Donald Trump hates losing. During countless moments of unabashed narcissism, he has flaunted his inability to deal with failure. But his defeat in the 2020 US elections, surpasses one man’s hunger to remain on top -- many Americans see it as an opportunity to hit delete on the last four years. Those who don’t, see an ally in the white house consumed by the liberal left, in bed with an “unfair” media and supported by Russian bots.

Trump infused a new era of fumbling-with-facts, starting with his 2016 presidential campaign, making misinformation ubiquitous, all in the service of his political ambitions. His administration’s robust strategy of pushback against any form of scrutiny -- whether it’s his personae that many found unappealing, or his isolationist politics -- did nobody any favor. The country remains more polarized than most Americans would like to accept, and the GOP is apprehensive of Trump’s lasting influence on the party.

Along comes Joe Biden. A seasoned center-of-left politician; eight years in the White House with one of the most popular presidents in decades; a Climate supporter and popular with independents; a fatherly figure with personal tragedy, and, most important, viewed as the antithesis of Donald Trump. If politics is about image, Biden nails it.

The next four years in America are deeply connected to the last four. The left wants to make amends, reverse Trump’s anti-immigration policies and bring the spotlight back on issues rather than personalities. That includes long term goals for climate change, and a more aggressive response to Covid19 that divested flaws in the US healthcare system. Many of the seventeen executive orders Biden signed on his first day in office, simply revoked his predecessor’s policies. He stopped, for example, the construction of Trump‘s notorious border wall, protecting young immigrants, ending travel ban and prioritizing racial and gender equality. But it might take years, if at all, to undo the damage.

What happened on January 6th at Capitol Hill was not a handwriting on the wall either. It was an active reminder for the United States to give voice to the alternate right, or the silent majority that remained, well silent, before bolstered by president Trump’s unchecked and dangerous rhetoric. It clearly shows the direction the Republican party has taken under Donald Trump’s presidency. The establishment is now faced with the dilemma of abandoning Trump’s hardcore base and move towards a more inclusive image. Biden-Harris White House, on the other hand, is already one of the most diverse in history, something Trump didn’t even feign to attempt.

The images on our tv screens weren’t unfamiliar. We have seen angry mobs assaulting public monuments before. Imagine a celebrity gaffe and the PR efforts to undo the harm. For America – which garners moral superiority based on its strong institutions and military prowess – the attack was a PR disaster, and a culmination of four years of unfiltered disinformation. After all, America is akin to everything everyone loves on tv —Jennifer Lopez, Elon Musk, Christ-cut fries. Those images were flipped the day a group of white Americans, with their mascots and red shirts, did what most American sneer as undemocratic — storm into a government building, taking selfies on the chair of the Speaker of the House.

Trump’s reaction to the election results wasn’t a surprise either. Many pundits are optimistic for a post-Trump Republican party, foreseeing the party to quit the former Commander-in-Chief after a second impeachment and public humiliation. That still remains to be seen. Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona – where a democrat won only second time in 50 years – was reprimanded by Trump’s supporters for doing his job and certifying the election results. He conceded that Trump “bears some responsibility” for the attack on Capitol Hill.

The author is a freelance writer based in the US. She can be reached at sikandar.sarah@gmail.com