bush sent troops into Somalia during the last month of his Presidency? America has a long tradition of active, lame duck politics. I don’t think the norms are quite what you think they are.
Other than bothsidesing every issue. That norm is here to stay.
@Jen: I’m looking at the same thing James is. The US is in a unique position with a passive current president and an active future one. Is James describing reality or not? I’m not arguing there’s a power vacuum every time there’s a transition, only that this transition exposes Biden’s lack of presence. You are right, the government goes on without an active leader but does that really help your argument?
@Skookum:
Sure, but isn’t that what really matters? (Especially the poor getting poorer part. Who wants to be the shlub at the bottom of the food chain?)
@Fortune:
Yes. Biden is the president and he is quietly governing. Trump is doing whatever it is that he does, which seems mostly to be about getting attention.
@MarkedMan: Trump is sui generis. But Biden’s actions since Election Day have been wildly unusual, too. I’ve never seen a defeated incumbent work so brazenly to sabotage his successor.
@James Joyner:
Except, you know…. all that business on Jan. 6th.
C’mon, Dr. Joyner. C’mon!!! Be better.
@Fortune:
You tell us. You suddenly agree with everything James says. So is James describing reality or not when he rightly describes Trump as an amoral, lying, embarrassing criminal who is unfit for the American presidency?
@EddieInCA:
Bothsidesism mixed with Trump normalization + Biden hatred resembles elements of certain mental illness.
Biden and the normies should continue to ignore this enabling, intellectually lazy clownery, whether with quiet stoicism like Biden or with gleefully petty schadenfreude like the rest of us. The weirdos and their enablers are only going to get worse — more shrill and more desperate to blame-shift — when they don’t have Biden and Harris to smear and scapegoat anymore.
@James Joyner:
Interesting perspective. In contrast, I would say Biden is working hard to the last minute to do everything in his legal powers to protect American democracy from a malignant facist. But even if you think I’m wrong about the threat to the country, Biden is absolutely correct in doing everything he can to promote the values and policies he campaigned on, both in his presidential campaign and in every previous campaign.
@Fortune:
So, you missed de-facto President Musk pulling the plug on the Contnuing Resolution deal?
Merry Christmas.
@al Ameda:
What was gotten was a bill to continue funding without the 18″ of pork larded over it.
@DK:
Calm down, it’s ok.
Yeah.
@JKB: But, will it pass? I’ve seen it described as “House Republicans reach agreement on government spending deal” — does that mean Republicans have the votes to pass it without Democrats?* Does it have support in the Senate?
Also, is it better, or just thinner and more status-quoier?
*: I would encourage the Democrats to vote no at least once, just for fun, because we already had a deal. If Mike Johnson can’t deliver his caucus, we shouldn’t immediately bail him out.
@Fortune:
Indeed. Your melodramatic freakout about some dangerous power vaccuum is unnecessary. People complaining about the transition period should instead have some spiked egg nog and enjoy the Christmas lights.
Incidentally, Biden haters should agree on a core falsehood, for your latest smear to land. Is dastardly supervillain Biden actively scheming overtime to undermine poor wittle Trump in sinister ways, or is hopelessly impaired Old Man Biden passively asleep at the wheel, M.I.A., and doing nothing? It can’t be both.
@DK: There was no melodramatic freakout, you went all 12-year-old “You suddenly agree with everything James says”. We Biden-haters don’t have to agree on why we hate him, why should we. I think he’s hopelessly impaired.
@JKB:
Oops.
What was gained was a reminder that 78-year-old felon Trump is still an incompetent beta male who offers only chaos and failure, hence why investors are suddenly pulling out of the stock market. At 19″ or at 1″, Republicans can’t govern.
Republicans couldn’t govern competently back then under Epstein-bestie rapist and fascist President Trump. Republicans still won’t be able to govern successfully in 2025 and beyond, with Trump as vice-president to an unelected illegal immigrant oligarch.
President-elect Musk should be deported back to South Africa.
@DK: Now that’s a melodramatic freakout. No one will want to sit at your junior high lunch table with that kind of attitude.
@Fortune:
Struck a nerve? Ah well, you’ll be okay.
Of course Biden haters can’t agree. By definition, irrational hatred is predicated on throwing poo at the walls and hoping nobody notices the contradictions of logic.
You never had an invitation to turn down. I’ll be okay.
@DK:
The principle of the enemy being simultaneously very strong and extremely weak is a core tenet of fascism, so for them it has to be both.
@DK:
Ouch, that’s quite a blow to Unelected President Felon’s Brain Cisgender Phobos And God Mars Xlon Emperor Of (this name is getting ridiculous).
Imagine what the felon will Xitt about him in his own Xitter!
@James Joyner:
I disagree.
We can debate whether lame-duck presidents ought to do X or Y. But Trump has no constitutional role to call shots until he is inaugurated next January.
@James Joyner:
I may be missing something, but I am not seeing this.
And in terms of policy, Obama did a lot IIRC.
But I am seeing Trump insert himself in ways I have never seen before.
@James Joyner: The only problem here is that Trump is not yet inaugurated to be President, but he is still actively interfering with the running of the federal government. One of the fundamental purposes of having a Constitution is to make these state changes from X to Y crisp and clear. You’re either President, or Senator, or any other position, or you’re not. If there’s an international crisis tomorrow, you’re not arguing over who should be making decisions, or who should have the nuclear codes, or who should be negotiating with allies and adversaries.
Full goddamn stop.
@Kingdaddy: When Kingdaddy schools JJ and I swoon a little bit.
Full Goddamn Stop.
I am so fucking over this clown show.
The notion that Trump should be making ANY decisions at all right now, other than staffing choices, is absolutely nuts to me. Dr. Joyner can believe the transition period is too long (many agree with him), but we operate in the world of existing conditions, not the conditions we wish existed.
Biden is President until Trump is sworn in. Those are the existing conditions. Biden calls the shots through Jan. 19, 2025. The idea that somehow, Trump’s priorities should start to be layered into Biden’s last few weeks in office is just bizarre. Biden has NO responsibility, beyond courtesy (which as a reminder was not reciprocated by Trump, who SKIPPED the inauguration in 2020), to do anything to smooth the transition.
I will also remind everyone that Trump has trashed the following norms: he is not following the law surrounding the transition, and he is completely ignoring the ethics requirements.
Biden should be doing everything in his power to toddler-proof the office of the Presidency.