What Is a Lame Duck Presidency?
While there is no clear winner of the presidential election yet, it is difficult not to look a little ahead and consider the various possible outcomes. One includes the possibility of roughly three months of the lame duck’s presidency if Joe Biden eventually comes out on top.
But beyond the term that made you giggle when you first learned about it in social science class, what is a lame duck presidency? And what could this mean for the country? Here’s a quick guide.
Where did the term lame duck come from?
It may seem like an outdated designation for a handicapped bird, but the roots of the term lame duck go back to the 18th century London Stock Exchange. It was originally used to describe an investor who does not have the financial means to meet its obligations. According to the Wall Street Journal :
The idea seemed to be that the bankrupt businessman suffered like a shot duck. Horace Walpole, an English writer and politician, expressed bewilderment at the new trade terms in a 1761 letter: “Do you know what a bull, a bear, and a lame duck are? No, and so am I. I am only sure that they are not animals or birds. “
The terminology made its way into the United States in the 19th century, first applied in similar financial terms, and then eventually making its way into politics, first referring to members of Congress and then to presidents. In any case, a lame duck is a politician serving the remainder of his term after the election of a successor, but before he takes office.
What is a Lame Duck Presidency?
Since we (thankfully) have term limits, a pointless presidency is inevitable. For example, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama have been lame ducks during their last three months in office. In high school, we learned that lame duck presidents didn’t really do anything and were essentially running out of steam – especially when they get old, like Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, according to CNN .
In reality, the story of the lame duck may look very different. For example, presidential historian David Pietrusa noted that while Obama did little in terms of new legislation in his final months in office, he did change the concept of a lame duck presidency when he “strengthened everything in terms of regulation. Agenda of the order ”.
There is also a historical precedent in which the outgoing president deliberately aggravated his predecessor’s position in revenge. One came after the 1892 presidential election between Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland and is associated with the (completely unnecessary) economic collapse known as the Panic of 1893. (Read more about this situation in an interview with historian Heather Cox Richardson on Slate.)
What could a Trump presidency look like?
Regardless of whether Donald Trump is reelected for a second term, at some point he will become a loser president – either at the end of 2020 and the first 20 days of 2021, or for the same period, but four years from now. Based on his previous comments, including the rejection of a peaceful transfer of power , it’s safe to say that if Biden wins the election, Trump could fall into the category of “vengeful” lame ducks alongside Harrison.
While it is unclear exactly what this will look like, Dr. Jeremy Suri, professor of public affairs and history, and Dr. Jeffrey K. Tulis, professor of public administration – both from the University of Texas at Austin – made several predictions. in an article in The Bulwark :
Faced with a real loss, Trump’s behavior will be unpredictable, as was the case in the fight against the pandemic … Traditionally, transition groups prepare information books about the current activities of a number of government agencies. It is possible that these normal and necessary aspects of the transition could continue as Donald Trump focuses on opportunities for enriching himself and his family, ways to punish alleged political enemies, and general opportunities for abuse of interregnum constitutional power.
So whatever the election results, buckle up: win or lose, Trump has time for a lot, especially during a pandemic.