Originally published at National Catholic Register
Presidents begin their terms with great attention paid to what will be done on “Day One” or during the first 100 days. But the end of their terms also tells a story.
The “interregnum” between the election and the inauguration of the next president can be a fraught time. In recent decades, the new president is usually of a different party than the incumbent, meaning that the outgoing chief executive has been in part rejected. How he handles that in the last months in office is thus an important signal.
President Joe Biden decided to take his last foreign trip in the final fortnight of his presidency, traveling to Rome to meet Pope Francis. The meeting was scheduled for Friday but was canceled on Wednesday night due to the California wildfires and Biden’s decision to remain at home to attend to the federal response.
Nevertheless, the choice to visit the Pope was significant. The ostensible reason was to discuss prospects for peace, but the choice of farewell by a president is more about the symbolism than the substance. What did President Biden wish to highlight in his choice to meet Pope Francis?
Consider how Biden’s predecessors chose carefully where
