Amid the gloom of coronavirus, Trump denying he lost the election and a world in financial chaos, Joe Biden stepped up to become the 46th President of the United States.
At 78 he is no spring chicken, but already he has started to dismantle the divisive legacy that was bequeathed him by an unhinged Donald Trump.
Trump didn’t stick around for the inauguration it would undermine his claim that Biden had ‘stolen’ the presidency from him.
He had a little leaving ceremony of his own and abandoned Air Force 1 in a Texas parking lot along with the nuclear codes.
Biden is in a rush to get things done with the US re-joining the fight against climate change, patching up things with NATO while taking the pandemic more seriously.
Trump’s haphazard approach to COVID-19, propensity for quack remedies rather than the science most probably added thousands of deaths to the shocking tally the US has suffered.
The billionaire tycoon seemed more interested in building walls and attacking fake news where there was none rather than navigate America through the pandemic.
Pointless rallies to whip up his base into frenzy also supplied more victims to the COVID-19 death toll.
To get American healthy again President Biden has signed many executive orders since he took office Wednesday to swiftly roll back Trump-era policies, as well as tackle coronavirus.
He signed an executive order requiring people to wear masks in airports, planes, trains, and maritime vessels while directing agencies to accelerate production of items in short supply.
When Trump knew he couldn’t beat Biden, he urged supporters to ‘stop the crime’ from being ratified in the Senate.
The siege of Capitol Hill was an insurrection, a coup to overturn the political process.
A stab in the back to its democracy America likes to export to foreign lands.
Washington DC embarrassingly resembled a tinpot republic where the militias and gunslingers rule.
There are fears that another coup is brewing in the American hinterland where the Trump philosophy beats strong in a polarised country.
For now, Uncle Joe will hunker down to get the US back on an even keel, a place where it has authority on the world stage and can lead by example.
Cyprus did well under the Trump administration.
America became interested in this part of the world again through the East Med pact and partially lifting the arms embargo.
Biden knows the region better than Trump, but he is unlikely to concern himself about the Cyprus problem just yet.
He has enough broken pieces to fix at home while his focus will be on a stable East Med region that works for Washington – like keeping the Russians in the background.
Nevertheless, the inauguration of Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris – the first black, Asian, or female to take up the position – does feel like a fresh, positive start for a new world order.
Climate change
His first issue of business was to re-join the Paris climate change accord and appoint John Kerry as his Special Envoy for Climate.
Only a global alliance for climate action can help us reduce the effects of accelerated global warming.
Another wound Uncle Joe will have to heal is the systemic racism and inequality that divides America, exacerbated by the Trump years.
Many blame the white supremacists for the assault on the Capitol in a society defined by its fractured race relations or lack of integration.
COVID-19 has highlighted inequalities in the health system and the need for more resources to stem the pandemic.
Biden is now trying to lead the fight against the pandemic rather than pretend he has a grip on it when the US counts record infections.
Trump aspired to Make America Great Again but what he did was a demolition job on its reputation on the world stage.
He nurtured a culture of paranoia and fear at the heart of government.
It would be a massive feat of incompetence if Biden departed the Whitehouse leaving behind an America in a worse state than he found it.
For now, there are hopes the old school politician can pull America back together, save the economy, conquer COVID, create a fairer and more equal society.
That’s what it says on the tin, but even the best of cooks can serve a bad meal.
