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      A President Can Govern in Poetry

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storyOpinionSupported byContinue reading the main storyA President Can Govern in PoetryTo succeed, Biden will need hope and history to rhyme.Contributing Opinion WriterJan. 22, 2021The youth poet laureate, Amanda Gorman, at President Biden’s inauguration. He is fond of quoting verse, especially from Irish poets.Credit…Ruth Fremson/The New York TimesOne line you didn’t hear in Joe Biden’s big-hearted Inaugural Address was one of his favorite bits of Irish verse — a yearning for the rarest of convergences, when “hope and history rhyme,” by the Irish Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney.Throughout the monumental tragedies of his life — the loss of a wife and baby daughter in an auto accident, the death of a son to brain cancer, and his time in the cellar of political despair after two unsuccessful presidential campaigns — Biden has returned to the healing power of Irish poetry.On Tuesday, as he gave a tearful goodbye to Delaware by quoting James Joyce, Biden said his colleagues in the Senate used to kid him for always citing Irish poets. “They thought I did it because I’m Irish,” he said. “I did it because they’re the best poets in the world.”He may have to revise that assessment after listening to the uncommonly wise Amanda Gorman, who followed in the footsteps of Robert Frost and Maya Angelou at the inaugural podium. Her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” was medicine for a sick nation.But Biden should not put on the posterity shelf the young poet’s stirring lines — “For there is always light/ if only we’re brave enough to see it/ if only we’re brave enough to be it” — or Heaney’s call for the near impossible. Why not reverse the political aphorism, and govern in poetry after campaigning in prose?Ms. Gorman being applauded by President Biden after her poetry reading.Credit…Jonathan Ernst/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesAs he took the oath in front of a Capitol that only days before was under the siege of a mob of the misinformed, in a country deadened by a pandemic, the oldest man ever elected president should remember that in the home of his ancestors, poetry is the language of politics.Biden is known for his empathy, his lingering at the rope line to hear one last story of a life taken too early, his tendency to tear up when recalling a loved one who’s died. But he also has something that leaders from Nelson Mandela to Abraham Lincoln had — a belief in the power of why not? That’s the province of poets, not policy wonks.Heaney was thinking of Mandela, newly released from prison as apartheid crumbled in South Africa, and the centuries-old hatreds clinging to Northern Ireland, when he wrote “The Cure at Troy,” and the stanza oft-quoted by Biden:History says, don’t hopeOn this side of the grave.But then, once in a lifetimeThe longed-for tidal waveOf justice can rise up,And hope and history rhyme.Biden is aiming big, with a $1.9 trillion rescue package. He plans $1,400 checks for most Americans, subsidies for child care and aid for renters facing eviction. He has submitted a plan to offer 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States a path to citizenship.The new president wants to raise taxes on corporations, strengthen labor unions, expand Obamacare with a public option, stall the existential threat of climate change and spend $2 trillion on energy and infrastructure. On Day 1, he rejoined the community of nations who’ve agreed to the Paris climate accord.He envisions a Rooseveltian campaign to get 100 million Covid vaccine shots into the arms of Americans in his first 100 days. There will be ramped-up testing, contact tracing and mobilization of at least 100,000 people to conquer the virus.It’s a full plate, with long odds. For starters, how does a president who sees the essential goodness in everyone deal with a party whose base doesn’t even believe in the legitimacy of his presidency? How does he bring the conspiracy theorists back to planet Earth, and cool the tribal passions that fueled the insurrection on Jan. 6?If Biden and Congress succeed at the big ideas, and not just the reversal of wrongful executive orders or unpopular legislation, he will be fondly remembered, even if he serves only one term. What’s more, he may even able to bring enough fresh air into our toxic political atmosphere to realign things.If he fails, well, I’m sorry to remind you that most Irish poetry is rooted in despair, in a country whose currency for centuries was misery. Still, in Ireland, poets have moved the masses to uprisings and greatness — most notably, the Easter 1916 rebellion that eventually helped lead to a free Ireland.Thus, on Wednesday, the first message from the Irish president Michael D. Higgins to Biden contained a quotation from the poet John O’Donohue — “Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning.”In his struggle to overcome his stutter, Biden famously recited the poems of William Butler Yeats in front of a mirror. He has used Heaney’s aspirational lines again and again — in a viral campaign video, and his acceptance speech last summer at the Democratic National Convention, and at a 2013 meeting on the U.S.-Korea relationship in Seoul.There were flashes of words that could stand as poetry in Biden’s Inaugural Address. He lamented the “lies told for power and for profit,” and said, “Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire.” The most memorable line was a simple one, that “we must end this uncivil war” that pits Americans against one another.If he’s lucky, a commodity oversubscribed to the Irish, Biden will catch a “longed-for tidal wave” that could usher in an age when poetry is not without power.The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.Timothy Egan (@nytegan) is a contributing opinion writer who covers the environment, the American West and politics. He is a winner of the National Book Award and the author, most recently, of “A Pilgrimage to Eternity.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez Led a Musically Earnest Inauguration

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Presidential InaugurationHighlightsPhotos From the DayBiden’s SpeechWho Attended?Biden’s Long RoadAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyCritic’s NotebookAt Biden’s Inaugural Events, the Music Was Earnestly ReassuringArtists including Bruce Springsteen, Demi Lovato and John Legend tried to bring together an America that couldn’t gather in person, and irony and bombast were banished.At the swearing-in, Lady Gaga sang a “Star-Spangled Banner” that hinted at Kate Smith but made its way into gospel-R&B.Credit…Erin Schaff/The New York TimesJan. 21, 2021Updated 1:35 p.m. ETThroughout President Biden’s inauguration, music sent every possible signal of unabashed earnestness. Irony was banished; so were arrogance, bombast, triumphalism and confrontation. Echoing the Biden campaign, and tightly coordinated with the speeches and imagery of his first day in office, the music insisted on unity after division, hope after pain.On Wednesday morning, President Trump had jetted away, in a final burst of self-glorification, to the Village People’s booming “Y.M.C.A.” and to Frank Sinatra’s boastful “My Way.” By contrast, Mr. Biden’s prime-time “Celebrating America” broadcast on Wednesday night promised humility and a determined inclusiveness, interspersing tributes to everyday Americans — nurses, teachers, cooks, delivery drivers — with songs.It opened with Bruce Springsteen, alone with a guitar at the Lincoln Memorial, singing about migration, mutual aid and welcome in “Land of Hope and Dreams.” It was a reprise of a song by Mr. Springsteen, a career-long voice of workers’ dignity and a steady supporter of Democratic candidates, that played at President Obama’s farewell address.Mr. Biden’s events presented music as balm and consolation, as a peace offering and a promise of community, even as the pandemic — along with security concerns after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot — made a public gathering impossible. At “Celebrating America,” he and his vice president, Kamala Harris, spoke briefly from inside the Lincoln Memorial, where Mr. Biden said their inauguration was “not about us, but about you.”Tyler Hubbard, left, of Florida Georgia Line performing “Undivided” with Tim McGraw on the “Celebrating America” special.Credit…Biden Inaugural Committee, via ReutersEarlier that day at the swearing-in ceremony, Lady Gaga wore a voluminous red dress, a navy jacket and large brooch with a dove holding an olive branch as she sang “The Star-Spangled Banner,” starting it with a foursquare declamation and grand vibrato hinting at Kate Smith but making her way toward gospel-R&B melismas before she was done. Jennifer Lopez, wearing suffragist white, crescendoed from a soft-rock “This Land Is Your Land” to a fervent “America the Beautiful,” shouting part of the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish and slipping in a phrase from her own “Let’s Get Loud.”The afternoon’s “virtual inaugural parade” strove to recapture the endearing roll call at the Democratic convention. It offered quick glimpses of musical, military and athletic groups from all of the states, along with rhythmic delights from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Andra Day sang “Rise Up” on a rooftop overlooking a Black Lives Matter mural in Hollywood, accompanying a skating routine by the young viral-video star Kaitlyn Saunders on Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., and the New Radicals played their one hit from 1998, “You Get What You Give” — a favorite of the president’s son Beau Biden, who died of brain cancer in 2015. The show’s giddy finale was a deftly edited, crowdsourced, TikTok-style montage of hundreds of people flaunting their moves to Martha and the Vandellas’ Motown classic “Dancing in the Street.”During the prime-time “Celebrating America,” another onscreen contingent, predominantly health care workers, joined Demi Lovato as she belted Bill Withers’s “Lovely Day”; a time-stamped cutaway showed the Biden family watching and dancing along, live, at the White House. It was as close as the public could gather in pandemic America.“Celebrating America” included live but physically isolated performances from a small stage by the Lincoln Memorial. Lincoln’s statue gazed down the stairs at Mr. Springsteen, John Legend, Katy Perry and the event’s host, Tom Hanks. Other performances, largely prerecorded, came from remote locations.Katy Perry’s “Firework,” and real-life fireworks over Washington, provided the finale.Credit…Biden Inauguaral Committee, via Associated PressThe songs and titles weren’t subtle. From Nashville, Tyler Hubbard (a member of Florida Georgia Line) and Tim McGraw sang “Undivided,” which insists, “I’m tired of looking left or right/So I’m just looking up.” Jon Bon Jovi scratchily sang the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” with a band on a pier in Miami. Justin Timberlake and Ant Clemons predicted “Better Days” with a band inside the Stax Museum in Memphis; then they joined a gospel choir singing on the street with a bluesy train whistle cutting through — a glimpse of a particular American locality.Dozens of Broadway singers — including Chita Rivera, Laura Benanti, Vanessa Williams, Anthony Rapp, Betty Buckley, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Audra McDonald and Rosie Perez — contributed home-recorded vocals to a virtual medley of “Seasons of Love” (from “Rent”) and “Let the Sunshine In” (from “Hair”). John Legend revived Nina Simone’s arrangement of “Feeling Good,” declaring, “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day.” And for the finale, Katy Perry sang her positive-thinking pep talk, “Firework,” before fireworks lit up the Washington skies.During the inaugural events, there were multiple renditions of “Amazing Grace,” the English hymn that became a Black spiritual in the United States. It’s a song about finding redemption and salvation; it’s also a staple at funerals. Garth Brooks sang it at Mr. Biden’s swearing-in, inviting home audiences to sing along. The cellist Yo-Yo Ma played it (in a solo medley of hymns with “Goin’ Home” and “Simple Gifts”) on “Celebrating America.” And Lori Marie Key, a nurse from Michigan who sang the song at a hospital in a popular online video, sang it again devoutly and exultantly on Tuesday at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, in a ceremony recognizing the 400,000 U.S. deaths from Covid-19.The newest and sultriest songs on the Biden inaugural stages weren’t sung in English. DJ Cassidy, who had performed at both of Mr. Obama’s inaugurations, brought his “Pass the Mic” video format to both the virtual parade and “Celebrating America,” presenting performers singing along to their recorded hits. During the virtual parade, he had members of Earth, Wind & Fire singing and playing “Sing a Song,” and Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge, along with the songwriter and producer Nile Rodgers and three remote choirs, performing “We Are Family” — declarations of solidarity.Later, in prime time, he was joined by Puerto Rican hitmakers. Ozuna sang “Taki Taki”; Luis Fonsi delivered his global smash “Despacito.” Both songs are cheerful, amorous flirtations — lighthearted exceptions to all the sober declarations of purpose. But for the most part, the Biden inaugurals were soothingly wholesome, unhip and affirmative — family entertainment hoping to reunite a fractious American family.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Bernie Sanders, internet te ama

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Presidential InaugurationHighlightsPhotos From the DayBiden’s SpeechWho Attended?Biden’s Long RoadAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyBernie Sanders, internet te amaEl senador por Vermont en una conferencia de prensa en México, en la nave espacial de “Star Trek”, en un fresco de Leonardo da Vinci. Sanders es, una vez más, la estrella de un meme.El senador por Vermont, Bernie Sanders, viendo cómodamente los actos de investidura el miércoles.Credit…Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesMike Ives y 21 de enero de 2021 a las 12:14 ETRead in EnglishEl senador Bernie Sanders por Vermont es un ferviente defensor de los salarios justos y un excandidato presidencial que perdió la nominación demócrata frente al ahora presidente Joe Biden. Y gracias a sus prácticas elecciones de vestimenta también es ahora el centro de una aparentemente interminable avalancha de fotos alteradas que dominaron algunos rincones de internet en las horas posteriores a la investidura socialmente distanciada de Biden el miércoles.En medio de los trajes oscuros y los abrigos brillantes que salpicaban la escalinata del Capitolio, Sanders fue fotografiado sentado con una mascarilla, con las piernas cruzadas y envuelto en un voluminoso abrigo y guantes contra el gélido clima de Washington, D. C. Poco después, la imagen, tomada por el fotógrafo Brendan Smialowski para Getty Images, comenzó a circular por las redes sociales insertada en una amplia gama de fotografías y escenas de películas y obras de arte.“This could’ve been an email” pic.twitter.com/kn68z6eDhY— Ashley K. (@AshleyKSmalls) January 20, 2021
      En un día en el que todo giraba en torno a Biden, resultaba en cierto modo apropiado que Sanders, cuyo mayor apoyo político en la carrera presidencial procedía de los votantes jóvenes, fuera sin embargo el protagonista del mayor meme del día al no hacer otra cosa que sentarse y cruzar los brazos. En las elecciones primarias, Sanders disfrutó de un número de seguidores en línea significativamente mayor que Biden, especialmente entre aquellos que suelen comunicarse a través de memes.Aunque otros memes protagonizados por Sanders se utilizaron a menudo para decir algo —llevaba lo que parece ser el mismo abrigo en un video de recaudación de fondos de 2019 en el que está “una vez más pidiendo tu apoyo financiero”, una línea que ha sido reutilizada en una larga serie de maneras— no había un significado tan profundo en el meme más reciente. En lugar de utilizar su imagen para exponer una idea, simplemente se le ha colocado en nuevos contextos, con su pose, su atuendo y su expresión como chiste.Aunque el día pertenecía a Biden, el meme sirvió como un divertido espectáculo, un poco de diversión y frivolidad después de cuatro años en los que la política presidencial trajo a los seguidores de Sanders pocas razones para estar de buen humor.No fue el único meme inspirado en el día de la toma de posesión: otros se refirieron al atuendo de la exprimera dama Michelle Obama y a Lady Gaga, quien cantó el himno nacional vestida no muy diferente a un personaje de Los juegos del hambre. Pero incluso con Janet Yellen, la candidata de Biden a secretaria del Tesoro, igual de abrigada que el senador, era Sanders, el presidente entrante de la Comisión de Presupuestos del Senado, quien parecía el favorito.Las primeras publicaciones sobre él comenzaron con simples reseñas de su atuendo práctico y relativamente poco glamuroso. Algunos veían a sus tíos y padres en su elección de poner el estar abrigado por encima del estilo.Luego llegaron los memes, en los que los usuarios de las redes sociales tomaron la imagen original de Sanders y encontraron nuevos escenarios para él y su abrigo. Lo insertaron en la historia. Lo sentó en la bolera con The dude. Disfrutó del sol en una playa estatal cerrada en Nueva Jersey con el exgobernador de ese estado, Chris Christie.Otros llevaron la imagen de Sanders al cine, mostrándolo en el puente de la nave Enterprise en Star Trek y como miembro de los Avengers.El National Bobblehead Hall of Fame sacó provecho al vender su propia versión de la pose. Nick Sawhney, un ingeniero de software de Nueva York, creó una herramienta que permite insertar a Sanders en cualquier dirección de Google Maps street view.Algunos mensajes eran políticos. Otros “posiblemente blasfemos”.El avatar del senador parecía ocupado. Visitó un museo y se sentó en el Trono de Hierro de Juego de tronos. Se dejó caer en un partido de curling y se coló en un cuadro de Leonardo da Vinci.Hizo un cameo en Mario Kart, una conferencia de prensa en México y un viaje a la superficie de la luna. Hizo un recorrido por la ciudad de Nueva York.BuzzFeed News informó de que Sanders obtuvo sus guantes de Jen Ellis, una maestra de segundo grado en Essex Junction, Vermont. Ella dijo que le envió un par después de que él perdió la candidatura presidencial demócrata en 2016.Ellis tuiteó que los guantes estaban hechos de lana reutilizada y forradas con felpa.En una entrevista con la CBS, Sanders se rio de la atención.“En Vermont, nos vestimos, sabemos algo sobre el frío”, le dijo a Gayle King. “Y no nos preocupa tanto la buena moda. Solo queremos mantenernos calientes. Y eso es lo que he hecho hoy”.“Misión cumplida”, dijo King.Yonette Joseph colaboró con reportería.Daniel Victor es un reportero radicado en Londres que cubre una amplia variedad de historias con un enfoque en las últimas noticias. En 2012 dejó ProPublica y se integró al Times. @bydanielvictorAdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Bernie Sanders Is Once Again the Star of a Meme

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Presidential InaugurationHighlightsPhotos From the DayBiden’s SpeechTaking the OathBiden’s Long RoadAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyBernie Sanders Is Once Again the Star of a MemeThe Vermont senator was cold, but comfortable. The internet noticed.Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont comfortably watching the inauguration events on Wednesday.Credit…Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesMike Ives and Jan. 21, 2021Updated 9:38 a.m. ETSenator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is a fierce advocate of fair wages and a former presidential candidate who lost the Democratic nomination to now-President Biden. And thanks to his practical clothing choices he is also now the center of a seemingly endless flood of altered pictures that dominated some corners of the internet in the hours after Mr. Biden’s socially distanced inauguration on Wednesday.Amid the dark suits and bright coats dotting the Capitol steps, Mr. Sanders was photographed sitting masked, cross-legged and bundled up in a bulky coat and mittens against the frigid weather in Washington, D.C. Soon after, the image, taken by the photographer Brendan Smialowski for Getty Images, began to circulate on social media inserted into a wide array of photographs and scenes from movies and artworks.“This could’ve been an email” pic.twitter.com/kn68z6eDhY— Ashley K. (@AshleyKSmalls) January 20, 2021
      On a day all about Mr. Biden, it was in some ways appropriate that Mr. Sanders, whose strongest political support in the presidential race came from young voters, would nonetheless be the star of the day’s biggest meme by doing nothing but sitting and crossing his arms. In their primary competition, Mr. Sanders enjoyed a significantly larger online following than Mr. Biden, especially among those who often communicate through memes.Though other memes starring Mr. Sanders were often used to say something — he wore what appears to be the same coat in a 2019 fund-raising video in which he is “once again asking for your financial support,” a line that has been repurposed in a litany of ways — there was no such deeper meaning to the newest meme. Instead of using his image to make an argument, he was simply placed into new contexts, with his pose, outfit and expression themselves serving as the joke.While the day belonged to Mr. Biden, the meme served as an amusing sideshow, a bit of fun and levity after four years in which presidential politics brought Mr. Sanders’s supporters few reasons to be in a good mood.It wasn’t the only meme inspired by Inauguration Day: Others touched on the former first lady Michelle Obama’s outfit and on Lady Gaga, who sang the national anthem dressed not entirely unlike a character from the “Hunger Games.” But even with Janet Yellen, Mr. Biden’s nominee for Treasury secretary, dressed just as warmly, it was Mr. Sanders, the incoming chair of the Senate Budget Committee, who seemed far the favorite.Early posts about him started with simple reviews of his practical, relatively unglamorous outfit. Some saw their uncles and fathers in his choice to put warmth over style.Then came the memes, in which social media users took the original image of Mr. Sanders and found new locations for him and his coat. He was inserted into history. Sat at the bowling alley with The Dude. Enjoyed the sun at a closed state beach in New Jersey with that state’s former governor, Chris Christie.Still others brought the Sanders image to the movies, showing him on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise in “Star Trek,” and as a member of the Avengers.The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame capitalized by selling its own version of the pose. Nick Sawhney, a software engineer in New York, created a tool that allows you to insert Mr. Sanders into any street address in Google Maps street view.Some posts were political. Others “possibly blasphemous.”The senator’s avatar looked busy. It visited a museum and sat on the Iron Throne from “Game of Thrones.” It dropped in on a curling match and photobombed a Leonardo da Vinci painting.There was a cameo in Mario Kart, a news conference in Mexico and a trip to the surface of the moon. He took a tour of New York City.BuzzFeed News reported that Mr. Sanders got his mittens from Jen Ellis, a second-grade teacher in Essex Junction, Vt., who made gloves on the side. She said she sent him a pair after he lost a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.Ms. Ellis tweeted that the mittens were made from repurposed wool and lined with fleece.In an interview with CBS, Mr. Sanders laughed off the attention.“In Vermont, we dress, we know something about the cold,” he told Gayle King. “And we’re not so concerned about good fashion. We just want to keep warm. And that’s what I did today.”“Mission accomplished,” Ms. King said.Yonette Joseph contributed reporting.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Three Banner Headlines

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Biden AdministrationliveLatest UpdatesBiden Takes OfficePandemic Response17 Executive Orders SignedAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyTimes InsiderLetters Close Enough to TouchThree historic banner headlines on New York Times front pages contained an unusual typographic feature: a set of joined letters known as a ligature.Jan. 21, 2021Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.I-M-P-E-A-C-H-E-D.The banner headline on the Jan. 14 front page summed up President Donald J. Trump’s second impeachment in just nine letters.Or was it eight?Credit…The New York TimesSome readers may have spied an unusual letterform in the historic headline: an “E” and “A” joined at the baseline and combined into a single character, known as a ligature.Ligatures are used to improve the appearance and letterspacing of characters that would otherwise awkwardly pair. But the advantages of joined letters are not purely cosmetic. More evenly spaced letters can improve the readability of text, especially in a single word printed large.The “EA” ligature dates back to December 2019, when the House was preparing to vote on the first impeachment of Mr. Trump. The Times, too, was drawing up its own coverage, including a big, bold headline for the top of Page One: “TRUMP IMPEACHED.”But there was a modest typographical speed bump. Tom Bodkin, the chief creative officer of The Times, who is responsible for the design of the front page, and Wayne Kamidoi, an art director, were wrestling with an awkward gap in the middle of “IMPEACHED.”“The first three characters and the last three characters set up naturally pretty tightly. The middle three characters, just by the nature of their forms, set up loosely,” Mr. Bodkin said.Credit…The New York TimesEven as the stem of the “A” slopes away from the “E,” the long bar of the “E” prevents the two characters from coming closer. This leaves a noticeable gap between the letters, even as the rest of the word is tightly spaced.“It looks like two words because of the space between the ‘E’ and the ‘A.’ That’s not good for legibility, and it’s not attractive,” Mr. Bodkin said. “We needed to overlap those two characters in some form.”So Mr. Bodkin turned to Jason Fujikuni, an art director on the brand identity team, to draw the new combined character. “I just thought it would live that one day, but it was fun to see it for a couple other big pages,” Mr. Fujikuni said.Indeed, the ligature had a life beyond Mr. Trump’s first impeachment. It appeared in a November banner headline, “BIDEN BEATS TRUMP,” to announce the results of the presidential election. And, of course, it ran once more when Mr. Trump was impeached for the second time.Credit…The New York TimesAndrew Sondern is an art director for print.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Clyburn says Bush told him he was ‘the savior’ for endorsing Biden.

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Biden AdministrationliveLatest UpdatesBiden Takes OfficePandemic Response17 Executive Orders SignedAdvertisementContinue reading the main storyBiden Kicks Off Term With Executive Orders and Prime-Time CelebrationClyburn says Bush told him he was ‘the savior’ for endorsing Biden.Jan. 20, 2021, 10:33 p.m. ETJan. 20, 2021, 10:33 p.m. ETRepresentative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina chatted with former President George W. Bush before the inaugural ceremony on Wednesday and took a selfie.Credit…Pool photo by Patrick SemanskyFormer President George W. Bush, visiting Washington to attend President Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, privately told Representative James E. Clyburn, Democrat of South Carolina, that the congressman was “the savior” for helping Mr. Biden secure the Democratic nomination and defeat President Donald J. Trump.“George Bush said to me today, he said, ‘You know, you’re the savior, because if you had not nominated Joe Biden, we would not be having this transfer of power today,” Mr. Clyburn told reporters on a call after the swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday. Mr. Clyburn’s endorsement of Mr. Biden in the Democratic primary in South Carolina in February was credited with rescuing a campaign that had faltered badly in Iowa and New Hampshire.“He said to me that Joe Biden was the only one who could have defeated the incumbent president,” said Mr. Clyburn, who chatted with Mr. Bush on the inaugural platform before the ceremony and took a selfie with the former president.Mr. Bush’s office did not dispute the comment but characterized it more as simple political analysis, not a statement of gratitude to Mr. Clyburn for saving the country from another term of Mr. Trump in the White House.“This has been a bit overhyped,” said Freddy Ford, Mr. Bush’s chief of staff. “President Bush was acknowledging the congressman’s role in saving President Biden’s candidacy — nothing more, nothing biblical.”Mr. Bush is no fan of Mr. Trump, who beat his brother Jeb Bush for the Republican nomination in 2016. That fall, the former president voted for “none of the above” rather than casting a ballot for Mr. Trump; his father, former President George Bush, voted for Hillary Clinton; his mother, Barbara Bush, wrote in Jeb’s name. The younger George Bush has not said publicly who he voted for in November, but few who know him think he voted for Mr. Trump.At Mr. Trump’s swearing-in ceremony in January 2017, Mr. Bush was so struck by the new president’s dark Inaugural Address that he told Mrs. Clinton, “That was some weird [expletive].” He has since remained mostly silent, but his occasional public comments have been interpreted as rebukes of Mr. Trump’s approach to leadership.Mr. Bush not only attended Mr. Biden’s inaugural ceremony on Wednesday but also traveled afterward to Arlington National Cemetery with the new president along with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. He also taped a segment with Mr. Clinton and Mr. Obama showed on television Wednesday night sending best wishes to Mr. Biden.“Mr. President, I’m pulling for your success,” Mr. Bush said in the video. “Your success is our country’s success. God bless you.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Trump Departs Vowing, ‘We Will Be Back in Some Form’

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Biden AdministrationliveLatest UpdatesBiden Takes Office17 Executive Orders SignedU.S. Rejoins Paris AgreementAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyTrump Departs Vowing, ‘We Will Be Back in Some Form’Defeated and twice impeached, the 45th president used his farewell remarks before a sparse crowd to brag about his record and wish luck to the incoming administration.“Goodbye, we love you, we will be back in some form,” Donald J. Trump told supporters in his final hours as president on Wednesday.Credit…Pete Marovich for The New York TimesJan. 20, 2021Updated 9:30 p.m. ETJOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. — President Donald J. Trump left Washington aboard Air Force One for a final time on Wednesday, the iconic plane creeping along the runway so the liftoff was timed to the closing strains of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”In many ways, Mr. Trump’s last hours as president were a bookend to the kickoff of his presidential campaign in June 2015. As he did then, he tossed aside prepared remarks that aides had helped draft and spoke off the cuff, having them take down teleprompters they had set up. As he did then, he spent hours focused on the visual aspects of the scene where he would speak at the end of a calamitous final three months that capped a tumultuous term.Before departing for Florida, Mr. Trump — defeated at the polls, twice impeached, silenced by social media platforms and facing an array of legal and financial problems — laid down a marker about his future, telling the roughly 300 supporters who greeted him on the windy tarmac, several holding American flags, that they had not seen the last of him.“Goodbye. We love you. We will be back in some form,” Mr. Trump vowed, with the first lady, Melania Trump, by his side in sunglasses and a black outfit. He has yet to say what that form will take, but people who know him said he remained bitter that congressional Republicans had joined in rebuke of his speech at a Jan. 6 rally that incited his supporters to storm the Capitol.He at one point delivered an understated line: “We were not a regular administration.”Nonetheless, he performed more regularly in his farewell remarks than at almost any other moment since the Nov. 3. election. He thanked members of Congress with whom he worked, as well as Vice President Mike Pence, whose unwillingness to join in Mr. Trump’s baseless effort to halt Congress’s certification of President Biden’s victory led to a deep rift between them.Aides carrying boxes out of the White House on Wednesday morning.Credit…Anna Moneymaker for The New York TimesMr. Pence and the two Republican leaders in Congress skipped Mr. Trump’s departure and later attended Mr. Biden’s inaugural. Mr. Trump did not mention Mr. Biden, but for the first time he wished “great luck and great success” to the incoming administration. (A draft of Mr. Trump’s prepared remarks had included a space suggesting he acknowledge Mr. Biden, but were bracketed in case he did not, according to a person who saw them.)He did find time to note his own vote total.And he tried to claim credit for what he suggested would be a string of strong economic news in the coming months. “Remember us when you see these things happening, if you would,” he said.He similarly sought to promote his record in helping accelerate development of vaccines for the coronavirus. “It really is a great achievement,” he said.At different points, Mr. Trump seemed as close to becoming emotional as he had throughout his four years in office. He talked about the families who had suffered from the coronavirus throughout the last year.It was the first time in two weeks that Mr. Trump had addressed the public in person. He stayed mostly out of sight since election night, save for the incendiary speech he delivered to supporters on Jan. 6 urging them to march on the Capitol in an effort to deny Mr. Biden’s victory.His remarks were riddled with falsehoods and factual errors, boasts about his time in office and demands for credit, including his oft-repeated but exaggerated claim that he had rescued veterans from poor treatment. There were also awkward moments, like when he told his supporters, “Have a good life.” He offered a less acid version of his brand of partisanship, save for a few moments. “I hope they don’t raise your taxes,” he said, “but if they do, I told you so.”The Biden AdministrationLive Updates: Inauguration Live UpdatesUpdated Jan. 20, 2021, 10:06 p.m. ETTrump extends Secret Service protection for his children, cabinet secretaries and chief of staff.A boy who bonded with Biden over stuttering will write a children’s book.Michael Ellis, a Trump appointee at the N.S.A. who was sworn in on Tuesday, has been placed on leave.He praised his family and said people did not understand “how hard” they worked.Before the sun rose, officials had constructed a stage adorned with stars-and-stripes bunting, a lectern and a microphone for the president. A military band rehearsed “Hail to the Chief” shortly after 7 a.m.For several minutes, military aides measured the precise length of the red carpet that Mr. Trump was set to walk to the steps connecting to Air Force One, which was brought out around 6:30. Aides hoisted garment bags filled with the first family’s belongings into the forward cabin.A large space was built for an audience that the White House had invited to see the president off. But for a man obsessed with crowd size, only about 300 people showed up, filling roughly a third of the standing area.Mr. Trump took his final ride aboard Marine One. As the helicopter took him away from the White House, it diverted from its normal route and circled the Capitol.Credit…Jason Andrew for The New York TimesFor several days, aides had tried to corral officials to come to the departure, and to bring guests. But several who remained working until the president’s final day in office said they were worn out and deeply angry over his behavior since Election Day, as he spread falsehoods about the race being stolen from him, overshadowing whatever substantive achievements they might remember. Some of his aides who had been with him the longest said they did not even watch the send-off on television.Others wanted to steer clear of Washington in its current quasi-militarized state. And still others left the city before the new administration came in, returning to their home states.Mr. Trump, who often thought about winning but never truly contemplated the presidency before Nov. 8, 2016, began the morning telling advisers he wanted to add one last pardon to the lengthy list of clemency grants he had issued early Wednesday morning, prompting a scramble to make it happen. This one was for Albert J. Pirro Jr., the former husband of a longtime friend, Jeanine Pirro, a Fox News host. Mr. Trump has known the Pirros for more than 25 years, and White House officials said Ms. Pirro let the president know she was deeply unhappy that he had not received one. To the surprise of some of his own aides, he left a note for Mr. Biden in the Oval Office, although its contents remained undisclosed. Mr. Trump left the White House for a final time around 8:20 a.m., stopping briefly to talk to reporters before stepping onto Marine One. He described the presidency as the “honor” of his life.Then he and the first lady boarded the helicopter, taking their last ride as the rest of the Trump family met them at the send-off. The helicopter diverted from its normal route and circled around the Capitol, where two weeks earlier his supporters had chanted about hanging Mr. Pence, vowed to help Mr. Trump remain in office and set off chaos and violence that led to his second impeachment.When he arrived at the air base, a military band played “Hail to the Chief” and he was given a 21-gun salute, lending his farewell the militaristic patina he craved throughout his presidency. But during the event, his typical rally soundtrack played. When he finished his remarks, he stepped off the stage to the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” before heading to the red carpet leading to Air Force One.The plane then crept along the runway to “My Way,” a cinematic departure for a president who once wanted to be a Hollywood producer. On the flight, Mr. Trump stayed cloistered at the front of the plane with his family, who, like him, have never experienced the effect of a political loss.The route from the airport to Mr. Trump’s private club, Mar-a-Lago, was lined with supporters waving flags.Credit…Pete Marovich for The New York TimesWhen the plane touched down in Palm Beach, Fla., a crowd of about 20 supporters greeted the president. He waved, but did not stop to talk to anyone before climbing into an S.U.V.The route from the airport to his private club, Mar-a-Lago, was lined with people waving flags, some weeping as he passed. Around 11:30 a.m., Mr. Trump was whisked inside the gates of the Mar-a-Lago compound, leaving behind the press corps that was assigned to cover him for four years. Mr. Pirro’s pardon was announced around that time.Mr. Trump had another 30 minutes left of his presidency, but he had said all he was going to say.Patricia Mazzei More