The Atlantic
The Lessons Biden and the Democrats Learned From the First Impeachment
Trump’s trial threatened to derail the administration’s agenda. But as the proceedings wind down, the new president may be coming out ahead.
Patrick Semansky / AP
Midway through his speech at the Pentagon last Wednesday, President Joe Biden veered from global threats to a personal promise. The visit was Biden’s first to the building as commander in chief, and he was surrounded by symbols of power and position. He stood in front of four American flags, behind a lectern adorned with the presidential seal. He would never “dishonor” or “disrespect” the military, he vowed, nor would he ever “politicize the work you do.” He didn’t mention his predecessor.
The Atlantic
The Sound of Silence
The quiet in the streets of D.C. today was a fitting end to the noisiest political era many Americans can remember.
January 20, 2021
Photos of Vice President Kamala Harris hang outside a restaurant in Washington, D.C., on Inauguration Day.Todd Heisler / The New York Times / Redux
Donald Trump’s presidency concluded not with mutiny in state capitals or an attempted attack on his successor, but with a calm, conventional ceremony in an otherwise quiet city.
Walking through Washington, D.C., today, the silence in the streets was the sound of a country not quite ready to exhale. It was a fitting end to the noisiest era of American politics that many Americans can remember.