Before 2020, Inauguration Day was all about pomp and ceremony, a day for the winners of the election to assume their new roles — and to celebrate with balls and galas to glad-hand their supporters and donors.
But things are clearly different after the outbreak of a global pandemic, and that difference was on obvious display during the swearing-in ceremony for incoming President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, which only about a thousand guests, all socially distanced, could attend.
And because of the long shadow cast by 2020, the new president couldn't afford to spend much of Inauguration Day on galas and balls. He had to get down to work.