Tom Nichols on Biden’s “Boring” Presidency and a Narcissistic Nation

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

GZERO Media

International Relations, Government, Foreign Policy, Gzero World, News Commentary, Trump, News, Global Economy, Geopolitics, Politics, Ian Bremmer

4.6 • 684 Ratings

🗓️ 1 May 2021

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After four years of President Trump lobbing red meat to his base nearly every day, President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office have been refreshingly “boring.” He’s fired off zero early-morning Twitter rants and picked no fights with professional sport teams nor Mika Brzezinski. That’s not to say, however, that he hasn’t been busy. Since January 20th, Biden has issued more executive orders than any president since FDR, 40 of them by mid-April. His administration has already blown through their (admittedly low bar) goal of 100 million vaccinations in 100 days, topping 200 million. He’s also gotten a record $1.9 trillion stimulus deal through Congress and announced a complete troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by 9/11/21. According to international relations expert and Atlantic contributor, Tom Nichols, that’s exactly the kind of “boring” America needs right now. Especially at a time when the nation is going through what he calls a “narcissism pandemic.” Nichols joins Ian Bremmer for a conversation on the GZERO World podcast.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Politics, in my view, ought to be boring.
0:03.6	It shouldn't be something you have to pay attention to every minute of every day.
0:07.7	And I think that's how Biden has approached the job.
0:12.5	Hello and welcome to the GZero World Podcast.
0:16.1	Here you'll find extended versions of the interviews from my show on public television.
0:20.6	I'm Ian Bremmer. And today today we are talking about President Biden's first 100 days,
0:25.9	and all the challenges the next months will break.
0:28.9	Joe Biden began with a flurry of activity on day one
0:32.3	and has kept up the pace more executive orders than any president since FDR,
0:37.1	200 million COVID shots in arms,
0:39.3	and a nearly $2 trillion stimulus plan. But as the pandemic recedes from the American headlines,
0:46.0	and Americans turn their attention to immigration, the federal budget, gun control, and other
0:51.0	much more polarizing issues, can Biden effectively bring a deeply divided Congress and nation together?
0:58.6	My guest today is The Atlantic's Tom Nichols,
1:02.2	author of the upcoming book, Our Own Worst Enemy,
1:05.4	The Assault from Within on Modern Democracy.
1:08.4	Sounds cheery. Let's get right to it.
1:15.8	Thank you. on modern democracy. Sounds cheery. Let's get right to it. The G0 World podcast
1:17.4	is brought to you by our founding sponsor, First Republic.
1:21.1	First Republic, a private bank and wealth management company,
1:24.6	understands the value of service, safety, and stability in today's uncertain
1:29.4	world. Visit firstrepublic.com to learn more. The G0 World podcast is also brought to you by Walmart.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from GZERO Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of GZERO Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.