The recent presidential election setback has been enough to send Democrats in the United States into a tailspin, with wails of despair echoing throughout the ranks. However, Donald Trump’s rapid announcements of nominees for top posts in his second administration—some with troubling resumes (such as Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Dr. Oz), others with profiles that align with a scorched-Earth approach to the liberal policies of President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Barack Obama (take, for instance, the Elon Musk-Vivek Ramaswamy duo)—raise concerns about the impending end of the government’s role in economic stimulation and regulation, support for women’s rights, and the promotion of diversity initiatives and multilateral approaches to global challenges. Although despair and despondency are not new in American political life, as Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris pointed out in her concession speech, “Sometimes the fight takes a while.” Before his 1789 inauguration, George Washington knew the depths of pessimism, writing in late 1776, “I am wearied almost to death with the retrograde motion of things.” Abraham Lincoln, another iconic president, experienced deep despair during the Civil War. The scenarios of presidential despair have varied widely, from the final stretch of Woodrow Wilson’s presidency, where he suffered a severe stroke that left him incapacitated until the end of his presidency, to Herbert Hoover’s experience during the Great Depression, and Jimmy Carter’s presidency marred by an oil crisis and skyrocketing inflation. Despite these setbacks, some presidents like Washington and Lincoln turned to their own “cabinet of fortitude” and emerged victorious. In the current political situation, Democrats face an uncertain road ahead, with no predetermined path or ‘cabinet of fortitude’ readily available to guide insight and performance. The past two centuries have seen various pathways through and beyond despair in presidential politics, affecting Americans of all political stripes.
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