On the streets of Washington at the last presidential inauguration, there were red “Make America Great Again” hats and pink pussy hats. Near the White House, “Lock her up!” taunts were directed at people holding, “Thank you, President Obama” signs.
One America was gleeful over incoming President Donald Trump. Another America was in mourning, primed to march against everything Trump stood for. During Trump’s inaugural weekend, the bitter fallout from his victory over Hillary Clinton hung over Washington like a virus. “It’s all up to Trump and how he wants to define his presidency,” I wrote.
We know how that played out. Trump’s presidency is defined by his historic second impeachment, for goading a violent mob into storming the US Capitol building. It’s defined by the thousands of National Guard troops now needed for peacekeeping in the nation’s capital. It’s also defined by his willingness to turn the coronavirus crisis into yet another way to divide the country. There’s no miracle cure or even obvious treatment to put the cancer created by Trump’s presidency into remission. At best, the words that Joe Biden speaks at his inauguration Wednesday can allow us to envision a path forward, for those Americans willing to consider it. There will be no instant unity or even common ground. But maybe Biden can lower the heat enough to contain the flames lit by Trump.
In his inaugural address, Trump infamously did the opposite. He railed against Washington, politicians, and the establishment. The line that got all the attention then stands out even more today: “This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.” His reference to “carnage” applied to “mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities,” an education system that “leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of knowledge and the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much potential.” It was a dark portrait of America, one he promised to change for the better. Yet today, the portrait is so much darker that it’s hard to see the light. There was real carnage on his watch, and the Jan. 6 carnage at the Capitol took place at his direction.
He fanned the embers of division from the day he took the oath of office. The divide was clear that weekend in Washington, when I talked to Trump supporters who were staking out a good spot at the Washington Memorial early on inauguration morning, and the next day, when I walked along with several hundred thousand people who took part in a protest march. With the election in the rear-view mirror, there was no sense of shared purpose. The conquerors swaggered, and the conquered braced themselves for the worst, which has come to pass.
The worst, of course, includes the Trump-incited mob attack on the Capitol. But it also includes Trump’s broader and, sadly, successful four-year-long attack on truth. After Trump, there are two Americas, each one ruled by different realities. Biden’s first challenge is to get us to agree to a set of shared facts.
Agreement on just one fact, like the best way to deal with COVID-19, would be a good start. Trump turned lockdowns, social distancing, and the wearing of masks into political statements, and it led to a death toll that’s claimed about 400,000 lives in America.
On that and other major topics of division, Biden will need help from Democrats and Republicans. He can promise to be a president for all Americans, but for Biden to have any chance of acceptance in that role, Republicans in Congress need to call out Trump’s lies about election fraud. They need to help Biden douse the flames Trump lit. A Senate trial after Trump’s impeachment could be a rallying cry for unity if Republicans are willing. While some argue it would inflame the country even more, a conviction might take away the oxygen that feeds the wildfires.
Trump stoked those fires the moment he came to Washington. Anything Biden can do to contain the flames is welcome. That will define his presidency and the future of the country.
Joan Vennochi can be reached at joan.vennochi@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @joan_vennochi.
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