Inauguration Day: Commonplace and Miraculous
Topics Discussed
Our Inaugural Feelings
Moment of Hope: Republicans and Biden
Inauguration Fashion
Reflecting on the Inauguration
Outside of Politics
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Episode Resources
Transcript
Sarah: This is Sarah
Beth: And Beth,
Sarah: You're listening to Pantsuit Politics.
Beth: The home of grace-filled political conversations.
Sarah: [00:00:00] Hello everyone. And welcome to another episode of Pantsuit Politics. The first episode of Pantsuit Politics in the new Biden administration. Beth, how are you feeling this beautiful, as we're recording, Thursday?
Beth: [00:00:16] Look, this is my version of LFG, like reading a bunch of executive orders and looking at legislation, going to Congress. I'm in, I'm in for all the nerdiness. I'm in for the lifting of the weight of the tweets. I am excited and I don't even love everything that's being done right now, but I'm really here for it because I feel like we are focused on governance again and out of the morass of just the constant drum beat of culture wars and when president Biden said during his inaugural address, let's make a fresh start. I was like me, I'm in. Take me to the fresh start. I'm ready.
Sarah: [00:00:56] All right. So that's what we're going to do today with our fresh start. We're going to [00:01:00] talk about the end of the Trump administration, the first section, how it felt to watch him leave, what it was like for him to be absent from the transfer of power and other thoughts. Goodbye thoughts or au revoir thoughts. And then in the next segment, we're going to talk about the inauguration at the beginning of the Biden administration, especially the executive actions. We're just going to, we're just going to go all in with our big feelings on this big day. I'm I'm excited. I'm excited.
Okay, Beth, when you woke up yesterday and you realize there were mere hours, minutes, moments left of the Trump administration, how did you feel?
Beth: [00:01:42] I felt so weird yesterday morning. It was almost like my body was nearing the end of an infection, but not quite well. I felt really sad for lots and lots of people. People who served in the administration, the president [00:02:00] himself, all of us in different ways, all of the people who were sitting and waiting for him to do something to make Joe Biden's inauguration not real. I just felt this real sense of heaviness for people that I've honestly struggled to have good compassion for at moments, so I was kind of happy to be sad in those bars of waiting for the president to fly away. I felt extremely disappointed that he wasn't attending the inauguration, even though I think maybe it's ultimately helpful that he didn't attend the inauguration. It just was a really hard thing to explain to my daughters.
We talked about how John Adams did it and how John Quincy Adams did it and what a petty family that must have been. And that helped a little bit. I just was really sitting in a complicated soup of recognizing where we are and how far we have to go. And I also felt really excited to watch Kamala Harris be sworn in and watch [00:03:00] the inauguration proceed. And I felt really attached to the country's history of this transfer of power even though we can't accurately say that it was peaceful this year. So a lot. What about you?
Sarah: [00:03:12] I felt so excited. The second I watched him walk out of the white house, I felt like I had smiled in a deep way that I had not smiled for four years, truly just because for me, it's becoming easier to detach my feelings from about him, from how I felt about him as president. When he was sworn in four years ago, I made a purposeful choice not to witness his swearing in, and I have never watched his swearing in because as someone who has always really loved history and particularly the presidency and first ladies and felt like it was very special and sacred. And I just, I loved it. I love all of it. Like [00:04:00] the articles about the choices, about how to decorate the oval, all of it, oval office, all of that stuff. I just love it. I, I feel the power of the presidency just in my cells.
And so I think there was something about him as president that I'm only beginning to unpack how deeply troubling it was to me, just him in the role set me off my foundation and has for four years. So there was just a part of me that could not wait for him to be out of that house. Could not wait for him to be no longer in that role.
And there, even though I have lived through, at this point in my life, enough transitions to see patterns, especially in the particularly controversial ones. I think I'll talk about that a little bit more later in the show, like to, since like, no, this is, this is, I know how they feel right now because I felt that before, [00:05:00] and there are some ways that we all feel when there's a transition of power, depending on our, our side of the aisle, but all that aside, because he is so ahistorical in many ways.
Like I just, I wanted him out desperately. And so when he was out, there was a real pureness to my relief and to my truly like joy, just to see him gone and, you know, Nicholas and I took, uh, we were walking the dog after he giving his very, very, very petty speech, um, at his very, very petty ceremony.
And he was like, you know, the these last four years haven't been terrible to us personally and I said, yeah, in many ways, that's true. But in many ways I can't detach some of the things that happened in my life from him. I don't know how I would have been treated as a city commissioner if Hillary Clinton had won.
I don't know if I'd lost my reelection [00:06:00] campaign if Hillary Clinton had won. There were some, some moments when the trauma of his actions, particularly the Muslim majority ban, the Kavanaugh hearing, affected me, affected my relationships. And I just think that if you're an empathetic person, even in your biggest moments of celebration, during the Trump administration, there was this sense of the suffering, the harm, the chaos that held onto a part of your heart and I am so happy to let that go. To just know that things aren't perfect and they never will be in and Biden is not bringing it into suffering. And I understand that, but the chaos from the very top took a toll and I am so happy that it is over.
Beth: [00:06:56] In a way though, when I think about what has [00:07:00] been important to me about the Trump administration, that constant awareness of suffering, as much of a burden as it has become and as much as I am ready to not feel it every hour of every day, certainly not every time I pick up my phone, I am glad that I am more aware than I was five years ago of the suffering in our country. I'm glad that I'm more aware of how people are personally impacted by policy and by the statements of the president.
I am glad that I am more aware of all of the ways in which I have perpetuated systems that harm other people. And I have a long way to go in my own understanding and work and learning still but if I just try to say like, what has developed well in me over the last four years, It is certainly a greater sense of connection to my fellow Americans and I do have the Trump administration in a perverse and unintentional way, [00:08:00] I think to thank for that.
Sarah: [00:08:01] Well, I think any sort of self-growth or self-awareness comes with learning that suffering brings growth. That is, does not mean that, you know, every cloud has a silver lining or everything happens for a reason. You know, we've we've overcorrected and in our rightful criticism of those phrases and those approaches to, to grief and suffering, I feel like we've decided you can never say no, I learned something from that.
I always think of Stephen Colbert's interview makes me cry every time. Stephen Colbert his interview when he first came to the Late Show where he talked about the great personal tragedy that his family experienced, but how it changed him. And he said, I love the thing I wish most had not happened.
And I think about that quote all the time, because I think he captures that so beautifully. I love the thing I wish most had not happened. And in a way, I think that's how I feel about the Trump administration. That's [00:09:00] how I feel about COVID. You know, for better or for worse chaos on that level, shakes things loose and then exposes things. It removes us from our comfort and comfort is blinding in so many ways. And I, you know, I think that we are all capable of holding that truth. As we see him like leave. I love the thing I wish most had not happened.
Beth: [00:09:21] Yesterday was a split screen in so many ways because I share your sense of relief that he's gone while I'm trying to maintain a sense of gratitude for at least the growth that I choose to find from the last five years.
And I'm saying five because I am realizing more and more that his descent from the escalator was the beginning. And it's important for me to acknowledge that. So we have the split screen of feel about his departure
Sarah: [00:09:50] AS he takes off to My Way, blaring from the speakers, seriously?
Beth: [00:09:56] Lots of choices, lots of choices evident in everything people did [00:10:00] yesterday.
So, and then there's this split screen of him leaving versus the inauguration. And there's the split-screen of the inauguration, which felt so good. And so joyful in so many ways with the fact that COVID-19 is still raging. 4,448 COVID deaths on inauguration day and then within COVID we have the split screens of infection rates are falling, thank goodness. Hospitalizations though, are holding steady. Deaths are at an unacceptably high place and the vaccines are here and miraculous, and there are all kinds of challenges around vaccine distribution. And so it's just, I feel like any kind of way Americans might feel right now it's grounded in something very real. It is just a complicated time to be a person in this country.
Sarah: [00:10:55] The masks everywhere, the empty [00:11:00] mall with no onlookers and crowd to celebrate the inauguration. You know, it was just a really palpable reminder of this day exists in the midst of this crisis. And we're gonna talk about that next. We're going to talk about the crisis we're all facing and how Joe Biden addressed all that in the inauguration. Okay. Before we do that, Beth, do you have a moment of hope?
Beth: [00:11:27] I do. A very odd mix of GOP freshmen in the house of representatives signed a letter to Joe Biden, 17 of them saying, we would like to work with you. Well, And I wanted to read a couple excerpts from it. It said "After two impeachments, lengthy inter branch investigations, and most recently the horrific attack on our nation's Capitol, it is clear that the partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans does not serve a single American. We hope to work with you to extend [00:12:00] targeted meaningful coronavirus relief for families and businesses, protect Americans with preexisting conditions, strengthen and modernize our infrastructure, enforce our antitrust laws against emboldened technology monopolies and restore our economy struggling in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
We firmly believe that what unites us as Americans is far greater than anything that may ever divide us. In that spirit, we hope that we can rise above the partisan fray to negotiate meaningful change for Americans across the nation and maintain the U S is standing as the best country in the world."
Now, a lot of things here. I am certain that we could all parse the words of this letter and find things that we don't love and we could certainly look at the group of humans that signed it, which includes everyone from representative Peter Meyer, who has been interviewed so broadly after voting in favor of impeachment to Madison Hawthorne who I think needs no introduction here.
Sarah: [00:12:58] I'm not saying anything cause pop told me I'm supposed to [00:13:00] be nice.
Beth: [00:13:00] It is a lot of very different people and it is an imperfect letter. And also I am so filled with hope that this letter was written and signed. I think it is an important signal to house leadership on the Republican side of the aisle.
I think it is the beginning, perhaps. I hope desperately that we are not going to see everybody voting in lockstep on. And I think it is a signal that matters on a day of lots of signals. A day where on the democratic side of the aisle, from the top of the party to people all over the country who participated in the inaugural proceedings, there were choices and choices and choices to say, Hey, let's do this. We're ready. And so for this olive branch to come from the Republican side, I am thrilled.
Sarah: [00:13:56] I agree. I think that any movement away from [00:14:00] the us versus them intensity that surrounded the Trump administration and the loyalty test at every turn, this is a move in the right direction. And that is what we are celebrating on this, this new Dawn in America.
Up next, we're going to talk about the inauguration, inauguration speeches and the executive actions flowing from the Bible administration. Beth in honor of the star Spangled banner sung by the one and only lady Gaga. I think we take a hint from one of her hit songs, the shallows, we moved from shallow inauguration thoughts into our deeper reflections on the speeches and an executive actions.
How do you, how do you feel about that?
Beth: [00:14:42] Okay. I feel fine about that. I'm just going to need you leading the sartorial conversation because that is not my jam.
Sarah: [00:14:49] Okay. So I do want to talk about the fashion. Listen, we're all just desperate. We haven't had an award ceremony in a while. And honestly, I think I would choose a [00:15:00] fashion show of winter coats over evening gowns because I love a winter coat fashion.
There was lots of winter coat fashion on display, lots and lots of purple, which seems like not so subtle nod to this new call for unity. Let's do this. What was your favorite purple coat?
Beth: [00:15:17] Well, I just don't think that there is any question that Michelle Obama was the best dressed person on earth yesterday.
Sarah: [00:15:23] And probably for the next two to six months.
Beth: [00:15:27] I would say. And I know that there are people of my personality type who get kind of annoyed with like the gushing about anyone. I just don't know how you saw Michelle Obama yesterday and did not have your jaw drop at how stunning that outfit and her hair and the whole situation was.
Sarah: [00:15:46] And, you know, I understand that people blow off these types of choices, but they are important. We are visual creatures. And the question, the choices we make about how to visually present ourselves [00:16:00] are very important. And the fact that that genius of a woman who I would like to nominate to be our head of state, I think she'd do a great job.
Went from a pulled back, tight to ponytail at the Trump inauguration to this flowing head of curls at the Biden inauguration. Like that was a choice and it was a great choice. And I think even if you're not super conscious and you're not making choices about, for example, everyone choosing American designers, except for J-Lo, that was not a good choice J-Lo.
Even if you're not, if you're not going in deep enough, like who were the designers? Where were they from? Even just like, look at the, the joy and the gift of Bernie Sanders choices that day that they have given America with the mittens and the sitting and that my favorite was the tweet that was like, he just looks like I got to run by Joe Biden's thing real fast. I'll be back later. Like I'd just, I love all of it. I think it is a gift to humanity.
Beth: [00:16:59] Bernie Sanders [00:17:00] definitely just is who he is in all the places. And there's something really admirable about that for sure.
Sarah: [00:17:05] And so as Michelle Obama, that's the best part, right?
Beth: [00:17:08] That's it, that's it. And I love that she wore pants. I am for more of that look in all places everywhere. I thought the Bushes looked great yesterday, not just in their fashion choices, but more, I think they look like two relieved people. They've been out of this long enough that they are just living their best lives. I mean, I really thought that George W. Bush looked like I put my paints down for a second to fly in for this thing. It's been a lot of fun. Happy to see Garth Brooks again, and then I'm going to go back and do my thing. Good luck, everybody. I just let that relief.
Sarah: [00:17:44] Did you hear that George Bush took Tucker carlson went to dinner?
Beth: [00:17:47] I did. I have chosen not to think too much about that.
Sarah: [00:17:49] I want to think about it and I'm going to make you talk about it cause I am desperate to know what those two talked about. Like I would give literally anything to have just like been the waiter. Okay.
I
[00:18:00] Beth: [00:17:59] so badly once that dinner to have been George W. Bush saying, Hey now, yeah, let's do better than this.
Sarah: [00:18:08] I mean, I not, I do not believe this about Sean Hannity, but I do believe that deep down Tucker Carlson is an institutionalist.
I just don't know if his personal ambitions overwhelmed that. And so I wonder if it was an appeal to like, do you want there to remain a Republican party? Then we need to shift strategies. I hope, and I kind of feel like maybe Dick Cheney sent him there to say, send that message. Although I don't think they like each other anymore.
Understandably. I have created an entire fan fiction story of what, who sent, who, what happened at the dinner. But let me see here, sorry. Let me steer us back to the, to the inauguration.
Beth: [00:18:40] Can I just say one more thing about that? Yes. I've thought a lot about Mitch McConnell over the last week. More about Mitch McConnell than I would like to think in any universe.
I, because I am grateful that Mitch McConnell has held a steady over the last week as he has. [00:19:00] I could say a lot more than that, and I will not. I'm just going to choose to be grateful right now. And part of my thinking has been, I wonder how much Mitch McConnell's age factors into his approach. I wonder the same thing about Joe Biden.
I think we have an opportunity as much as it feels so strange change in a country like ours to have a goal group of leadership at the very top of our government that is over 70 and especially to have that happening as we're dealing with a pandemic that is so threatening to people who are over 70.
And I don't think that is the desirable state for all time. There is a part of me that hopes we're in a moment though, that that is a real strength, where people like Mitch McConnell are not gaming out the next three decades of their careers. And so to the extent that we could have people settling into a position of elder [00:20:00] concerned about their legacy, thinking through what is truly best for the country, not just for their next election. I hope that those folks do take court with people like Tucker Carlson to say, let me tell you what I've learned.
Sarah: [00:20:15] I agree. And I hope desperately that's happening with Mitch McConnell, this, this discussion of like, Oh, well, if he votes to convict during the impeachment, he'll lose leadership. I'm like, dude, don't, I mean, maybe you should talk to Democrats about underestimating Mitch McConnell, Ron Johnson get out of here, but I did, you know, I think there, it was impossible not to take in the celebrations and the ceremonies and not watch the reactions of not just the Republican leadership, but you know, other Republicans there and think about like, especially as this call for unity came in, like, what are you thinking? What are you going to do next?
I think that that's why the peaceful transfer of power is so important, is it kind of just puts them all back in the same room. You know, as we were watching these celebrations in these ceremonies, one of my favorite part was [00:21:00] the capital gift giving because as somebody who used to work in the Capitol and watch these people, like it's, it's, it felt very normal to me. Where you see like they're cracking jokes with each other because they know each other really well. And they don't see each other for the most part, I think is two dimensional characatures like the way we see them often as citizens.
And it just felt like chummy and elitist, which is sort of what the capital feels like a lot of the time. And you know, it just felt normal. And I hope that it wasn't just a part of that ceremony, but that it was a glimpse of something that will grow and flourish again, there maybe not the elitism, but at least the chumminess.
Beth: [00:21:45] I don't know that you have the chumminess without the elitism, just where we are today. And to an extent, I want some level of a elitism. I would like that word to not take on all the baggage that it has right now. I don't want it to mean Ivy [00:22:00] league schools and who your granddad is and what your trust fund size is. I do want it to mean people who have really gone all in, on trying to serve the country and people who have really gone all in on trying to learn a lot so that they're very smart and good at serving the country.
You know, there are aspects of elitism that we really need as a society. We need people who can talk about values without sounding corny. And a lot of what we saw yesterday. I grew a new affection for Senator Roy Blunt. I think that was a very strong performance in a difficult role for a Republican in 2021.
And I thought he handled it well, I loved it when he said that inaugurations are both commonplace and miraculous. I thought about that phrase all day and how it's true of so many things happening right now. The fact that healthcare workers are administering vaccines. It feels commonplace and miraculous to me, just, I could make a long list that [00:23:00] commonplace and miraculous is just right for, so I really appreciated him yesterday.
Sarah: [00:23:05] Well, and I think there are a lot of moments yesterday where we turned from the elitism that's usually present in the inauguration in really important ways that I hope we maintain. I'm willing to abandon inaugural balls for all time and to celebrating America. That was wonderful.
And why, I don't know if we want to keep a virtual parade forever, feeling like instead of just the parade being produced for the people there and we get to watch along, having a component that was really produced for the Americans across the country, watching along. I think we should keep that, like the whole thing doesn't have to be a virtual parade across America, but first of all, I want to do dancing across America, like every quarter cause that was delightful.
I loved every second of it. And I love that moment where we get to see. Like we did during the convention, the beautiful diversity of our country, geographically, culturally [00:24:00] racially. And it's hard when you were watching it cause we're all so inside our heads all the time. To pull yourself out in a way and think America is not just the narrative about America inside my own head.
America is a real place filled with real people in. There are a lot of us and we are very different in those moments where they capture that, where they, you know, it's just this constant flow of faces and geographies and just beautiful sceneries and towns and buildings, like it's just this really visceral reminder of like, this is who we are.
It's not just our fights. Like there is more here that draws us together, then politics or what we're fighting about on Facebook today. Like there's real things. There's real parts of America that we all love, whether they represent who we are as a person. That connection. We have this beauty in how big and wide it is.
I just love it. And I hope we keep that. And the, the [00:25:00] celebrating America, where we were, it felt like we were all at the party. We were all watching the party with Tom Hanks and we were all singing along with John legend. And I know you don't like fireworks, but those fireworks at the end, I've never seen anything like it. I mean, I just loved it. I thought it was really beautiful as opposed to just watching footage of a party most of us didn't get to go to.
Beth: [00:25:20] I completely agree that inaugural balls should be vanquished forever and that in favor of this kind of celebration. And I also think that doing something like this quarterly would be a really good way for the administration to deliver on some of this unity messaging for the whole country, because we know that common projects are what unite people.
People are not United by talking about being United. People are United by doing things together. And so learning some choreography that was a great symbol and a great first step in moving in that direction. And for more of that to spring up where maybe you see common efforts across the United [00:26:00] States around education, and then common efforts around climate change.
And we hear from some farmers in rural Iowa, as well as some car manufacturers in California. And we kind of see how we're all moving together in a common direction, in a less than five minute video package. I think that would be exceptionally good for the country and a very important use of resources around the project of making us feel like one nation.
I would love to see more sister cities within the United States. I love the program of sister cities, where you have a, a city, you know, elsewhere in the world. I think that's really important. I think we need that here at home. Um, maybe it already happens in some places. I would love for that to become a much more common project and something that is showcased in features like this. There are just, there were lots of seeds of really great things in that celebration yesterday that I think could flourish over the next few years.
Sarah: [00:26:56] Yeah. I mean, it was also just fun to like know there was a schedule [00:27:00] and to be joining in and watching the things with my kids and knowing then we're going to the reef lane.
There was just that, that sense of a we, that there is a, we hear it's not just us and them, but there is a we, and I think that's why Amanda Gorman's poem The Hill We Climb just hit everybody where they were because she called on us. And I think the, the way she spoke to how we all feel beaten down and how we feel like we're in the midst of this darkness and this long winter, and the struggle, that we're climbing this Hill, but we're climbing it together.
And, you know, after hardship, there is even in the midst of hardship, there is hope. Just, she did it so beautifully and it just felt from the second she opened her mouth that she was speaking for all of us, that she was inviting us all in and saying, we are here [00:28:00] together. You are not experiencing this alone. You are not seeing the challenges alone, that there is a we, and let me speak to that. Let me pray over that. Let me offer you a vision for that. It just, it was exceptional.
Beth: [00:28:15] It was exceptional. The day before the inauguration, I watched Maya Angelo at Bill Clinton's inauguration and was reminded of how significant poetry is for moments where the entire nation's attention is drawn in. I think we need more poetry generally. And to see Amanda Gorman after having watched Maya Angelo again, it's just something incredibly beautiful and fresh and important about that. And I love the moment when she talked about catastrophe and feeling like it would overcome us, but then saying how could it?
Um, it, it was just. It was perfect. I don't think it could have been any better and I don't think it could have been any better and its delivery. Even where she had to like wipe her nose a few times felt so [00:29:00] perfect to me and the way that she did all of that with such grace and poise and, uh, this commanding presence while speaking some truly humble words, I just thought it was fantastic. The absolute best of what poetry can be.
Sarah: [00:29:15] You know, what I read this morning is that she has overcome a speech impediment, which I was floored by just floored by. But apparently she like really memorizes the entire thing and practices in like she used to draw her poetry because she struggled with words like just the depth of even her own personal artistic journey. And we won't even talk about her relationship with Oprah and that Oprah brought her a bird cage ring to symbolize Maya Angelou. Like we won't even get into that cause I'll start crying again. But I just, Ugh, God, what a gift she
Beth: [00:29:45] is. Well, and that's a beautiful connection to Joe Biden too. That's that's all really, it was wonderful. It was perfect choice.
Sarah: [00:29:53] Okay. So here we are. We're at the moment. Let's talk about the swearing in [00:30:00] of our first female. Vice President.
Beth: [00:30:05] I think it was just a moment that I won't ever forget. It mattered to me in a way that is hard to put into words. It mattered to me that she was sworn in by a woman who sits on the Supreme court. Her entire way of bringing both a sense of just unbridled elation to important moments, along with the heft of the moment.
You never doubt that Kamala Harris knows how significant things happening around her are. It's a model of feminine leadership. I've said this about her before. It is a model of feminine leadership for me and for my daughters, it is exactly the kind of presence that I think we can really aspire to as women. I, I was just thrilled.
Sarah: [00:30:54] I watched her being sworn in obviously just tears [00:31:00] streaming down my face because I think there was a small part of me that wondered would I see it? I still believe the words I said on this podcast. That a female president is inevitable, but there was a part of me that thought, but how long will it take and will I get to see it?
And so seeing a female vice-president and seeing that, that first unbelievable milestone achieved that the two highest federal offices in our country are no longer held exclusively by men was surreal and powerful. And then in the same way, even leading up to that moment, like I wasn't thinking about it, it wasn't super conscious for me.
You know, as soon as it was over, it also sort of receded from my immediate consciousness. And I found myself thinking about Joe [00:32:00] Biden and his actions and his leadership way more. And I thought, I think I'm what I'm feeling here is still a little bit of I don't know what the word is like greed grief.
I don't know. But even like seeing her become, vice-president made my desire for a female president, even more intense and palpable. It's like, I just felt like, yes, and now I want the top job, you know, like she's amazing. This was historic and beautiful and perfect and also not good enough. I felt that all at the same time. Like I want, I want it all and watching her being sworn as vice-president like, really brought that into relief for me.
Beth: [00:32:47] That makes perfect sense to me. I think that Joe Biden will lead with an awareness of that. And I think that sentiment among American women and I'm sure some men too combined with [00:33:00] his having served as the vice president, I believe that will lead him to create opportunities for her to have a very visible, active public role. And I think she will take them and I think she will ask for more where there aren't enough being offered to her. And so I'm really optimistic about what the role of vice-president is going to me. And after vice president Harris has held it, and I'm really optimistic about what that means for the next elections.
Sarah: [00:33:29] Well, even this morning, they're already, you know, and they've been doing this the whole time, but that they both are getting the security briefings. I don't feel like that's particularly normal. I definitely don't think Mike Pence was in there getting briefings all the time, but I don't even remember that with Biden and Obama like that, there was such a focus on, they are both receiving the security briefings.
Beth: [00:33:47] That is the way it should be. I don't think anyone should accept the position of vice president if that's not what's going to happen, because the idea that you're ready to step in at a moment's notice, if you haven't gotten those briefings, that's [00:34:00] outrageous. So, so good. Yay for a healthier pattern, right?
Sarah: [00:34:04] So then Joe Biden was sworn in. Oh, it felt so good. Did you have some anxiety that it was happening a little before noon? That gave me a little anxiety. I was like, wait, is this supposed to happen at the, like the moment noon strikes? I never paid that close attention to the timing before, but it's like, it's so fraught. I felt a little nervous.
Beth: [00:34:21] All my anxiety was wrapped up in everyone's safety. And so the fact that they were just outside and it was going okay. Like all my attention was focused on that. And there was one moment where the feed that I was watching went out for a second. ABC had this little like blip and I jumped like. I drew this sharp breath in that let me know how on edge I was for the whole program. So I did not even notice that it took place a little bit before noon. I was just busy worrying about everyone.
Sarah: [00:34:50] Well, it was like a, kind of a weird pause. There was also a pause in the motorcade when they were coming back to the white house that left me totally. I was like, why are they stopped? What's going on? Why are they all looking [00:35:00] around? Like, I was just like, I need immediate like assurance that this is just a normal slowdown.
Like any sort of little blip like that I agree, kind of set me on edge, but he was sworn in and then he began his speech and it was so funny because the day before I was telling Nicholas and I noticed this, when we saw him speak in New Hampshire, I noticed it during his speech accepting the nomination. It does not matter the moment or how like. Intense and historical it is, he starts it by talking to the people in front of him and like thanking the people around him and like, it's hard. It's hard to step up into the the flow of a public speech like that, and like begin with like, hello, like, like right into the opening paragraph.
But I thought surely he'll do that in the inauguration. Nope. Immediately like, I just want to thank people here, here, which is like, so kind of charming to me that he starts with, like, I'm going to talk to the people right here around me and thank them. And then we'll, we'll get into the [00:36:00] speech. I
Beth: [00:36:00] like that too. And I think that that consistency, it's the same thing as Bernie and his mittens. Right. It's just, you want a person who knows who he is.
Sarah: [00:36:08] And it was kind of, I think the speech was, I wouldn't call it informal, but his speaking style is less formal than Obama's definitely. And I would say Hillary Clinton's as well and Bill Clinton's definitely, but I liked it. And I, the first thing I thought and have been thinking about a lot is, you know, he did not hesitate. The theme from the beginning was it's going to take all of us and we have to stop fighting. You know, the famous line that everyone is quoting this morning is we have to end this uncivil war and there's been some you know, punditry analysis, this idea of like even the reporters who got to talk to him a long, like, as he jogged up to them were like, well, how are you going unite America, which is a dumb question, first of all.
But this idea of like, well, it's really easy to say, and you know what? I want to push back on that because it's not easy to [00:37:00] say. People haven't been saying that. They have been deliberately not saying it and that is how we got to this moment. The idea that it's so easy to stand up there and say, we're together in this when we've had a president for four years, who deliberately turned us against each other and deliberately did not say that, shows that it is in fact not easy. And that's how we got to the spot. So I really disliked that narrative and want us to stop saying, Oh, it's so easy to call for unity because clearly, it's not. And hasn't been for the past four years,
Beth: [00:37:32] I've been very aggravated by people talking about the accomplishments of the Trump administration and listing among them not starting new Wars. Putting foreign policy aside for a moment, I was glad that Joe Biden called out an uncivil war in our country. If you really think about the major lasting impacts of the Trump administration best we can see them sitting here [00:38:00] today, it is turning Americans against one another. I
t is an information war as much as anything else. There was so much discussion in all of the analysis yesterday about truth. And what do you do if you are the Biden Harris administration, trying to just get the country back to a set of common facts, because we can't do much if we don't do that. And to say that president Trump did not start any Wars when that's the situation I think is to define war so narrowly that it doesn't exist.
And so I thought it was very powerful that in this speech that was extremely gracious and conciliatory and humble towards all of the people who did not vote for him, I thought it was courageous of him to still use a phrase like uncivil war and to talk about white supremacy and nativism and xenophobia. That he didn't shy away from naming things and that felt to me like the kind of trust for the public that Mitt Romney spoke about after the Capitol attacks. That you tell people the truth, and that's how you [00:39:00] start to earn their trust again.
Sarah: [00:39:02] Because to me, you know, fake unity is saying, we're already great look right how already great we are. That's what nobody needs right now. Real unity, like we talked about in the other episode of saying things are hard, here are challenges. Are you ready to work with me towards solving them? And I think his explicitness and naming, and really defining the crisises before us, he really focused on COVID, inequality, climate change, racial justice, america's standing in the world and the attack on truth and democracy.
And like you just said, and then to follow that up very quickly with here are the executive actions. And let me link them back to you what, what I talked about as our challenges in the speech like that, just flow that like, here's the problem.
Here's how we're going to solve it. Here's the problem. Here's how we're going to solve it. Like, what you decide to put in your inaugural address is not just words. It's priorities. That is an action. Not just, it's not just speaking into the void. It's not just, you know, throwing together a quick note, forming the priorities, putting them [00:40:00] into words, and then speaking them at that historical moment is action.
That is taking action. And I think we all felt it. I think we felt his sincerity in saying we have to stop doing this to each other, you know, and I was, I talked about this on IETV, but in the middle of it, They showed Ted Cruz. And I just had this visceral reaction and at my own home, this is often how I viserally react.
And I was, I cursed Ted Cruz okay. In the middle of this beautiful speech. And I thought Pop would be disappointed in me. Like this is not this, like, even to the, down to how we speak about one another and the privacy of our home own homes matters. Right? It's not just words. And I thought, this is the least I can do is just stop cursing these people I do not even know.
And you know, I was sharing this in a text thread and they were like, especially, we were discussing Mike Pence and his presence at the inauguration. And I thought, you know, I, I have a whole new respect for people who run for their [00:41:00] lives and I give a lot of grace for people who've lived through something like that.
And I got immediate pushback because people I have good, well-reasoned logic to why to really, really let's be honest hate Mike Pence. And I said, I'm not asking you to vote for him. This is not what I'm asking. And I don't think that's what Joe Biden is asking from us either. It's to stop hating each other.
It's to stop hating people who even hate you in return, because it is harmful to ourselves. It is harmful to our country and it's just, you know, not to get a little woo woo here, but it just puts energy out that is harmful. And I felt him like, it just, he has this really grandpa vibe anyway, and it just felt like our grandpa looking at all of us and saying, Hey, we got to try harder. You're better than this. You are better than this and it doesn't matter how they act, you are better than this. And I just think we all needed to hear it.
Beth: [00:41:58] And I really appreciated [00:42:00] all of the choices made to have that message come from different sources. I loved the conversation among presidents, Bush, Clinton, and Obama.
I thought that was a wonderful decision and something that should be replicated in the future. And I wondered how it felt to president Trump to not be included in that. And if in the future, he'll be sad that he wrote himself out of that picture. I was really delighted that Mike Pence was there and was what he was supposed to be in that moment.
You know, I didn't see any pouting on Mike Pence's face. It looked like he showed up in a really dignified way to take the mantle for the previous administration and pass it along. And I was grateful for that. I understand that that's the least he could do, but he did it.
And a lot of people aren't doing the least they can do right now. And so I was really, really grateful for it and grateful that. The Biden Harris team, the inaugural committee that everybody worked hard [00:43:00] to have that message of let's do better coming from lots of different generations and people of different backgrounds and people of different political parties. I thought it was very important.
Sarah: [00:43:12] Yeah. It felt to me that both the parade across America and the celebrating America, it did not feel like celebrating a democratic administration. It felt like they were very purposely hammering home. The message of like, we all belong here together and it is going to take all of us.
We are inviting you, not just celebrating how awesome we are which sometimes the inaugrations feel like that. And you know, that's fine. There's a place for that in history, but this isn't it. And I felt like they really rose to that challenge and all the choices, even from the flags, filling them all, to say like, do you see that we are part of a bigger picture that we are part of a whole and the whole is broken and it's going to take all of us to fix it again. And I just really appreciated that. I think we all [00:44:00] desperately needed that message.
Beth: [00:44:02] And the policies had that tone as well. What's being reported is just kind of the quick bullet point. This is the effect of the policy and that's important. And it's really all you can do sometimes when so much policy is released at once.
But I was reading through the executive orders, the climate change order has tons of language about making this a real positive for the economy in it. It reminds me of how you would talk about climate change back in the days when people like John McCain really cared about climate change. Back when Richard Nixon signed progressive environmental legislation. Right?
So there was this sense of it is the responsible thing to do. It is the moral thing to do. It also carries enormous opportunity if we'll allow it. And so I thought that was great. I thought it was a really interesting choice in one of [00:45:00] the orders on equity and about how the federal government needs to be more attuned to equity through education and how we need to review all of our policies to see barriers to equity in our own hiring within the federal government, they defined underserved communities extremely broadly.
So it includes not only race, LGBTQ status, the kinds of things that Republicans expect Democrats to care about. It includes people in rural communities, people who are trapped in cycles of poverty. So there was an, I think a broader concern for America than a lot of Republicans would expect to come from a democratic administration.
And then those clear terms about what is, and a little bit of that sense of energetic drain that you were talking about Sarah, is included in the executive order, revoking the ban on people from primarily Muslim countries. It talks about how that is a stain on our national consciousness. [00:46:00] The language of it is direct and it says we will protect our national security.
We will work with our international partners to vet people. A strong immigration system is essential to national security, but we will not discriminate in building that. And so I thought that the language of these orders, which I was so thrilled had been vetted through the office of legal counsel career government people not just political appointees. You know, I thought that conveyed the gravity of what was happening and how serious they are about rebuilding our institutions.
I was thrilled that the language married up really nicely with what we heard at the inauguration, not shying away from anything that is a true reversal in policy. And that's what these orders were. They were true reversals in policy from the Trump administration, but saying there's a lot here for everyone as we reverse these policies.
Sarah: [00:46:57] Yes. The [00:47:00] sense of we are working towards something and that is the source of our unity and our celebrating America and feeling dare I say it patriotic, you know, I had a friend that was like, I just don't feel patriotic.
And I said, you know, I feel like we need. You know, hadn't Latin, how they have the different terms of love and the different ideas of love. I feel like we need that about patriotism, because for better, for worse, it's become this sort of blind egotistical, I love my country because it's the best and has always been the best and will always be the best.
And I guess that is one form of patriotism that people experience. It is not a form of patriotism I have ever personally experienced, but I think there is another type of patriotism that Joe Biden kept trying to tap in that speech and in the language surrounding the executive actions, which is there is a way to feel proud of what could be without saying, we must feel proud of [00:48:00] everything that has happened.
That same, we can feel that sort of sense of grace and gratitude for what has come before us with the awareness that there are things to be grateful for because they arose out of great suffering. And that we got things wrong and that we will continue to get things wrong, but that when we can see ourselves connected and when we can strive towards a common goal there's opportunity.
There's, there's so many things in front of us that we could be proud of, that we could feel patriotic about, that we could look back 20 years from now and say, we took this moment to save our planet, that we took this moment to invite people to the table. And I just, you know, I think we all needed that so badly.
And then to have it backed up so explicitly with executive action, with the words of the inaugural address, with the ceremonies and the celebrations and all those moments, even the fireworks, even this like [00:49:00] beautiful display to say, look, there's beauty. Look what we can celebrate coming from the democratic party in particular, although I don't, I didn't feel a profound sense of this is the democratic party, but it is a democratic president. And the sense of like, you know, this narrative that we hate America and where the enemy of American, we hate the country. We're not proud of it and all this stuff. Like it just, it felt even more profound for me in that moment.
Beth: [00:49:28] I mean, it was an actual field full of flags. It is hard to say that this is a party that's not proud of American. Yeah. And I, I agree with you. I love the idea of different words to capture different aspects of your feeling towards your country. I think that's a, a really lovely way to think about it because it does make me sad that the word Patriot has started to conjure an image that is representative of a very small number of Americans.
[00:50:00] And I thought again, I have to give kudos to Senator Blunt because it was a real choice from a conservative Republican to talk about how our founders did not expect America to be one thing for all of its history and that they knew that working toward a more perfect union all along was really the goal.
And that signified some openness to me that I have been craving from people who, um, think in more right of center ways. And I hope that that can flourish because I, I believe Joe Biden when he says, I want to hear from everybody. And I want you to hear me out. And if we disagree fine, but let's hear each other.
I trust that he finds benefit in diverse arguments coming in front of him. And I trust that he believes in Congress and the necessity of Congress arguing, you know, there was an interesting piece from, uh, Jonah Goldberg last [00:51:00] night, about how unity is kind of a wrong message in a democracy. He wasn't critical at all of what Biden was trying to do in terms of saying America, we have got to stop acting like we're each other's enemies.
But what he was saying was kind of, we need a more complex way to talk about this because actually fierce, philosophical disagreement is very important to maintaining democracy. And part of the problem of the last four years is that we didn't have any of that in the Republican party. Yeah. And so I trust that Joe Biden holds that nuance and that is he's assembling a team of people who do as well and so what an opportunity for Republicans to step up to the plate and bring some real thought about these issues instead of just using patriotism as another tool in the culture war.
Sarah: [00:51:49] Well, and here's on that note, something else I was thinking a lot about as these executive actions were rolling on the first day, and there were the most of any modern president, and [00:52:00] that is a narrative that the media.
Uh, really focuses on at the beginning of every presidential term. And I have now been a long live enough. I'm starting to notice the pattern I turned 40 this year. And if you talk to people who were we're alive and around, and I worked with a bunch of them when I was in DC, when Clinton was inaugurated, there was this sense of freedom and the shackles of the Reagan administration and the Bush administration had been thrown out and there was a Democrat in town again.
And free at last, free at last, thank god of mine, we're free last, and there was a sense that Clinton rolled in and exercise executive actions, and the other side felt very threatened. And you can watch that pattern continue. I remember vividly the narrative about how many executive actions George W. Bush was passing and how, as a Democrat, it felt scary and threatening and like something was changing and there was this expansion of executive power.
That [00:53:00] was, it felt very, very scary. And then Barack Obama came in and we had the same conversation and criticism of executive action and the expansion of executive power and four years ago was not so long ago that I'm sure most of you remember when Donald Trump came in and began signing executive actions.
And there was this discussion that he was signing the most executive actions in history. And so I think if you're a political scientist, which most of us aren't, there's a real conversation to be had about the changes in the use of executive actions and the expansion of executive power. But that's not what we're having right now.
And that's not what the media is reporting on. I think what happens is it's just an adjustment and it's the emotional reaction to seeing someone you did not vote for in power exercising that power and I've felt it enough in my life, uh, particularly with the George [00:54:00] W. Bush administration, that I can be sympathetic to that.
And then I can understand that no matter the circumstances, when someone you did not vote for starts exercising power, there is something threatening there. And I think that's what the media picks up on and that's what they report on. And I think instead of getting into a battle about, well, your guy signed more, I've just noticed in myself over the past week, As we face this transition, how every response to an argument, even if one just inside my own head, that I feel someone I disagree with could be making on Facebook somewhere.
It's yeah, but it's what about, but what about my side? But what about my side? And I wonder if what a better response in this moment would be. Yeah, I know, I understand. I was really scared when Donald Trump started exercising all those executive actions. I think that's a normal reaction. But I survived barely.
Maybe Trump's not the best example, but you know, the sense of like, I can see that reaction. I [00:55:00] had that reaction too. Instead of you have a, my side's doing it right and your side was doing it wrong and that's really hard. And I still think there's a lot more of that required from us if we are going to rise to the opportunity that Joe Biden is calling us to.
Beth: [00:55:24] Politically, I don't know if this is possible, but I would love to have a moment where president Biden says, okay, I'm going to pump the brakes now. There were some actions that the Trump administration took through the use of executive authority that needed to be undone for us to move forward at all. And I have undone them now and I strongly prefer and commit myself to moving things through Congress from this point forward. And he says that when you really listen to him, you [00:56:00] know, when he talks about immigration, for example, how important is for Congress to move this forward?
All he did in his executive order on DACA was say, basically all parts of the federal government are suspending their efforts to stop this program and re fortifying it because it's good policy and also Congress should pass something that says, so.
One of his executive orders was requiring everybody who works for him to make ethical commitments. One of his executive orders said, basically, we're just going to put a pause on regulation for a second, so I can get my arms around what's in progress. You know, we're not going to have holdovers from the last administration sneaking through regs. We're going to get our arms around where we are and then go forward from there.
Not all of these executive orders are like big dramatic statements of Democrats policy. Some of them are just clean up and so to talk about them as though they are exactly the same as what [00:57:00] Trump did, doesn't make a lot of sense to me. These were more restorations of the pre 2017 status quo. That said, I hate executive orders. This is a terrible way to govern. It's terrible for the country to do this Seesaw back and forth. And so somebody has to cut that off somewhere. And I hope that president Biden will be the person to do it.
Sarah: [00:57:20] I love the reporting in Politico that, you know, they, they formulated it as the Democrats were caught flat-footed by control and now there's disagreement about how to move forward. But in one, which I don't think that is the best, most productive way to, to create a narrative about what is happening right now. But when a described the COVID relief package and that they had planned on just forcing it through democratic votes, but that Biden is now bipartisan curious, which made me laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh.
But I think we do not understand how much restoration is needed and while crisis of the level that we are facing [00:58:00] can feel there's this sense of imperativeness right? Like we have to move really fast because everything is really bad. And that is true and also, I don't think we understand the depth of dysfunction and problems within the federal government. And we are going to have to give both Congress and Joe Biden and the administration and the democratic party, and even Republicans time to figure it out. I mean, there was reporting today that there, it wasn't that they have to fix the vaccine distribution plan.
It's that there was no vaccine distribution plan within the Trump administration. It did not exist. So they are starting from square one. There's a sense within the department of defense in particular, that they don't understand how bad it is. And that's why the department of defense was very purposely freezing them out during the transition.
And so we are just going to have to give a lot of grace and I, they give themselves grace and I hope that they, they [00:59:00] articulate that, that they trust the American people to say, This is what we're facing. This is what we're having to rebuild and restore, and you're going to have to give us time, and this is how we need your help.
This is where you're going to have to trust us and where we have to build trust. This is where we need Republicans in Congress has helped because some of that restoration and reconciliation will have to be bi-partisan and. I think that we all have to, you know, it's exciting and we're already in it. The, the get to work memes are beautiful and also we all need to take a very, very deep breath.
Beth: [00:59:32] And you heard that Jen Psaki's press briefing. I think she was trying to be gracious and not criticize the outgoing administration too harshly but when she was asked about Solar Winds, She said our people are just getting their computer set up. That's not a normal response. I think that was a very understated way to say this transition has been messed up and we are going to need a minute to figure out where things stand.
I'll tell you [01:00:00] on the restoration sense and the bi-partisan need, I am becoming more convinced all the time of an argument that Sarah Longwell advances. I'm a bulwark plus member, because it lets me be among my people and exercise that particular form of rage that you feel if you have been a Republican at different times, and don't agree with where things have been.
But Sarah Longwell has been talking so clearly about the need and it's a basic fundamental need of our democracy right now, for Republicans to come out and renounce the big lie about this election. How critical it is for anything to work moving forward for Republican senators and representatives and governors and secretaries of state and all the people to frankly, look at their constituents and say, this was a free and fair election and this is a legitimate president.
And [01:01:00] everything I told you that obfuscated that was a lie for which I am sorry and I regret it. And I know that that is an incomparable ask in our political system, but I think she's right. That it is necessary. I don't think we can move forward without it. I really, especially as I watch kind of the unwinding that's already happening around Q Anon.
And hear from our listeners about how deep into that stuff so many of your loved ones are, I think it is crucial that every Republican in a position of leadership take the opportunity to say that was wrong. That was wrong and we will have all kinds of disagreement. You can, then you can follow that was wrong by dissecting the executive order on climate change and expressing all the places that you disagree. I'm not asking you to become Democrats. I am asking you to cleanse this [01:02:00] space. If we are really going to start fresh, we must have people renounce that line of thinking.
Sarah: [01:02:08] And I think we have to do that in our own lives as well, but. You are 100% correct that the role of leadership can not be underestimated. I know that Donald Trump was not the entirety of issues that America faces. He was not the sole and total cause of where we are today. However, it is also true that we cannot underestimate how powerful his presence was as president to go back to the opening of the show. T
he reporting that his absence from Twitter has decreased misinformation by 76%, the unraveling with Q. I was struck by the tone and just the emotional shift among the United States senators that were present at the [01:03:00] inaugural. They were articulating this sense of like, it felt different. Well, of course it feels different to be at a ceremony led by Joe Biden than in a ceremony led by Donald Trump.
Like it's like the scales are falling from people's eyes, you know? And I think we cannot underestimate that and why it's important to not to underestimate it is because we need to lean in and capture that momentum. We need to lean into the space of, you know, misinformation that has been destabilized by his absence and take back the field.
You know what I mean? Like we gotta, we gotta go all in and say, okay, he's gone. See how different it is. That's because this is how it actually is. And he was lying to you. And he was shielding you from the truth. He was keeping us all off balance constantly. With his chaos. And so we could not see what was going on, but he is gone now and now we can see, do you see what I see? And that has to come from leadership, but I think we can all be a part of it.
Beth: [01:03:58] I think we can all be a part of that [01:04:00] is a good place to end this conversation for now because I loved, loved, loved the end of the inaugural address when president Biden talked about giving America your very best. Mm. And I think that is such a great call to action for all of us. And I'm excited about what it might mean to give America my very best over the next four years. Sarah what's on your mind outside of politics?
Sarah: [01:04:26] Well, on the theme of giving America our very best, doctor Jill Biden, I can give my best, so much better if my children are back in school, full-time. We're back hybrid and I'm happy to have two days and also it feels a little bit harder than even all virtual in some weird way. My kids are worn out. I am worn out and I have full-time help that comes and helps us with all of this and he is awesome.
And I am also worn out with the fits, with the running away from the [01:05:00] zooms, with the meltdowns. I just am tired and I just want my children to go back to school so desperately. I'm really could, I can rise to the call of opportunity, a promise I could pop, if you could just keep these kids back in school.
Beth: [01:05:15] We started hybrid again today as we're sitting down to record. And I totally agree that in some ways it's harder. I'm thrilled. My girls were so excited. Jane could not wait to see her friends. And she turns 10 on Monday and it was almost like a birthday gift for her to be able to see a couple of her friends today in school. So I'm, I'm thrilled.
And also it is harder. It is hard for everyday to be different. Cause it sounds like your hybrid is like this too, perhaps. One group of kids is in school Monday, Tuesday, one group on Thursday, Friday, and then Wednesday is just this weird, no man's land day, where kids are supposed to be catching up and doing some small groups.
And I totally understand that the cleaning of it and how teachers need that day. I, again, no criticism of anyone, [01:06:00] just putting into the universe, the reality as a parent, and I'm sure as kids and teachers too, that the routine changing constantly like this, is miserable. And the two days when they're not at school and the teacher is engaged with kids who are at school, miserable.
Sarah: [01:06:19] Yes. The back and forth is exhausting. You know, I actually was reading an article about how Joe Biden believes in the power of ritual and I do too and routine. And so when the routine is constantly changing, it's exhausting and especially for a kindergarten, Felix can not get his feet underneath him and it shows and so he is constantly, kneecapping the rest of us.
Beth: [01:06:41] That's how it feels here too. I don't know that Ellen really understands what school is yet, because this is what her kindergarten year has been. And again, you know, I try to keep in mind that this is so much easier for my family than others. My kids are gonna be just fine.
They will get through this. And also it's a miserable time right now. And it wears me out in all [01:07:00] kinds of ways. I'll have these moments when I think why is my brain so foggy? And then I realize, Oh, just because of like a year of instability around. Who's watching the kids and when, and for what purpose?
And am I parenting right now or my teaching right now? Am I assisting in schoolwork that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me right now? Like which hat am I wearing? Am I trying to do my work, but also be patient and kind with the kids? Yeah, it's it's too much. And, and speaking of here's Ellen. Hi, Ellen, how is school?
How do I spell what local? What an interesting word. L O C. A L.
Sarah: [01:07:43] Hell, that's it.
Beth: [01:07:49] Okay. I'll come see you in just a minute. We're almost finished. Okay. Okay. I love you.
Sarah: [01:07:57] Well, I think that is the perfect ending [01:08:00] to today's show and our conversation about hybrid schooling and why it is very hard. And thank you guys for joining us. You know, so many of you took the opportunity yesterday to thank us for getting you through the past four years and not to say this one more time, but it's the other way around guys. You got us through, you got us through and I'm so glad we're through and I'm so glad we're on the other side.
Beth: [01:08:25] It is a privilege and an honor, for sure.
Sarah: [01:08:27] Thank you for joining us for another episode of Pantsuit Politics, we will be back with you again next week. The News Brief and the Nightly Nuance are now both exclusively on Patreon so if you want to start your day and end your day with us, uh, go check that out.
We'll be back in your ears next Tuesday and until then have the best weekend available to you.
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