I’d never considered the details leading up to an inauguration. I watched this one like a nervous parent, making sure everything went as planned. #velshi
1/13
I have watched every presidential inauguration that I can remember, since I was a little boy, and long before I ever imagined I would live in America. But I had never watched one the way I watched the inauguration of Joe Biden. #velshi
I’d never considered the details leading up to an inauguration. I watched this one like a nervous parent, making sure everything went as planned. #velshi
Thanks to the last four years, everything is different, now. Our demons are on full display, our Union is certifiably imperfect. Our nation is divided. #velshi
After a year that takes first place in our history for death, destruction, fear and injustice, normalcy is struggling to regain its place. One thing with which we will struggle in this new day for America is the death of shame. #velshi
In addition to the other norms the former president destroyed, he turned lying - deliberate, casual and often with the force of law - into an art form and, with that, contributed to the death of shame. #velshi
I’ve been a business journalist for most of my career. When I’d interview a CEO and they’d tell me something that wasn’t true, and I’d have the evidence that it wasn’t true, it would make for an awkward moment. #velshi
The CEOs tried to explain it away. Their people would offer clarifications and maybe, there’d be a statement of clarification. Maybe even an apology. #velshi
If the lie - or any kind of wrongdoing pointed out by the press, was significant, someone might resign, a red letter of sorts on their chest. A mark of shame. #velshi
For some people - some liars – there’s no shame now. One reason I haven’t had Trump officials or allies on @VelshiMSNBC for the last several months is that confronting them with the truth stopped mattering. When caught lying or distorting the facts, they lied more. #velshi
To wear a red letter - TWO red letters, in the former president's case - both capitals for impeachment. It means little to him; there is no contrition. #velshi
He explains it away as partisan or calls it a hoax or a witch hunt. A source of shame once again somehow morphed into to a badge of honor. The death of shame - is the real catastrophe. #velshi
If we as humans do not feel shame in doing something wrong, or in getting caught doing something wrong, what guardrails exist? #velshi
More from Ali Velshi
More from Biden
I got overnight via email a query from @briansflood at Fox News, the principal part of which I reproduce below. I answered by email too. I'll append that reply in the next threaded tweet:
My reply:
Hunter Biden's dubious business activities have been reported for years. Here for example is @TheAtlantic in September 2019, year *before* @nypost https://t.co/qZBTpyuysM
That emails attributed to Hunter Biden were circulating was also known well before the NYPost story in October. Here's TIME magazine https://t.co/JvpEKdG0U4
What @NYPost added to the work earlier done by others was a new *origin* story for the materials that circulated in Ukraine in 2019. When other media organizations attempted to corroborate that story, hijinx ensued. https://t.co/ZJGZWq7etU @thedailybeast account
![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eo9v9r5WMAITQ0j.png)
My reply:
![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eo9w1NGWMAAO-cz.png)
Hunter Biden's dubious business activities have been reported for years. Here for example is @TheAtlantic in September 2019, year *before* @nypost https://t.co/qZBTpyuysM
![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eo9yQykXMAAzL5j.jpg)
That emails attributed to Hunter Biden were circulating was also known well before the NYPost story in October. Here's TIME magazine https://t.co/JvpEKdG0U4
![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eo9y08kXcAAbU22.jpg)
What @NYPost added to the work earlier done by others was a new *origin* story for the materials that circulated in Ukraine in 2019. When other media organizations attempted to corroborate that story, hijinx ensued. https://t.co/ZJGZWq7etU @thedailybeast account
![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eo9zyGhXIAEifTd.jpg)
THREAD: There has been a lot of criticism levied against @BernieSanders recently following his comment about "working within the context of what Biden wants" as Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. This thread will explore why this really isn't all that surprising.
Over the last 20+ years, Bernie has endorsed every establishment Democrat running for President: Bill Clinton, Gore, Kerry, Obama, Hillary, and most recently, Biden. These candidates and what they represent largely contradict much of what Bernie says he stands for.
Chris Hedges theorized in 2015: "...All that energy and all of that money goes back into the Democratic party. [Bernie] functions as a sheepdog to corral progressives, left-leaning progressives, back into the embrace of the Democratic
Bernie's foreign policy positions are also telling. While he *did* vote against the US invasion of Iraq, he still voted to fund it once underway, & also backed the US bombing of Kosovo, US sanctions against Iran & Libya, & the Iraqi Liberation Act of
Bernie called closing the torturous gulag at Guantanamo a "complicated issue" and supported a proposal in 2009 to "prohibit funding to transfer, release, or incarcerate detainees detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to or within the United States."
https://t.co/4p64SgeD1x
![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Er92x1FXcAEb3Te.png)
Over the last 20+ years, Bernie has endorsed every establishment Democrat running for President: Bill Clinton, Gore, Kerry, Obama, Hillary, and most recently, Biden. These candidates and what they represent largely contradict much of what Bernie says he stands for.
![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Er93IdIXAAUTSaf.png)
Chris Hedges theorized in 2015: "...All that energy and all of that money goes back into the Democratic party. [Bernie] functions as a sheepdog to corral progressives, left-leaning progressives, back into the embrace of the Democratic
Bernie's foreign policy positions are also telling. While he *did* vote against the US invasion of Iraq, he still voted to fund it once underway, & also backed the US bombing of Kosovo, US sanctions against Iran & Libya, & the Iraqi Liberation Act of
Bernie called closing the torturous gulag at Guantanamo a "complicated issue" and supported a proposal in 2009 to "prohibit funding to transfer, release, or incarcerate detainees detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to or within the United States."
https://t.co/4p64SgeD1x
![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Er95UaXXUAQ49Bd.png)