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America’s three-month vacuum
Whilst Trump spends 3 months raging and fighting, who will run the country?
Back in the day, when America was still ‘normal,’ the 3 months between a president winning and taking office was a period when the incubment raced to see through policy objectives, and the newcomer formed a team to take over.
This time around will be different. Biden has already governed, and has an experienced team that was only disbanded a few years ago. Trump has mainly not governed, hollowing out the country’s political structures. Biden can fill the gap and begin to run the country competently from January 20th, but Trump’s deafening silence these last few days suggests he will spend the next few months focussed on legal battles, misinformation, and most likely doing all he can to save himself and his family. He’s more likely to leave prawns sewn into the curtains of the Oval Office than a carefully crafted letter in the drawer of the desk.
When autocrats fall, all but the most crazed loyalists abandon them quickly and absolutely. Leaders who rule through patronage earn no loyalty or love, they hold power only by being useful to others — a source of food for parasites. When they cease to be useful they are nothing more than a husk. Trump gave power to his allies, wealth to his friends and family, and attention to…
