The US presidential election does not end at the close of polls nor at the time when a clear winner is called by credible media organizations based on the results of the voting. In fact in the recent election, President Donald J. Trump has not conceded to Joe Biden even after the presidential electoral college has duly voted for Biden as the duly President-Elect of the US. Not even the rejection by the US Supreme Court of Trump’s and his lawyers’ allegation that the election was stolen has stopped Trump from his harebrained and quixotic quest of overturning Biden’s victory at the polls. Thus, we have not seen a peaceful presidential transition less than 30 days before the inauguration of Biden, the 46th President of the US. Trump continues to defy overwhelming evidence that he lost the last election fair and square. It’s a good thing that the extended lame-duck period for the outgoing president was cut short from March 4 to January 20 at noon by an amendment to the US Constitution on January 23, 1933. Can you imagine what Trump can, or not, do, if he stays in office until March 4? He’s a lame duck who still wants to call the shot.
One important part of the transition process is the relationship of the two principal characters on the inauguration of the President-elect every January 20 following the election. It’s a tradition for the President-Elect and his wife to pick up the outgoing president and his First Lady for a joint ride to the Capitol to attend the inauguration. How they treat and behave towards each other during this brief journey speaks volume of their mutual esteem. For instance, when the Eisenhowers reached the White House to fetch Truman, they refused to enter for the usual cup of coffee and small talk and they stayed inside the car until the Trumans came outside. It was a chilly journey to the inauguration site with hardly any exchange of words. The Trumans “had thought that since the relations between himself and the incoming President were, to state it gently, strained, he [President Truman] and Bess might have to walk from the White House to the railroad station, or perhaps take a taxi.” Soon after the swearing in of Eisenhower, the Truman couple went to the Union Station and took the train from Washington back to their home in Independence, Missouri.
The Bill Clinton-George W. Bush transfer of power in 2000 was marked by bitterness, which was inevitable following the hotly contested election between Bush and Vice President Al Gore. A case reached the Supreme Court, which ordered the Florida recount of votes stopped resulting in the electoral victory of Bush. Allegations were made that the outgoing administration ripped cable and telephone lines, defaced the bathrooms and vandalized some equipment at the White House resulting in some $15,000 worth of damages.
When it was his turn to pass power to Barack Obama, President Bush cooperated and extended all help to his successor. Bush even left a short personal letter of best wishes to Obama inside the drawer of the presidential desk. In the New York Times best seller, “Becoming”, President-Elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, visited the White House soon after the election upon invitation of Bush. The First Couple warmly welcomed the Obamas, burying whatever political hard feelings they had during the campaign. Bush, as the leader of the Republican Party, supported John McCain against Obama for president. But soon after the election, Bush vowed to make the turn over of power the smoothest presidential transition ever. Bush ordered every department under the POTUS to prepare briefing materials for the incoming administration to prepare them for the job ahead. Michelle Obama was shown every room of the White House by First Lady Laura Bush who recalled that her predecessor, Hillary Clinton, did the same to her. Bush’s conduct is considered as the “gold standard” for a presidential transition. It is heartening that the outgoing President through an orderly transition process passes on to his successor the wisdom he has gathered during his term in office. It is also an occasion when the incumbent President points out any major blunder he has committed as the President so that the President-elect can avoid the same pitfall. It is a laudable tradition that should be observed and maintained if the US wants to remain as the show window of democracy and good government in the eyes of the whole world.
Biden would be occupying an office which only 45 people had held before. He would need every pointer to successfully perform his new job. The transition allows the incoming president to prepare for his take over of the federal government from the outgoing administration. It’s the time when the incoming president selects and names his cabinet members, White House staff and outlines his immediate agenda which he shall prioritize during the first 100 days of his administration. Every President-elect aims to achieve them before Christmas Day. A peaceful transition of power is a big step toward unification following a bitter and divisive election campaign. It is heartening when an outgoing president carries out an effective and orderly transition of power to his successor. There were US presidents who did not attend the inauguration of their successor. The father and son, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, smarting from their loss in their reelection bids, did not join Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson when they were sworn into office, respectively. Likewise, Andrew Johnson stayed at the White House to sign documents. Johnson was slighted when President-elect Ulysses Grant refused to ride with him in the same carriage. The big question is: given the recalcitrant and belligerent behavior of Trump towards Biden, will Trump attend Biden’s inauguration? I hope Trump will not let this great opportunity pass. It will be his final act to heal a divided America.