11At this point in most presidencies,
all eyes are on the White House. A new
team is rolling into Washington, eager to
make its mark and deliver on campaign
promises. Presidential appointments,
the first address to Congress, and big-
ticket projects like health care or edu-
cation typically dominate the public’s
imagination. But as he approaches the
one-month mark, things have gone dif-
ferently for President Joe Biden, who is
competing for attention with his prede-
cessor, Donald Trump.
On Feb. 13, the Senate acquitted the
45th President of inciting an insurrec-
tion. Trump’s second impeachment ac-
quittal not only dominated the news,
it also extended his sway. Republi-
cans like Senate minority leader Mitch
McConnell and Representative Liz
Cheney, attempting to guide the party
back to its traditional conservative foot-
ing, are criticizing Trump’s post election
behavior, forcing GOP law makers to
choose sides. And the prospect of a
9/11 Commission–style report on the
Jan. 6 riot will force Republicans to
stand with or denounce Trump as new
evidence emerges.
POLITICS
Trump continues
to command the
spotlight
By Philip Elliott
That’s not necessarily bad news for his
successor. With the GOP divided and dis-
tracted, Biden is moving on his agenda.
He has reversed 19 Trump-era executive
actions and issued 32 others, boosting
Obama care, curtailing private prisons
and expanding mask- wearing mandates,
among other things. He is now prepar-
ing to force a nearly $2 trillion COVID-
stimulus plan through Congress.For now, republicans are busy
squabbling among themselves. Mc-
Connell, after tolerating Trump for
years, has all but burned his bridges
with the Mar-a-Lago crowd. After the
Senate acquittal, McConnell
said Trump “is practically
and morally responsible for
provoking the events” of
Jan. 6. Trump returned fire
on Feb. 16, calling McConnell
“a dour, sullen and unsmiling
political hack” and warning
the party will lose if it sticks
with McConnell. Trump still
holds power over the party:
poll numbers show him hov-
ering around 80% approval
with Republicans.
Even without the infighting, Trump’s
likely to stay in the news as the coun-
try grapples with the lasting impact of
his presidency. The New York attorney
general and Manhattan DA are lead-
ing investigations into Trump’s busi-
ness dealings. Prosecutors in Georgiaare reviewing Trump’s efforts to cajole
election officials there to “find” Trump
votes and toss the election to him. And
the NAACP has filed a lawsuit charg-
ing Trump, his attorney Rudy Giuliani
and two far-right groups involved in
the Jan. 6 attack with violating civil
rights protections dating to the 1871
Ku Klux Klan Act. Even robbed of his
social media megaphones, the 45th
President will suck up the airwaves.
For his part, Biden has steered clear
of the drama, happy to let Trump take
the headlines. It’s not just a matter of
staying out of the way of the GOP’s cir-
cular firing squad. A national figure
since 1972, Biden was never much of a
press hound: he’s better known for his
on-camera gaffes than his oratory. As
President, he has done just one formal
TV interview, the Super Bowl–pegged
edition of CBS News’ 60 Minutes.
Soon enough, though, Biden may
find Trump’s lasting influence stops
being the GOP’s problem and starts
being his. At some point, if you’ve got
big plans like Biden does, Trump’s con-
tinuing influence in Washington and
around the country could turn from
political asset to liability. Biden has a
finite amount of time to make good on
campaign promises while the GOP is
wrestling with Trump’s presidential
malfeasance. For his more
ambitious proposals, like
fighting climate change, in-
creasing racial equity and ex-
panding health care, Biden
needs America’s buy-in.
Building support for even
limited versions of those
goals is harder than getting
COVID relief funds.
Biden seems to get that,
and is already trying to take
back the spotlight. “For
four years, all that’s been
in the news is Trump,” Biden said at a
Feb. 16 CNN town hall in Wisconsin,
where he pushed his relief plan. “I
want to make sure all the news is the
American people. I’m tired of talking
about Trump.” —With reporting by
LesLie dickstein ‘If Republican
Senators are
going to stay
with him,
they will not
win again.’
DONALD TRUMP,
in a blistering Feb. 16
statement about
former ally McConnell◁
McConnell heads to the Senate floor on
the third day of Trump’s trial, Feb. 11