Paula Lugones
01/30/2021 4:38 PM
Clarín.com
World
Updated 01/30/2021 4:38 PM
There are no startled tweets at dawn, there are no insults or bravado, the daily press conferences are back and
now there is a president who calls for dialogue with a neat work agenda
, focused on a series of priorities.
In his early days in office, Joe Biden's White House
is very different
from Donald Trump's
four-year chaotic one
.
Beyond the barrage of decrees that the new Democratic president has signed these days, it can be said that the most drastic act of Biden has been
the return to normality
.
Biden took office on January 20 and there are fundamental changes, with the signing from the first day of a series of decrees that reversed measures implemented by Trump and also others to contain urgent issues such as the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and the economic crisis .
But there
are
also
changes in shape
, which in contrast to the roller coaster of previous years take on another dimension.
President Joe Biden with his wife, Jill, on the White House lawn.
(Reuters)
Biden basically did what he had promised during his campaign.
And in a systematic and orderly way.
There were no surreptitious announcements on Twitter.
Each day was dedicated to a topic, and the presidential agenda was announced to the correspondents the day before, with fixed hours, and was not altered.
Every day, the general framework of the initiatives was presented by Biden in a short speech
, then the president signed the decrees and the White House spokeswoman cleared up doubts later.
If he did not know about a subject, he was left to find out.
A routine in any normal government.
Through executive orders, Biden first focused on
returning the Paris Climate Agreement
, which had been abandoned by Trump, and then launched measures against the advance of covid19, with the establishment of the use of the mask at the federal level, the travel restriction and the promise of
expediting vaccination
by immunizing more than 100 million Americans in 100 days.
Then it advanced on the economy with a package of
aid
measures
for the sectors most affected by the crisis
and endorsed the “Buy American” initiative to promote the national industry.
Joe Biden talks to reporters on the White House lawn.
(Bloomberg)
He also made announcements on immigration (which includes the suspension of the construction of the wall) and the promotion of racial justice and then focused on the
restoration of the Obamacare health program
to facilitate access to health.
In addition, it reversed the prohibition of access for members of the LGTBQ community to the Armed Forces.
There were about
40 decrees signed in the first ten days of government
, a large figure that many here do not like.
In fact, it has issued more executive orders than its early predecessors.
Biden says it is because there are urgencies to act on fundamental issues such as the pandemic, but other pencils that are more aimed at undermining Trump's legacy also slip through.
This succession of decrees have aroused criticism from some sectors.
Senate Republican Bloc Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that using so many executive orders goes against Biden's promise to build consensus.
He even said that "
you cannot legislate by decrees unless you are a dictator.
'" The New York Times newspaper itself started an editorial with the headline
"Take executive action easy, Joe
.
"
Faced with these claims, Biden replied that his objective is
"to reverse the damage done by Trump"
without the need to enact new laws, while simultaneously waging a war against COVID-19.
Biden's advisers have said that the decrees cannot replace legislative measures, but at the same time defended the use of this resource.
"There are steps, including the reversal of harmful and immoral actions of the previous government, that the president believes cannot wait" through the legislative process, said press secretary Jen Psaki.
Beyond the mud of decrees and their criticisms, the turbulent climate of recent years has drastically calmed down these days in the White House.
Biden doesn't usually get up as early as Trump did
, who could be tweeting at 2 a.m. and starting again at 6.
Usually, his schedule only begins at 9 in the morning with the traditional briefing of his security advisers that he receives together with Harris.
Then he continues with another meeting with the advisers on the subject that he will announce that day, before having lunch with the vice president.
In the early afternoon he usually signs the decrees and explains them with a short speech.
He is known to have
frequent telephone conversations with both Democratic and Republican congressmen
.
On Twitter he only posts messages of unity and some government acts at reasonable hours.
Biden goes to bed much earlier than Trump.
He does not usually watch television until late at night and in the morning he starts not to the rhythm of Fox News but
with a routine that had been abandoned for four years: reading the paper newspapers
.
The subscriptions of the newspapers The New York Times and The Washington Post returned, which had been canceled.
The weekends seem to be meant for rest.
The president has a deserted agenda and was only seen to appear last Sunday to go to mass with his family and stop to buy take-out at the restaurant of an Argentine.
It is definitely a more normal White House
.