The first weeks of President Biden’s administration were a marked contrast to the chaos and turmoil of the Trump administration, bringing a sense of normality back to the White House and the government.
Biden, along with Vice President Harris, begins each day by receiving the president’s daily summary, usually before 10 am. His government revived the White House’s daily reports every day of the week.
And when he signed executive actions, they were often combined with events where the president makes scripted comments about the policy and rarely answers reporters’ shouted questions.
The White House also routinely sends out press releases that look familiar. In the early days of the presidency, he issued a statement recognizing National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month – a day that had been routinely marked by previous administrations but ignored under Trump.
The White House is making quarterly visitor records public, a practice maintained during the Obama administration but abandoned in the Trump administration. Former Obama officials described Biden’s office as a kind of extended family, full of people he worked with for years and trusted.
“I think one of the main goals here was to give the presidency a sense of normalcy,” said a former Biden aide. “Enough with the crazy shit we’ve been through for four years.”
After a two-hour meeting on Monday with 10 Republican senators, there were no reports of anyone insulting themselves – something that often happened when Democrats and Trump met – although there was no agreement either. Sen. Susan Collins
Susan Margaret CollinsThe Memorandum: Bad Jobs Report Boosts Biden’s Stimulus Case Five Lessons From the Budget Marathon Don’t Let This Unifying Moment Be Wasted MORE (R-Me.) He described the meeting as “cordial” and expressed his gratitude to Biden for welcoming them.
Biden’s tweets, written in small letters, are often mundane political missives. It is a striking contrast to Trump’s 280-character megaphone, where he used to provoke fights or criticize and scoff at opponents.
“It’s so funny – I heard from friends on both sides of the aisle how purifying it is to wake up in the morning without feeling that the day will be ignited by a crazy tweet,” said the former representative. Steve Israel
Steven (Steve) J. IsraelBiden faces monumental task of healing the divided country The Hill’s Morning Report – Trump is charged again; what now? Democrats need a post-Trump message MORE, who served as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the Obama era. “Even people who disagree with President Biden say that at least we’re back to normal.”
Biden’s life outside the bubble also echoes a time before the Trump era.
He went to church on his first Sunday in office – a routine that White House advisers hope to continue – at Holy Trinity in Georgetown and then ran out to buy bagels, with Secret Service agents ordering at the popular “Call Your” window Mother “Delicatessen.
The Bidens brought their two German shepherds, Champ and Major, to the White House with them and intend to get a cat. First lady Jill Biden
Jill BidenJill Biden and dogs will appear in an ad promoting the use of a mask during Puppy Bowl Hunter Biden will release memories on April 6. Congressional leaders pay tribute as Capitol Police officer lies in honor MORE, who spent most of her career as a teacher at a community college, continues to hold a teaching position at Northern Virginia Community College.
When he was vice president, Biden also sought to maintain normalcy in his life. He and Jill Biden occasionally sneaked out of the Naval Observatory to watch a movie. He made headlines for getting pizza with one of his granddaughters.
He surprised an employee when it was her birthday, stopping at the Italian restaurant where colleagues were meeting. He was also known for attending Brooks Brothers when he returned home from work in 1600 in Pennsylvania.
The difference from Trump’s years is stark – even those who worked at his White House recognize him.
“If you think about the first weeks of the Trump presidency, and even the transition, it was defined by disorder and power struggles,” he said. Anthony Scaramucci
Anthony ScaramucciPence, other Republican Party officials hoped to skip Trump’s expulsion Kelly says Trump cannot admit to making mistakes: “Your manhood is at stake here” Steve Scully of C-SPAN completes his three-month suspension MORE, who served as Trump’s communications director for 11 days.
From the start, Trump’s White House was marked by gunfire, tweets and fights that generated intense and constant press coverage. Trump’s decisions and actions were unpredictable, even among his team, which, unlike Biden, was full of strangers.
“Trump was elected because he had no political, governmental or military experience,” said Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia. “In fact, that was a selling point for him.”
She said that “in the minds of the people who voted for him, it was not a weakness, it was an advantage”, but she argued that it did not lead to “informed leadership at the top”.
Chris Lu, who served as cabinet secretary at the Obama White House, made a comparison between the new government and the white houses of Obama, Clinton and Bush.
“It is invigorating as is normal. This is what happens in a normal White House. You have a process for making political decisions, you have the message of the day, you have a president who stays true to the message. You have a sense of order, “said Lu.
Not everything is great, as Biden, who considered himself a moderate Democrat during the campaign, is facing expected pressures from the left and right as he sets his agenda.
There have been family policies and political disputes that vary in the size and substance of the COVID-19 relief measure – Republicans hesitated about the price – even if Biden is going too far in restricting oil and gas drilling to reduce climate change.
However, even the controversies at the White House seem like a return to normality. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki
Jen PsakiThe Hill’s 12:30 Report: Senate Dems haggles over 0.9 trillion details of relief COVID The CDC says schools are safe, but Biden continues to ignore science, doctors. was criticized by conservatives this week for rejecting an issue about the Space Force, the sixth military branch established under Trump. She later published a tweet that made it clear that the Biden administration sees the Space Force as important, an apparent effort to dispel criticism.
There is a striking contrast to the Capitol, where tensions remain high a month after a furious pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol. The House voted on Thursday to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) From the first term of its committee assignments as punishment for a series of controversies, including comments on shootings at schools being staged.
Both the Capitol and the White House remained fortified by large fences, a daily reminder of the violence of the previous month. Psaki told reporters this week that the perimeter would be adjusted when “it makes sense from a general security point of view”.
The Biden White House has sought to project order and control while taking control amid a deadly pandemic increase and a severe economic crisis. Biden also tried to control expectations, warning repeatedly that it will take months to change the virus’s course.
Trump was elected, at least in part, as a response from voters who did not like the Obama years and what they stood for. This may suggest that there is at least some political risk in doing things the way they were done from 2009 to 2016.
Still, Democratic strategist Eddie Vale argued that voters are likely to like Biden’s signs as a welcome break.
“Just having a sense of normality and routine is already making people feel better, but, in fact, it is more effective because it is also infused with competence that is already showing people with action that we are going back – or I dare say rebuild better – from this recession and pandemic, ”he said.