Background Briefing: January 20, 2021
Biden’s Inauguration and His Call For Unity and Civility
We begin with today’s inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris and speak with Princeton University historian Sean Wilentz, whose books include The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln and The Politicians and the Egalitarians and his latest, No Property in Man: Slavery and Antislavery at the Nation’s Founding. He joins us to discuss Biden’s call for unity and civility and whether that can operate in tandem with the need to punish the insurgents who stormed the capitol. We assess whether the pardoning of Stephen Bannon will cover the possibility that Bannon might be guilty of planning the attack on the capitol, since on the day before he said, “all hell is gonna break loose tomorrow”, and what Senator McConnell meant when he charged that powerful people along with Trump, were responsible for inciting the mob who looted and vandalized the very building where Biden was inaugurated today.
Will Dealing With Domestic Terrorism Be a Priority in the Biden Administration?