The Gist

A Bet Against Reality

None of the conventions of politics stuck to President Donald Trump during his campaign. Will that change now that he’s in office?

President Donald Trump stands with first lady Melania Trump at the 58th presidential inauguration in Washington on Friday.

John Angelillo–Pool/Getty Images

Listen to Episode 663 of Slate’s The Gist:

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President Donald J. Trump was voted into office by an impatient electorate that had no ability to measure his rhetoric against a political record. Slate political writer Will Saletan predicts that national impatience will not be kind to Mr. Trump. Saletan is the author of Bearing Right: How Conservatives Won the Abortion War.

U.S. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif., joined dozens of his colleagues boycotting the inauguration. He explains what Democrats can do to draw attention to Mr. Trump’s conflicts of interest.

Michael Waldman penned two inaugural addresses for former President Bill Clinton. Waldman says Mr. Trump’s speech was remarkable for what it didn’t include: any mention of the Constitution, liberty, or democracy: “Which is something that presidents do—it’s almost like a religious incantation in these speeches.”

For the Spiel, some non-Trump news. How Gambia got its groove and the fight against fake news in Sweden.

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