Former President Donald Trump’s single term in office had more plotlines in it than “Game of Thrones,” spurring outrage after outrage even before he was elected. His comments on the campaign trail, his “Access Hollywood” tape, his travel bans, his expansion of I.C.E. and more kept people engaged. It seemed that everyday people were fact checking and refuting his decisions. Now that he’s out of office, though, we can all go back to how it was before. Right? President Joe Biden wouldn’t have his own allegations of sexual misconduct, he didn’t make insensitive comments on the campaign trail and he definitely won’t put up with I.C.E. either. He’s already let trans people back into the military — I can’t imagine any harm would come from this presidency.
At the risk of sounding like a hypocritical news anchor on a show that rhymes with “lox,” the difference in public tone towards a Republican and Democratic president is noticeable to say the least. When Black Lives Matter protests kicked off in Ferguson under the Obama administration, when those protestors were met with tear gas and arrests, there was nothing like the outcry this past summer. Police brutality was as deadly in 2014 as it is now, can we really chalk up the public’s response to time? Is it realistic to say the (white) public needed six years to ponder if maybe, just maybe black people are treated unfairly in this country?
Trump was rightfully on many people’s radars from the start, so any time he fostered division in this country he was called out on it. That isn’t to say republicans should be let off the hook, but democrats should be scrutinized as thoroughly as they are.
Regardless of who is in office, police respond to protests with widespread tear gas and beatings (unless they’re sacking the Capitol). Regardless of who was in office, I.C.E. deported millions of immigrants in the past two decades and ignored hundreds of sexual abuse complaints within the organization. It is rational for movements to build support over the years, but there is a stark contrast in the public outrage over BLM, I.C.E. and other issues.
The political involvement during this last campaign season was notably higher than other years. Voter turnout in 2020 hit a record high. The reactionary efforts against Trump resulted in republicans losing a second term and the Senate. This momentum can’t die now that a democrat is in office. The issues that set Trump’s presidency alight existed long before him and they will fester long after. The fatigue that comes with political activism is real, and President Biden will count on that as much as Trump did.
On Sept. 20, the Senate confirmed Avril Haines as the director of national intelligence in President Biden’s Cabinet. The vote was 84 to 10. Under the Obama administration, Haines was responsible for creating a program to target terrorists with drones, and those drone strikes, continued by Trump, resulted in the murders of civilians. President Biden appears willing to continue with this undeclared war. But hey, at least she’s the first woman to hold the position.
