Donald Trump is still technically president, but Americans on social media and in the streets breathed sighs of relief and celebrated Wednesday morning after the outgoing incumbent departed the White House for Florida ahead of the noon swearing-in of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
“Thank you to those who fought so hard and resisted. He’s gone,” immigrant rights activist Erika Andiola said, a message echoed by thousands of others after Trump left Washington, D.C. following a brief speech to a small crowd of his supporters.
In response to video footage of Trump leaving the White House in Marine One, Sina Toossi of the National Iranian American Council tweeted, “This is the single greatest thing Trump has ever done for America.”
While Trump officially be out of power in a matter of hours, the widespread damage he inflicted during his four years in office and the systemic crises that preceded him remain, and the coronavirus pandemic that his administration mishandled so disastrously continues to take thousands of lives in the U.S. each day.
Applauding the departure of the “worst and most dangerous president in American history,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Tuesday stressed that the work of building a just and equitable nation is just beginning.
“For four years Trump has tried to divide our people up,” said Sanders. “Our job, now, is to bring people together around an agenda that works for all, not just the few.”
In an interview Wednesday morning, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) said that “we can celebrate for a moment and take a deep breath, but we gotta get right back to it.”
“Let’s celebrate,” Bowman said, “but then let’s push policies like $2,000 per month for those who are struggling, implementing a Green New Deal and dealing with environmental justice, implementing universal healthcare, having housing as a human right, humane criminal justice and immigration reform. There’s so much work to do.”
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