As 2025 is about to begin, we look ahead at the political landscape to come and back at the year that was with our Politics Monday team, Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Tamara Keith of NPR.

Thanks very much. Welcome to you both. Tam, let me start with you. Jimmy Carter had 40 years to define his legacy after the White House. Not only does Biden not

have that much time, but is there a recognition that in fact Biden's successor could help define

Biden's legacy? Absolutely. President Carter really gave himself a new legacy, a second legacy. 40 years is an incredibly long time.

President Biden does not have 40 years. The actuarial tables tell us that's basically impossible.

And so his presidency is likely to be defined both by what he did in office, but increasingly by how his time in office came to an end.

You know, he ran in 2019 for president to make Donald Trump a one-term president.

That was why he ran. That is what he said. And now Donald Trump will be a two-term president.

History remembers two-term presidents generally more fondly than they remember one-term presidents.

And I've spoken to several presidential historians who say that President Biden, much of his,

the fate of his legacy may well be defined by how people ultimately perceive Donald Trump.

But right now, if you ask,

he was the dragon slayer, as one historian told me, but then he also is the man who let the dragon back in. That, at least, is the perception from this historian I spoke to.

Amy Walter, is Biden uniquely, perhaps perhaps vulnerable to have a legacy written by his successor?

Well, certainly in this most recent era where we've had some pretty young presidents.

We also have Bill Clinton, who left office in his 50s, much like Jimmy Carter did, who's been able to watch

his own legacy be written and rewritten almost every few years.

George W. Bush also leaving office at a relatively young age. And of course, Barack Obama.

So this is unique in our recent era, but we've

certainly had presidents who soon after they left office, maybe they were defined by, I'm thinking

of Lyndon Baines Johnson, things about their presidency that were the most unpopular.

And then years and years and years later, their legacy is redefined by some of the other accomplishments they had.

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