Episode notes
President Donald Trump’s second inauguration seemed normal, but there were concerns about U.S. democracy lingering just beneath the surface. Trump himself made those apparent when he followed his speech that urged unity and optimism with one to supporters vowing to pardon Jan. 6 rioters and then later he did just that. Trump also has promised to seek revenge against his political opponents. That pledge led to a blitz of last-minute preemptive pardons issued by outgoing President Joe Biden. Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University, joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss the inauguration.