The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion Joe Biden shows America what it means to have a real president again

Letters and Community Editor and Columnist|
January 20, 2021 at 4:04 p.m. EST
Joe Biden is sworn in as president on Wednesday in D.C. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

So this is what it feels like to have a president again.

Donald Trump physically occupied the Oval Office, and commanded too much of the nation’s psychic attention, for the past four years. But if the job of the president is to unify the country in good times and console it in moments of despair, then Trump barely even attempted to fill the role.