the new style imposed by Joe Biden

There are no startled tweets at dawn, there are no slurs or bravado, the daily press conferences are back and now there is a president who calls for dialogue with a careful work program, focused on a series of priorities.

In his early days in power, the White House of Joe Biden is very different from the chaotic four year old by Donald Trump. Beyond the barrage of executive orders that the new Democratic president has signed these days, it can be said that Biden’s most radical act has been back to normal.

Biden took office on January 20 and there are fundamental changes, with the signing on day one of a series of executive orders that have reversed measures implemented by Trump and also others to contain pressing issues such as the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and the economic crisis.

But also there are form changes, which unlike the roller coasters of previous years take on another dimension.

Biden basically did what he promised during his campaign. And in a systematic and orderly manner. There were no covert ads on Twitter. Each day was devoted to a subject, and the presidential agenda was announced the day before to correspondents, with fixed schedules, and was not modified.

Each day, the general framework of the initiatives was presented by Biden in a short speech, then the president signed the executive orders and the White House spokeswoman dispelled the doubts later. If he did not know a subject, it remained to find out. A routine in any normal government.

Through executive orders, Biden initially focused on return the Paris Climate Agreement, which had been abandoned by Trump, then launched measures against the advance of covid19, with the implementation of the use of the mask at the federal level, the restriction of travel and the promise of speed up vaccination with the vaccination of more than 100 million Americans in 100 days.

He then advanced on the economy with a package of helping the sectors most affected by the crisis and approved the “Buy American” initiative to promote the domestic industry.

He also made announcements on immigration (which includes the suspension of construction of the wall) and the promotion of racial justice, then focused on the restoration of the Obamacare health program to facilitate access to health. In addition, he canceled the ban on access for members of the LGTBQ community to the armed forces.

They were close to 40 decrees signed in the first ten days of government, a heavy number that many do not like here. In fact, he issued more decrees than his early predecessors.

Biden says it’s because there is an urgent need to act on fundamental issues like the pandemic, but other pencils that are more aimed at undermining Trump’s legacy are also slipping through.

This succession of decrees aroused criticism from certain sectors. Senate Republican Bloc leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that the use of so many executive orders went against Biden’s promise to reach consensus.

He even said that “you can only legislate by decree if you are a dictator“”. The New York Times newspaper itself started an op-ed with the headline “Act easy, Joe”.

Faced with these claims, Biden replied that his goal is “Reverse the damage done by Trump” without the need to enact new laws, while simultaneously waging a war against COVID-19.

Biden’s advisers said executive orders could not replace legislation, but at the same time championed the use of this resource. “There are steps, including reversing the harmful and immoral actions of the previous government, which the president feels he cannot wait” through the legislative process, said press secretary Jen Psaki.

Beyond the mess of decrees and their criticisms, the turbulent climate of recent years has radically calmed down in the White House these days. Biden usually doesn’t get up as early as Trump, who could tweet at 2 a.m. and start again at 6.

Usually his schedule doesn’t start until 9 a.m. with the traditional briefing from his security advisers he receives with Harris. Then he continues with another meeting with the advisers on the subject he will announce that day, before having lunch with the vice-president.

In the early afternoon, he usually signs the decrees and explains them in a short speech. He is known to have ffrequent telephone conversations with members of Congress and Democrats.

On Twitter, he only posts unity messages and certain government actions at reasonable times.

Biden goes to bed much earlier than Trump. He usually only watches TV late at night and in the morning he doesn’t start to the beat of Fox News but with a routine that had been abandoned for four years: reading the paper newspapers.

The canceled subscriptions to The New York Times and The Washington Post have returned.

Weekends seem to be for rest. The president has a deserted agenda and was only seen last Sunday going to mass with his family and stopping to buy take-out at an Argentinian restaurant. It’s definitely a more normal White House.