Donald Trump is gone. Joe Biden is president.
And in his first two weeks, Biden's signed a record number of executive orders. They make climate change a priority, ramp up vaccine supplies and touch on everything from immigration to ethics to the border wall.
All of it’s been done without turning to the internet to boast or to castigate those who disagree.
The thing is, some people loved the soap opera drama of President Trump— the tweets, the endless staff turnover, the anti-immigration stance. People who believe conspiracy theories might think their champion is gone.
And what about those who have despised Trump supporters, themselves drawn into a hateful fury. Can they change, can they let it go?
In the end, can the dismissal of one person change the mood of an entire state, an entire country?
DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS:
Dmitri Shalin Sociology Professor, UNLV on the national mood:
“There are certain hopeful signs as the parties and the nation appear to be ready to step away from the precipice. We hear calls for bipartisanship and civility. Yet the question is: Can there be reconciliation without reckoning and holding accountable those who assaulted democratic institutions? Politicians who didn’t say a word about mean tweets or bullying of the past president are now ready to sing kumbaya. But indeed, the question is: Is it possible to let bygones be bygones without confronting white supremacy, anti-Semitism, without making amends for the past injustices.”
Shalin on the second impeachment:
"If you don't conduct this trial, then you are, in effect, saying: Hey, you can commit any crime, just step down, resign and you can run in the next election. It's just fine.
Looking into what has happened and holding those responsible, accountable, does make sense to me. Although I can understand why others can disagree."
Warren Hardy, former state senator and current lobbyist, on how Republicans are reacting:
“It depends a lot on which group of folks you’re talking about. The staunch, die-hard Trump supporters on the Republican side are still very angry… I call myself a Reagan/Kemp Republican. I more associate with people like Bill Raggio and Kenny Guinn and Bruce Woodbury and I think from that perspective Trump did a lot of damage to our party, especially with the way things went down as he left the White House. I’m frankly upset about that and what it's done to the Republican brand.”
Hardy on Biden's first weeks in office:
"I think it has been made a little more difficult by the executive orders that President Biden has done coming in. That hasn't done much to bridge the gap, but Trump did the same thing. He sort of started that whole executive order thing. I have as a sort of strict constitutional guy have real concerns about the concept and the idea of governing by executive order."
Terry Murphy, public policy expert and trustee at Stillpoint, on what she is hearing post-election:
“Honestly, people are really focused on trying to get shots in arms, trying to get the logistics right on the vaccine, trying to get things done and it’s obviously a different atmosphere than before where you were kind of walking on eggshells not knowing what might drop the next day.”
Murphy on moving past the vitriol:
"Stillpoint is a gathering place that is hospitable to and nourishing of the spiritual life. I think for a moment if we could all take a very deep breath and acknowledge the fear and anger that people who follow President Trump feel. They really honestly believe that the election was stolen. It's not to them a fantasy. I think that we have to honor that belief. Obviously, the insurrectionists need to be held accountable and all of that was terrible but you can't pretend that these people are not really hurting."
David Knight, founder of high-tech company Terbine on the mood of the business community:
“I wasn’t sure about what would happen but I can tell you that within two days of the inauguration there was a palpable difference in the mood of businesses and I think it’s, aside from the party issues, it’s really about the fact that they could sudden just relax and say, ‘Okay, it’s done. Let’s get back to business.’ And you can see the somewhat ebullient mood of Wall Street reflecting that.”
Knight on what friends and family are saying in the post-election era:
"Frankly, the real nub of it is they're just glad it's over. They just want to get back to life. If you look at it, there are these three major issues that have vexed us for a year. One is the election - leading up to, during and after - the other is, obviously, the pandemic, and then the third is more or less the economic impact of the pandemic. And now that we've got one of those resolved, we're working on vaccines and cures that leaves things like stimulus money, which I think will lift all the boats."
Dmitri Shalin, Sociology Professor, UNLV; U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen D-NV.; Warren Hardy, former GOP state senator and current lobbyist; Terry Murphy, public policy expert and trustee, Stillpoint; David Knight, founder, Terbine
