FIRST
FIRST FULL DAY WITH A NEW PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
A SUCCESSFUL,
PEACEFUL...I MEAN IF YOU
OVERLOOK WHAT
UNSEUCCESSFULLY WENT
DOWN TWO WEEKS
AGO...A SUCCESSFUL,
PEACEFUL TRANSITION OF
POWER.
JUST LIKE IT'S SUPPOSED
TO BE.
WHILE PRESIDENT JOSEPH
R BIDEN HAS BEEN BUSY
WITH A FLURRY OF
EXECUTIVE ORDERS...WE
WANTED TO TAKE A LOOK
AT HOW THAT PEACEFUL
TRANSITION TAKES PLACE..
THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS
OF TRANSITIONING FROM
ONE ADMINISTRATION TO
THE NEXT.
YOU HAVE HAD
QUESTIONS...LIKE IS THERE
A 'BOOK OF SECRETS'
HANDED OFF BETWEEN
PRESIDENTS?
AND WHILE OUT-GOING
PRESIDENT TRUMP
WASN'T EXACTLY
AVAILABLE TO
TECHNICALLY HAND OFF
ANYTHING TO IN-COMING
PRESIDENT BIDEN...WE
HAD OTHER QUESTIONS,
TOO.
FOR ANSWERS AND
HISTORICAL
PERSPECTIVE...JOE PARRIS
SPOKE WITH A POLITICAL
EXPERT FROM BOISE STATE
ABOUT THE
OVERLAP...AND WHERE
AMERICA GOES FROM
HERE.
THE PRESIDENTIAL
THE PRESIDENTIAL
INAUGURATION OF JOE BIDEN ON THE STEPS OF THE U.S. CAPITOL WAS A
DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT
SCENE FROM TWO WEEKS
PRIOR WHEN RIOTERS
STORMED THE BUILDING.
MANY SAW THE
INAUGURATION AS A STEP
FORWARD FOR A
COUNTRY THAT STILL SEES
GREAT DIVIDE.
"WE ARE GOING TO DO
THINGS IN THIS KIND OF
RITUALISTIC WAY AT THE
CAPITOL
CAPITOL IS, I THINK, A HUGE SYMBOLIC REBUKE TO THAT INSURRECTION
MOVEMENT AND I THINK
YOU SAW THAT REFLECTED
IN PRESIDENT BIDEN'S
INAUGURAL ADDRESS AS
WELL."
DR. CHARLIE HUNT IS
POLITICAL SCIENCE
PROFESSOR AT BOISE
STATE, HE FOCUSES HIS
RESEARCH ON AMERICAN
POLITICS WITH AN
EMPHASIS ON THE
PRESIDENCY. AS
PRESIDENT BIDEN BEGINS
HIS
HIS TERM,
HIS TERM, OF COURSE FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S TERM
COMES TO END. DR. HUNT
SAYS TRUMP'S APPROACH
TO OFFICE WAS CERTAINLY
UNIQUE BUT MANAGED
TO GAIN TRACTION WITH
MILLIONS OF AMERICANS.
HE SAYS THE 'TRUMP WAY'
OF POLITICS IS LIKELY
GOING TO SERVE AS A
BLUE PRINT FOR SOME
FUTURE POLITICAL
CANDIDATES.
"I THINK TRUMP IS NOT
THE LAST TRUMP LIKE
CANDIDATE WE ARE EVER
GOING TO SEE FOR
PRESIDENT. I THINK THERE
ARE GOING TO BE OTHERS
WHO WILL TRY TO
REPLICATE HIS STYLE
KNOWING THAT IT DID
HAVE SOME SIGNIFICANT
SUCCESS AT LEAST
AMONG REPUBLICANS."
AS THE ADMINISTRATIONS
CHANGE, THERE HAS BEEN
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE
TRANSITION. WHILE
ALMOST THE ENTIRE
WHITE HOUSE STAFF WILL
MOVE ON, HUNT
EXPLAINS THERE IS
CONTINUITY IN KEY
POSITIONS IN
WASHINGTON.
"IT IS A VERY INTERESTING
PROCESS. THERE IS A LOT
OF STAFF, PARTICULARLY
IN THE BUREAUCRACY,
THAT STAY THROUGH
THAT ARE WHAT WE
WOULD CALL CAREER
OFFICIALS OR CAREER
CIVIL SERVICE
PROFESSIONALS. THESE
ARE THE EXPERTS IN
INTELLIGENCE AND
SECURITY, THESE ARE
HEALTH EXPERTS LIKE AT
THE CDC. THESE FOLKS
STAY THROUGH SO THERE
IS ALWAYS SOME KIND OF
CONTINUITY."
A POPULAR URBAN
LEGEND IS THAT
PRESIDENT TRUMP
WOULD HANDOFF A
"BOOK OF AMERICAN
SECRETS" TO BIDEN THAT
INCLUDES AMERICA'S
DEEPEST AND DARKEST
TOP-SECRET INFO. DR.
HUNT WEIGHS IN ON THE
EXISTENCE OF SUCH A
BOOK.
"I WOULDN'T SAY I KNOW
A WHOLE LOT ABOUT IT, I
HAVE HEARD OF IT. MY
BEST GUESS WOULD BE TO
FOLLOW THE SIGNS AND
THE EVIDENCE AND MY
GUESS IS THERE IS NOT A
WHOLE LOT OF PHYSICAL
EVIDENCE OF A SORT OF
BOOK OF SECRETS."
THERE IS SOMETHING
THAT TRUMP DID LEAVE
BEHIND FOR BIDEN
THOUGH, A LETTER LEFT IN
THE DESK OF THE OVAL
OFFICE.
"TRADITIONALLY THIS IS A
SHORT LETTER, JUST SOME
WORDS OF ADVICE. IT'S A
VERY NICE TRADITION.
ONE MIGHT HAVE
ASSUMED THAT
PRESIDENT TRUMP
WOULD NOT HAVE LEFT A
LETTER FOR PRESIDENT
BIDEN CONSIDERING HOW
LONG HE HELD OUT IN
CHALLENGING THE
ELECTION, BUT THE WORD
IS THAT HE DID LEAVE HIM
A LETTER AND I DO
WONDER IF WE WILL EVER
FIND OUT WHAT IT SAID."
THE CONTENTS OF THE
LETTER HAVE NOT BEEN
REVELED, BUT PRESIDENT
BIDEN CALLED IT
GENEROUS.
GENEROUS. DR. HUNT SAYS BIDEN AND HIS TEAM MUST HIT
THE GROUND RUNNING
AS THE COUNTRY FACES A
VARIETY OF CHALLENGES
INCLUDING THE
PANDEMIC, THE
ECONOMY, AND SOCIAL
JUSTICE MOVEMENTS TO
NAME JUST A FEW.
HIS FIRST MAJOR TEST
WILL BE HANDLING THE
PANDEMIC, AND HUNT
BELIEVES THAT TEST WILL
SET AN IMPORTANT TONE
FOR HIS PRESIDENCY.
"IF HE IS SEEN AS HAVING
DEALT WITH THAT
EFFECTIVELY THAT GIVES
HIM SOME POLITICAL
CAPITOL
CAPITOL POSSIBLY TO REALLY GO FORWARD ON SOME OF THESE OTHER
MAJOR ISSUES LIKE
IMMIGRATION DEPENDING
ON WHAT HE WANTS TO
PRIORITIZE AS HE GOES
INTO THE FIRST YEAR OF
HIS TERM."
HIS TERM."
DID
DID DR.
DID DR. HUNT HAVE INSIGHT ON THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE WILD FEW WEEKS
BEFORE THE TRANSITION?