By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com
President Biden apparently suffers from an ailment that has afflicted millions of Americans just like me.
He is infected with Trump Fatigue. The president took part Tuesday in a CNN-sponsored town hall event in Milwaukee and declared that he is “tired of Trump.” He is tired of talking about his immediate predecessor. He wants to focus on the crises that confront him and plans to deal with them.
“I don’t want to keep talking about Trump,” Biden said, vowing that during his term in office he wants the subject to be “millions of Americans.”
Well … isn’t that a refreshing change?
I am all in, Mr. President.
The town hall also included another fascinating — and in a way a related — notion from the president. He referenced the Justice Department and declared that it isn’t “my Department of Justice.” He said the department doesn’t work for the president, but that it works for all Americans. He noted that DOJ became, during the Trump administration, the “most political” DOJ in U.S. history.
Indeed, I would implore President Biden to shuck the first-person possessive pronoun when referring to the government. President Obama had an annoying habit of constantly referring to “my vice president,” or “my national security team,” or “my Cabinet.” Donald Trump continued that practice during his term, making reference to “my generals” and “my Justice Department.”
Memo to all presidents: You don’t own these individuals or the departments where they work. All of you, and that includes the individual at the top of the chain of command, are hired by us, you and me, to do our bidding.
So, with that President Biden — in office now for just four weeks — is seeking to chart a new direction for the federal government and for the media that cover it and report on it to the public.
He also must cure himself of the fatigue that has set in.
Get well, Mr. President.
Well said, John!